Who Stole Grandma's Million-Dollar Pumpkin Pie? (Chickadee Court Mysteries)
Grade 3–6—Alex Parakeet and Yasmeen Popp, both 11, are back in another holiday mystery. This time, they become entangled in a case involving a valuable family recipe with a secret ingredient. Alex and his dad are hosting a birthday party for Mrs. Parakeet. Special guest Zooey Bonjour is attending the event along with relatives and neighbors. She is a TV star with her own cooking show on which Alex's dad will be appearing to demonstrate his famous "million dollar" pumpkin pie and reveal the secret ingredient. When Alex's cat causes a huge commotion by falling into a large pot of spaghetti sauce, the recipe disappears. Readers are led through many red herrings as the two friends are determined to find it. When the kids identify the culprit, they also discover that the Parakeet family, which has been struggling financially since Mr. Parakeet's Internet company folded, has been swindled. Engaging text with a lot of humor, especially from the cat, keeps the story moving quickly. Readers follow Alex and Yasmeen from recycling bins to a hotel suite to a tailgate party to solve the mystery. Children who like fast-paced whodunits with a touch of humor will enjoy the story.—Nancy Baumann, Indian Paintbrush Elementary, Laramie, WYCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.