Book Review: Enigma: A Magical Mystery, by Graeme Base

Young Bertie Badger's Grandpa was a conjurer of note,

With magic spells and magic wand and magic hat and coat.

A Master of Illusion, an Ambassador of Fate,

The famous, one and only, world-renowned Gadzooks the Great.

Summary:

Bertie Badger has great fun visiting his grandpa at the Retirement Home for Elderly Magicians, and watching him do his magic tricks. But one day, Grandpa greets him at the door with terrible news: someone has stolen his special magical props. In fact, the thief has stolen everyone's magical props. And worse still, Grandpa's beloved magic bunny rabbit is missing, too. Bertie is determined to get to the bottom of things. Will he find all the missing props? And who is behind this disappearing act?

For Teachers and Librarians:

Little guys love magic, and Enigma: A Magical Mystery will be great fun for them. Older kids thrill in trying to solve mysteries, and Enigma is full of clues, hints, mystery, and code. As is usual in a Graeme Base book, have your students look closely at the colorful and detailed pictures for the hidden clues and interesting goings-on shoehorned into each and every page. 

This is a great book to use with a mystery unit: have kids identify the components of a mystery story; let them keep detective booklets to keep track of all the possible clues they find within, both in text and pictures; have them create a list of questions to ask the theft victims, then let them play parts and act out their questioning; create a class chart to keep track of the clues they find on their own, discussing how they think the clues will or won't help solve the mystery; have them come up with possible solutions to the mystery and back up their positions. Use the letter at the end of the book to crack the code and discover the hiding places of each item.

You can use this book to fit curriculum in a variety of ways: reading genre (mystery), analytical thinking, math (code), deductive reasoning (figuring out the clues), poetry (the story is in verse), rhyming pairs and phonics, art appreciation (color schemes used in each scene, pictures hidden in the illustrations), components of magic shows (the various methods of magic performers employ)...and so much more.

But most of all, use this book to let your kids have fun with a story, and enjoy reading or having it read to them.

For Parents, Grandparents and Caregivers:

Enigma: A Magical Mystery is the perfect book to get you and your kiddos involved in a sweet story, and have fun activities to do, as well. The story portrays a great example of how a kid can be helpful, shows a positive family relationship, provides a priceless opportunity for you and the kids to bend heads over the book and eagerly search for hidden pictures and clues, and will get you working together to break a code and solve a mystery. With beautiful illustrations, a fun story told in rhyme, and an opportunity for family togetherness, what's not to like?

For the Kids:

Do you love finding clues and solving mysteries? Do you think it's fun to find hidden pictures and solve codes? Do you think magic is totally cool? If so, then Enigma: A Magical Mystery is the book for you! Bertie Badger's grandpa is a retired magician, but he still does shows for Bertie. One day, Grandpa's magical props go missing - and so does his magical bunny rabbit. Will Bertie be able to find them? Can he figure out who took everything? You will find clues in the pictures, and can help find the missing props by solving a secret code. The author and illustrator, Graeme Base, has even hidden little pictures within each big picture for you to have fun searching and finding! What are you waiting for? Go find this book!

Wrapping Up:

Enigma: A Magical Mystery is a warm and fuzzy story packed with magic, mystery, hidden pictures, and a secret code. It's a book sure to be a favorite with the kids, and a great addition to anyone's Graeme Base book collection.

Note: To find out more about author and illustrator Graeme base, click here: Author Spotlight: Graeme Base

To read my review of another Graeme Base title, click here: Book Review: The Eleventh Hour: A Curious Mystery

Title: Enigma: A Magical Mystery

Author and Illustrator: Graeme Base

Pages: 48

Reading Level: Ages 4-8

Publisher and Date: Abrams Books for Young Readers, September 1, 2008

Edition: 1st

Language: English

Published In: United States

Price: $19.95

ISBN-10: 081097245X

ISBN-13: 978-0810972452

Book Review: The Eleventh Hour: A Curious Mystery, by Graeme Base

 
A book is read, a story ends, a telling tale is told. 
But who can say what mysteries a single page mayhold?

A maze of hidden codes and clues, a clock at every turn,

And only time will tell what other secrets you may learn...

Summary:
The Eleventh Hour: A Curious Mystery is an irresistible invitation to try your hand at solving a most fantastic conundrum. Horace the Elephant is turning eleven, and has invited 11 friends to celebrate with a grand costume gala filled with 11 games and tons of fun. Everything is set to begin at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. But, when the friends all gather at the appointed hour for the feast after a day full of fun and frolicking, a curious mystery is revealed, and the culprit remains afoot. Can you figure out who?

Overview:

This oversized, beautifully illustrated picture book is written entirely in verse. It is 32 glossy, high-color, insanely detailed pages jam-packed with clues, codes, cyphers, and hidden objects to be taken in through picture and poetry and ingenuity. But be careful! The author has thrown in a fair helping of red herrings to keep things interesting.

Whether you're an expert mystery solver, or a novice starting out, take heart! Graeme Base has purposely designed the book so that everyone - tall to small, right-brained to left-brained, detail person to big picture thinker, and everything in between - can find a way to solve this riddle. The journey to find the culprit is the real fun here, as the reader searches for clues amongst the chaos. Even so, if the things just aren't adding up, and you're at your wit's end, and you just gotta know whodunnit, a built-in safety net is included so you won't be left hanging.

