Butler (What a Truly Cool World!, 1999, etc.) presents an African-American family with a problem: suddenly, young Pat’s frog has gone missing, as has Mom’s pen and Dad’s hat. Distinct, brightly colored figures point and gesture broadly in the pictures; the very brief text, running no more than two lines per page, is perfect for newly fledged readers; and the simple mystery is simply solved, by following Rip, the dog, out to a newly dug hole in the yard. The household possessions are reclaimed, but lest he feel left out, Rip gets a big bone to bury as a consolation prize. A short but complete tale for budding mystery fans. Cepeda’s afterword indicates that he likes to have his characters look like people he knows, but in this case, all family members have exactly the same faces and expressions and no one seems to have any bottom teeth. Functional. (Easy reader. 5-7)

K-Gr 1-In the first book, Dad has lost his hat, Mom has lost a pin, and Pat has lost a toy frog. They look all through the house, but cannot find the missing things anywhere. When the family dog starts digging in the yard, they discover his "secret spot" and all of their possessions. Cepeda's bright, chunky illustrations portray an African-American family's amusement and surprise when they solve the mystery. In Lost!, a red ant feels water on his head and climbs up a tall pole (a straw), only to discover that he is in a sink filled with dishes. From there, he crawls around a house until, at last, he makes his way home to his friends. The computer-generated art is brightly colored and somewhat reminiscent of the animation in the movie Antz. The short, simple sentences and large-type texts are suitable for beginning readers, though both of these stories are slight and predictable and the artwork lacks the visual clues that new readers need.-Joyce Rice, Limestone Creek Elementary School, Jupiter, FL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

When Pat, Mom, and Dad can't find some of their possessions, they notice that their dog, Rip, is behaving suspiciously. They follow him to his backyard hole and discover their missing belongings. The story is slight, but the illustrations, which use bold hues and feature an African-American family, are attractive. From HORN BOOK Spring 2001, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.