THE TRIAL OF CARDIGAN JONES

Only hints of the deadpan humor that made Egan’s Serious Farm (2003) and other tales so droll come through here. The pie on Mrs. Brown’s windowsill vanishes after witnesses see Cardigan the moose stop for a sniff. The matter comes to trial and Cardigan is declared guilty by everyone except the judge, who not only points out the lack of direct evidence, but, after Cardigan moves about the courtroom knocking over a statue, getting tangled up in a flag, and even upending the judge with his antlers, moves the court over to Mrs. Brown’s, where pieces of the pie are still visible in the bushes. It now being obvious what happened, Cardigan is fêted by his contrite former accusers. But as Cardigan’s antlers in the sedate, James Marshall–esque pictures are rather dainty, and sometimes not even placed near whatever they’ve just supposedly knocked into, the joke doesn’t carry over into the art. Not Egan at his best, though this may have some potential as a discussion starter on the idea of “innocent until proven guilty.” (Picture book. 6-8)