BRIDGET VANDERPUFF AND THE GREAT AIRSHIP ROBBERY

Indomitable young baker Bridget Vanderpuff teams up with puzzle fan Stacy Yuen to recover a golden whisk that’s key to winning a baking competition in Paris.

Red-haired preteen whirlwind Bridget races onto the scene in this third series entry, extending her paraskirt as she and Tom Timpson careen off a cliff in pursuit of cake thief Hungry Horace Harris, who’s soon in the hands of Scotland Yard’s Sugar Squad. Bridget’s self-confidence remains high, yet just as she settles in to solve a riddle at home in Belle-on-Sea, her bake shop owner father announces that he and Bridget will be leaving immediately for France to compete in the Grand Prix de la Profiterole via Le Bonbon du Ciel, “the grandest airship in the world.” Once aboard, Bridget reunites with Stacy, a friend from home. When Mr. V’s golden whisk, which means everything to him, goes missing, Bridget suspects the League of Meanies, whose sole nefarious purpose is to “destroy the happiness of others.” Bridget’s antics are livelier than ever, even as she and Stacy follow mysterious riddles around Paris. Occasional chapters offer glimpses of events unfolding in the bake shop, which Tom and Pascal the bakery elf are defending against Harris, who’s on the run. Habben’s amusing illustrations depict many characters with darker skin, including Tom, Stacy, and Mr. V. Creative typography allows words like splaff and pfffump to go “boinging” across the pages.

Riotous fun.