The Case of the Golden Bone [Detective Sweet Pea]
by Sara Varon; illus. by the author
Primary, Intermediate    First Second    208 pp.
5/24    9781250236371    $22.99
Paper ed.  9781250348401    $14.99
e-book ed.  9781250384638    $9.99

When Parkville’s prized Golden Chew Bone goes missing, the town’s quirky enclave of animal residents is sent into a tailspin. Sweet Pea, a blue-gray dog with a strong sense of smell, reluctantly accepts the case; after all, “without the Golden Chew Bone, there will be cavities!” More artist, herbalist, and local historian than detective, Sweet Pea enlists several friends to scour the town for clues and culprits. A side story regarding the past triumphs and tribulations of Sweet Pea’s great-aunt (depicted in old-timey sepia) provides inspiration for tackling the present-day mystery. Suspicious behaviors, mild grudges, and biases (e.g., diurnal versus nocturnal animals) all serve as effective red herrings, leading to a satisfyingly zany conclusion. The chunky ink lines, vibrant colors, helpful emanata (motion lines, arrows, teardrops, sound effects, etc.), and organic dialogue of Varon’s signature cartooning all contribute to a pleasurable, seamless reading experience. The mostly three-tiered, horizontal-panel layouts result in a swiftly paced story; while periodic single- and double-page splashes are chock-full of detail, regularly punctuating key dramatic moments. A clever, fourth wall–breaking coda features a cartoon Varon introducing readers to the real-life pets that inspired the story’s characters (photographs included). The final pages of the book present Sweet Pea with several new mysteries to solve, to which the newly crowned detective of Parkville responds with an enthusiastic, “Let’s go!”

From the July/August 2024 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.