Farm Crimes! The MOO-sterious Disappearance of Cow

by Sandra Dumais

Overview

Detective Billiam Van Hoof is back for another misadventure, now in paperback

It’s a beautiful fall day at the farm when the animals realize someone is missing … again! Cow is nowhere to be found, and her calves can’t say where she is, so Hen, Sheep, Raccoon, and Pig call in Inspector Billiam Van Hoof, the world’s best (and only) goat detective.

The farm animals are certain Cow has been kidnapped, and clues lead them to some conspiratorial conclusions. Could a crop circle mean she was abducted by aliens? Did the farmer put her in a trailer to be sold, or worse—turned into a hamburger? But when Cow returns, they realize a celebration is in order (and that the answer was right in front of them all along).

A silly and engaging second instalment in the Farm Crimes series, each page is full of delightful details, visual gags, and fun characters. Returning and new readers alike will find lots to love in this latest mystery.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781771476942
Publisher:	OWLKIDS BOOKS
Publication date:	08/13/2024
Series:	Farm Crimes , #2
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	0.25(w) x 8.75(h) x 0.00(d)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

SANDRA DUMAIS writes and illustrates comic books, picture books and stories for kids and other silly people. Her books have even received a few different honors and nominations, most recently Le Prix des Libraires in Québec. She lives in Montreal, Quebec with her husband, their two children, and a polkadot rescue dog named India.

Editorial Reviews

"A winning combination of great graphic art and a funny mystery."

Youth Services Book Review

"Dumais’ quirky combination of illustrations and dialogue keeps this junior graphic novel entertaining throughout ... A hilarious and off-kilter adventure that is as likely to keep its adult readers as entertained as its child ones."

Canadian Review of Materials

"Visual gags, including recurring updates to Van Hoof’s notebook, ensure there is never a dull moment. Large panels and a cast of clearly identifiable animals make this an easy recommendation for young readers."

From the Publisher

2021-08-31
Inspector Billiam Van Hoof may deserve to be an honorary Muppet.

Muppets are always getting hilariously confused—like Traveling Matt, who explored the human world and decided that yellow cabs were fierce creatures who’d learned to sit when they heard “Taxi!” The goat detective at the center of this Québecois graphic novel follows in the same tradition. When a cow disappears from the farm, he decides she’s been kidnapped by aliens. He has evidence. She was wearing a shiny silver dress that resembled a space suit, and the spiral patterns that suddenly appeared on the lawn might have been crop circles. There are competing theories. Pig, for example, thinks the tractor might have broken down and started spinning in circles. But Pig can’t claim to be the “world’s #1 goat detective.” Van Hoof’s ads also say that he’s the “Winner of Best Disguise, goat category, Grade 8 Costume party.” The most literal-minded readers may wonder if he was a goat disguised as a goat. But that actually fits into the book’s goofy, absurdist sense of humor. It includes a raccoon with a mask tied around his face. None of it makes much sense, and, of course, the youngest cows know the solution before the adults. But the loopiness is appealing, and the minimalist, wavery ink drawings are delightfully simple.

Talking animals! Costumes! Mysterious symbols! This book has everything except logic. (And who needs that?) (Graphic mystery. 5-10)

Kirkus Reviews