A COMPLICATED CASE

Something’s amiss in Detective Gordon’s forested police district.

Detective Gordon, a toad, wakes to find the morning cake tin, the afternoon cake tin, and the evening cake tin all missing. Oh no! Luckily Police Assistant Buffy, a mouse, saw Gordon walk in his sleep and take the tins outside. That case is solved easily enough, but another looms: everyone in the wood seems somehow sad. The police force investigates. No one will name the culprit, but it turns out there’s some teasing going on. Careful detective work exposes the bully. However, the case is far from cut and dry. Good thing they have the Book of Law to remind them what’s forbidden, though Buffy must first learn to read in order to consult it on her own. Swedish author Nilsson’s second Detective Gordon woodland mystery has all the charm and whimsy of the first. A complicated case meets a complicated solution in this tale of intergenerational friendship that’s deeply respectful of its audience of young independent readers. It’s a sort of Frog and Toad meets Mayberry R.F.D. Spee’s plentiful soft and slightly squiggly illustrations of clothed animals bring Nilsson’s comfortable little world to life. Readers will be hoping this isn’t Detective Gordon’s last case.

Put Detective Gordon’s stamp on it: KLA-DUNK! Another winner.