The Mystery of King Karfu

Cushman (Aunt Eater Loves a Mystery) once again opens his casebook and leads readers through a mysterious adventure in this perky picture book. The wombat Seymour Sleuth sets sail for Egypt to help recover the Stone Chicken of King Karfu, which was recently stolen from Seymour's pig friend, Professor Slagbottom. In between snacks, Seymour manages to piece together an intriguing set of clues that narrow down the suspects and eventually point to the thief. But the case is far from over. Going beyond the call of detective duty, Seymour assists as Professor Slagbottom locates the Lost Treasure of King Karfu and both are rewarded with a most unusual treat. Cushman's tightly crafted whodunit brims with suspense, secret codes and plenty of puzzling fun. The pages resemble those of a loose leaf notebook and are scattered with hand-lettered text as well as clue-yielding ""snapshots"" and snippets of tickets, receipts and other important hints. Kids will have a field day cracking the Stone Chicken code and pondering the clever illustrations. Ages 4-8. (Oct.)