For Teachers and Librarians:

Where to begin? This book has so many possibilities for use in the classroom or library. The mystery unit is most obvious, but you could also launch into a lesson on Roman Centurions or the Fall of Rome; discuss what a "red herring" is, as well as the origin of the term; use it as a springboard for teaching your charges to look for clues both in pictures and text; culminate your unit on nutrition with a grand feast of your own. There are references to math, history, games, literature, crime solving... truly endless possibilities. Try it out - how many ways can you find to use this book in your classroom?

For Parents, Grandparents and Caregivers: 

You will love this book! Your kids will love this book! Pull it out on a rainy day, a sunny day, a there's-nothing-to-do-today day, really any day, and you are guaranteed to begin a journey that you may find it hard to tear yourself away from. The pictures alone are a veritable feast for the eyes, and you and your child could spend hours just searching for all the hidden and not-so-hidden gems the author has packed into each illustration. Even without the pictures, the story is enchanting and fun. Work together to find those clues, but don't be surprised if you find yourself searching for this book to do some solo sleuthing when the kiddos aren't around...

For the Kids:

Do you love searching for clues? Do you think it's fun to solve mysteries, look at really cool pictures to find all the hidden ones mixed in, read a really awesome story full of fun and parties and costumes and talking pigs? Would you think it's funny to see lions, giraffes, tigers, mice, pigs, cats, zebras, elephants, swans and crocodiles all charging along trying to win a potato sack race? Then The Eleventh Hour is the book for you. The story is great, and the author has written it so everyone from kids to adults can solve the mystery. Just in case, there's a section included to help - but try not to peek unless you really, really just have to! Trying to find the answer on your own is so much fun!

For Everyone Else:

Mystery lovers, puzzle fans, clue solvers, cypher fans, and all those who enjoy a rollicking story full of twists and turns will simply not be able to put this book down. You could spend literally hours scouring these pages for clue after clue, solving puzzles and brain-busters, getting side-tracked by several red herrings, guessing and second-guessing to try to get to the bottom of this mystery. The real clincher? This can be as easy or as hard as you care to make it, be you a kid, a kid-at-heart, or somewhere in between, or even well beyond. Take a crack at this romp of a mystery. You won't be disappointed.

Wrapping Up:

The Eleventh Hour: A Curious Mystery is a book that appeals to all ages and all kinds of people on all kinds of levels. Grab a pencil and some paper, grab the book, find some clues, solve some riddles, and have a great time.

Title: The Eleventh Hour: A Curious Mystery

Author and Illustrator: Graeme Base

Pages: 32

Reading Level: Ages 9-12

Publisher and Date: Harry N. Abrams, September 1, 1989

Edition: 1st

Language: English

Published In: United States

Price: $18.95

ISBN-10: 0810908514

ISBN-13: 978-0810908512

Author Spotlight: Graeme Base

Graeme Base is an illustrator, author and musician, who knew even at the tender age of twelve that he wanted to be an artist. Born in England on April 6, 1958, Mr. Base moved with his family to Australia in 1966. He lives there, still, with his wife, Robyn, and their three children.

He grew up in Melbourne, and studied graphic design at Swinburne Institute of Technology for three years. From there, he went into advertising, but found it unfulfilling. During this time, he also did freelance work for book publishers on projects such as book covers. After two years, Mr. Base struck out on his own to do freelancing full time, showing his portfolio to various publishers. This ultimately led to the many children's books he has written, beloved by people of all ages, tall to small.

Though his books are viewed as children's books, he never intended to write for children. He has said that he writes and draws first for his own creative needs, then makes it fit the project at hand. He uses a variety of mediums to create his illustrations: airbrush, gouache, watercolors, transparent inks, watercolor pencils, lead pencils - in short, whatever will produce the effect he wants to achieve.

Graeme Base's first book, My Grandma Lives in Gooligulch, was published in 1983. It is written in verse, and has six illustrations. 

It was not until his second book, Animalia, was published (1986), that he received international acclaim. Animalia is an alliterative alphabet book whose illustrations set it apart from all the others through their incredible depth, with 1500 images hidden and embedded in each one. This second book took three years to complete, and has sold over 2 million copies worldwide. 

The Eleventh Hour, published in 1989, is perhaps equally as well known. It is a mystery in pictures. The author wrote and illustrated it with the intent that it can be enjoyed and solved by all ages, through many means. This book took two years to complete, and Mr. Base shares that he had the title idea first, and wrote the rest of the book to match that title.

Building on the phenomenal success of these early books, Graeme Base has written and illustrated many more books, each with the beautiful, intricate illustrations and creative verse his fans have come to love. 

Sources:

Graeme Base Teacher Resource File* Link no longer works as of April 2013

BBC Graeme Base Biography

An Interview With Graeme Base* Link no longer works as of April 2013

Graeme Base Biography

New link added April 2013:
Graeme Base: Author Program In-Depth Interview (TeachingBooks.net)

(The above link was not used during the writing of the original post. I just found it, and am adding it here since two of the four links I originally used are no longer working. I hope this new link provides some further information you may find useful.)