FAREWELL, MY LUNCHBAG

Green-tailed gumshoe Chet Gecko's outsized appetite really gets him into hot water in his latest caper. Someone is pilfering supplies from Emerson Hickey Elementary's pantry. Chet's attempt to nab the phantom nosher backfires when he inhales a drugged pillbug muffin and wakes up amidst a plethora of evidence pointing to him as the culprit. It's a frame-up, but can he clear his name—not to mention escape a lifetime of detention—when even pun-loving avian sidekick Natalie Attired is giving him the cold shoulder? The redoubtable reptile's in a real pickle. Luckily, Hale dishes up plenty of clues, while setting the table for a wild climactic ruckus involving Chet, Natalie, custodian/mongoose Maureen DeBree, and two king cobras hiding out in the heating ducts while hatching both a clutch of eggs and a plot to take over the school. Occasional illustrations depicting a hard-boiled animal cast add atmosphere. It's literary fast food with no caloric consequences, and the incessant wordplay, plus the way everyone receives (what else?) just deserts, will give readers an appetite for more. (Fiction. 9-11)