THE CURIOUS CASE OF THE VANISHING VEGGIES

Detective Rabbit sniffs out trouble when vegetables go missing in Gimm’s picture book.

It seems someone has been stealing all the veggies from the garden. Detective Rabbit wonders what kind of hungry beast would do such a thing: “A lion? An elephant? Or a giant bear!?” Squirrel, Mole, and Robin help the sleuth search for the perpetrator and happen upon a deep, dark hole in the ground. Underground, the group discovers a whole world run by bugs with their own tunnel systems, tanks, and pipes. They’ve been stealing vegetables to learn how to grow them faster. Detective Rabbit and friends ask how they can work together to help the bugs in their endeavors and come up with a mutually beneficial plan. The text is relatively small in size and overlays Karahan’s full-page color illustrations, which tell much of the story on their own. The image of the bugs’ laboratory, in particular, is filled with fun details to identify and discuss. Squirrel, Mole, Robin, and Detective Rabbit are smartly dressed (the latter wears a Sherlock Holmes–style hat and a green bowtie) and have sweet facial features. Little surprises will keep young readers’ interest, including the fact that the thieves aren’t huge beasts but tiny, curious bugs.

A consistently engaging tale with intriguing twists.