Sam Sunday and the Mystery at the Ocean Beach Hotel

The name is Sunday. Sam Sunday. And as the world's greatest detective, Sam will soon get to the bottom of the fishy goings-on at the Ocean Beach Hotel, even if it means working on his birthday. After rounding up a crew of burglary suspects in the hotel parlor, Sam the master sleuth discovers that he has been duped. It seems his familiar-looking suspects are really his friends in disguise--a ruse staged for Sam's birthday surprise. In a style that mimics the deadpan, staccato speech of classic screen detectives, Supraner splices together gag after gag to hilarious effect ("" `My name is Betsy Babble,' Betsy babbled""). Hillenbrand (Traveling to Tondo), an illustrator with an almost chameleon-like arsenal of styles, invents a dapperly dressed animal cast and plunks them into a natty country-house setting. His pencil and oil works are spiked with bright colors, adding even more verve to this funny and suspenseful tale. Ages 3-8. (Sept.)