ANNIE’S ADVENTURES

Resourceful octuplets set out to discover the mystery of their missing parents. The offspring of a model father and a scientist/inventor mother, their unorthodox household includes a talking refrigerator. Guided by notes from an unknown source, each girl must unlock her secret power in order to receive a clue in solving their parents’ disappearance. The presence of a villainous neighbor and the need to maintain the ruse that their parents are still around keep the girls too busy to be scared. This opener establishes a simple template for the series: The adventures unfold month by month from January to August, each volume focusing on an individual sibling’s quest—in this case, Annie’s discovery that she’s a financial whiz. Narrated in the first-person plural by one—or more?—of the sisters, the arch tone owes much to Snicket and the like. Weber’s lively black-and-white sketches highlight the humorous and fantastical elements of the story. Baratz-Logsted’s tales of thrills, suspense and hijinks should satisfy adventure-seeking young readers. Book two, Durinda’s Dangers (ISBN: 978-0-547-13347-8; paper 978-0-547-05339-4), publishes simultaneously. (Fantasy. 6-10)