Enigma: A Magical Mystery [Hardcover]

Graeme Base (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

Bestseller Graeme Base harks back to his classic New York Times bestselling solve-the-mystery story The Eleventh Hour in an all-new book that will “puzzle” and entice young readers.

 

Enter a magical world in this warm, funny, and enduring story about the special relationship between a grandson and his grandpa—and their love for magic.

 

Bertie Badger loves to visit the Retirement Home for Elderly Magicians and watch his grandpa perform magic tricks. But one day all the magicians’ props go missing, so Bertie sets off to investigate. Can he solve the mystery in time to save the show? This clever book will engage readers as they are challenged to solve the mystery along with Bertie, discovering where the missing props have gone by using a decoder included with the book that reveals the mystery.

 

Graeme Base, creator of Animalia and many bestselling and beloved books for children, conjures up an inventive, irresistible tale.

 

F&P level: S

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3–6—Someone has stolen the props belonging to the residents of a retirement home for magicians, and Bertie Badger, the grandson of one of the illusionists, vows to find them. As he meets the performers, they each tell him a little about their specialty and what's missing. "My top hat, cape, and wand have gone, but there is worse to tell:/My precious magic bunny rabbit's disappeared as well!" Bertie discovers the thief, but it is left to readers to find the lost items hidden in the illustrations. Base's visual mystery books have delighted children for years, but this one has the added feature of a moving panel in the back cover that reveals a secret code. Children must turn dials to proper settings before it can be moved. The clues for setting them appear in the illustrations but are not at all obvious. With a little persistence, however, the target audience should be able to solve the puzzle. After readers crack the code, they can search for the missing items hidden in the art and decipher other messages found in the end matter. The book is not as philosophical as Base's Uno's Garden (2006) or as entertaining as Jungle Drums (2004, both Abrams), but it has the same style of colorful and detailed illustrations. For readers who don't want to decipher the codes, the story and pictures are satisfying enough to stand alone.—Donna Cardon, Provo City Library, UT
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From Booklist

Base, the creator of The Water Hole (2001) and Uno’s Garden (2006), applies his hallmark lush artistry to this puzzle/picture book. Rhyming quatrains follow young Bertie Badger as he searches for his grandfather’s missing magical props. Each two-page spread opens up to Bertie in a different room featuring a different performer: Vlad, the Bear of Wrath; Miss Poodle, the Mademoiselle of Mime; Hin Min Floo, Lord Pandamonium. All, it turns out, are missing their favorite magical artifacts. Eventually, the rabbit Enigma fesses up, claiming he was tired of being the one pulled out of the hat and wanted to perform his own tricks. The challenge to uncover the whereabouts of the objects hidden throughout in the art, as well as a call to figure out each character’s country of origin, all but guarantee multiple readings. A fold-out decoder in the back of the book helps decipher the clues, which some children, as well as the adults they ask, will need help with. Young magicians and puzzle-lovers alike will be thoroughly engaged. Grades 2-4. --Ian Chipman

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers; First Edition edition (September 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081097245X
• ISBN-13: 978-0810972452
• Product Dimensions: 12.5 x 9.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #323,089 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Graeme Base is one of the world's leading creators of picture books. His alphabet book, Animalia, received international acclaim when it was first published in 1986 and has sold more than two million copies. Graeme lives in Melbourne, Australia.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Fabulous New Edition of Fun!, October 20, 2008

By 

S. Rosenquist (MD, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Enigma: A Magical Mystery (Hardcover)

To date, Animalia, The Eleventh Hour, and The Waterhole are my favorite of Graeme Base's offerings. Animalia and The Waterhole are read frequently in our home to teach ABCs and 1-10 counting as well as observation skills, and also for some good old fashioned fun reading aloud with fun and different voices!!

My spouse and I enjoy reading The Eleventh Hour because of all the mysteries to solve - the hidden images, the hidden puzzles, and the clues interspersed between text and illustration.

I was excited to see the newest offering, Enigma. I immediately signed up to pre-order. I am grateful that I did! This book is wonderful! The rhyme is similar to the text in Base's other books - occasionally forced, but still fun to read! Perhaps it's because of all the time I've spent pouring over the Eleventh Hour, but many of the hidden clues were easy to find and decipher in this book.

Our elementary-school-aged children find the mystery in this book to be perfect! One is even trying to break the cipher without resorting to opening the key in the back of the book.

The story is engaging and entertaining. Young Bertie Badger goes from room-to-room in the Entertainers' retirement home to solve the mystery of the missing props. Each page, each entertainer, represtents a different country. Like Animalia, like The Waterhole, like so many of Base's other books, the details of the backdrops add significantly to the richness and the texture of the tale he weaves.

If you're looking for Base's best mystery book - buy the Eleventh Hour. If you're looking for a fun mystery with a cipher-code to break, great for an elementary reader, buy this book! It has become a treasured addition to my Graeme Base collection.

Animalia (Picture Puffins)
The Water Hole
Eleventh Hour

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS!!!, December 22, 2008

By 

Shawna Doyal "Mirandasmommy" (Missouri) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Enigma: A Magical Mystery (Hardcover)

I LOVE Graeme Base and if you are not familiar with him or his books, you should be. His books and art work is phenominal. This is my daughters favorite book by Base followed by Animalia. She likes to find the hidden pictures on each page. This book has a code you have to unlock at the end of the book and it is so much fun. My daughter is 5 and she has me read it to her at least 3 times a day. This is a wonderful book and I swear it will be a good investment to any book lover.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a Blast!, January 30, 2009

By 

S. Whittaker (Anchorage, AK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Enigma: A Magical Mystery (Hardcover)

Graeme Base is easily my favorite children's book author/illustrator, and 'Enigma' provided my daughter's 3/4th grade combo class one of the most delightful hours of the entire school year! I purchased 3 copies of the book so all the kids could be close enough to see the beautifully detailed illustrations, made 25 copies of the coded message and the key, then went in and read the book to the class one morning. Afterwards, the class broke up into groups of 4 and began deciphering the coded messages, passing the 3 books among the groups to find the hidden objects where the decoded messages said they would be. It was a race to the finish, and I easily had as much fun as the kids did! Graeme you're an absolute treasure! After you fall in love with 'Enigma', make sure you also grab 'The Discovery of Dragons' and, best of all, 'The Worst Band in the Universe'. (I've been known to read that one even without kids around!)