The Eleventh Hour: A CuriousMystery by Graeme Base (1988) showcases his engaging artwork and gifted intellect. Oh, how I love the complex illustrations!
Horace the elephant plans a party to celebrate his eleventh birthday. Horace cooks up a feast and his guests arrive in costume. “The Pig came as an Admiral, The Zebra as a Punk. The Rhino was an Astronaut, his spacesuit made of junk.” Yes, not only is this a mystery, but it’s a mystery in rhyme! The guests play party games. There’s a sack race on the lawn, musical chairs, poker, pool, and tennis to name a few. When it’s time to eat, the guests discover the food has been eaten. “They stood in disbelief. For all the food had disappeared. Aghast, they cried: ‘A Thief!’”
Horace saves the day by making sandwiches. He kept the birthday cake in the kitchen, so it was not eaten. “And so, they picnicked on the lawn until the evening fell, and everyone left satisfied - the day had finished well. But in the end, although the thief was someone they all knew, They never found out who it was that stole the feast - can you?” A "Notes for Detectives" page urges readers to discover who stole the feast and how it was done. The final pages explain everything.
I was disappointed to see the book copyrighted by Double Day because this ingenious tale belongs to the author.
