Review – Ducktective Quack and the Cake Crime Wave

Today we came home to some very exciting book post and T was immediately drawn to one book which ended up being our bedtime story for tonight – Ducktective Quack and the Cake Crime Wave by Claire Freedman and Mike Byrne!

We join Ducktective Quack as she puzzles over a crime wave involving the town’s favourite food – cake! She’s soon enlisted Constable Crackling (I found this name far too funny when I saw that he was a pig!) and the pair are off to investigate the disappearance of some chocolate cake from Cream Puffs Cake Shop! There are suspects aplenty and Ducktective Quack soon has herself a long list to work through!

Mr Gummy, the crocodile dentist, has a cast iron alibi and a cake aversion. Fred Bear and the Cat Twins also have fairly solid excuses and, when the thief strikes again, it looks as though this case could be too tough to crack! But then a trail of clues and a dropping penny put Quack back on track just in time to save the day! Grab yourself a copy of this awesome crime caper and find out who was scoffing all of the town’s cakes!

There is much to admire about this book! The story is pacey, with an engaging lead character and a well put together rhyme that drives the crime chase forward and makes this a pleasure to read aloud! Mike Byrne’s illustrations are as awesome as always, the animal characters expressive, individual and packed with personality! What we both enjoyed most here though, even above all of that, was the interactive element. There are detective notes paper-clipped to each page which address the reader and encourage them to try and put the clues together to solve the crime! This really got T talking and trying to think ahead and work out who might be guilty! Lots of fun!

An awesome book to share and explore with children 4 and up. They will enjoy the awesome characters, rhymes story and opportunity to get involved with helping Ducktective Quack! T really enjoyed this and told me, “that was brilliant and I think it’s naughty to steal yummy cakes.” We had a go at a solo read but, hilariously, T became very distracted by a detail he noticed in the illustrations…

You should rush out and buy a copy of this awesome mystery PB! You can get a copy here…