Detective Beans and the Case of the Missing Hat

April 16, 2024
From the creator of the beloved ExtraOrdinary Comics, Detective Beans and the Case of the Missing Hat is the debut graphic novel from Aotearoa New Zealand comic artist Li Chen. For Cat Town’s renowned Detective Beans, a new day brings a new case. Today, he must find his most important missing hat. After all, no detective is complete without his hat—it’s unprofessional. As Beans begins his quest, he investigates the neighbourhood, following clues to crack the case before dinner. With help from his friend Biscuits, and after a quick ice-cream break, Beans nears solving the case, only to stumble upon a larger conspiracy involving his missing hat. This book offers more than just a whimsical tale of a detective on a mission, and while the narrative revolves around the classic premise of a detective solving a mystery, Chen skilfully infuses the story with playful nods to detective genre conventions and tropes. Through Beans’ escapades and encounters with an array of characters, Chen not only entertains but subtly deconstructs and reimagines traditional elements of detective fiction, turning a serious genre into a comedic and endearing adventure. This refreshing take adds depth to the storyline, making it an engaging read for children aged 7+ and adults alike. For fans of the adventure in the Cat Kid Comic Club series by Dav Pilkey and the crime solving in the InvestiGators series by John Patrick Green.

August 15, 2024
This cat is on the case! Trench coat-clad Beans--called Jellybean by his affectionate mother--is a majorly cute tabby who takes his job seriously. As he tells Mom, he's "a hard-boiled detective cleaning up this city one case at a time." He abandons his current investigation (identifying the sender of his many "mysterious yet heartwarming," affirming sticky notes) when his fedora, an essential professional accessory, vanishes. Beans questions Bird, who found the hat--and traded it away to a pair of kittens for a new TV. Next, Beans heads to Pigeon Park, where the kittens tell him they gave the hat to a magician. And so it goes, as Beans visits a magic show, a community garden, an ice cream shop, a jazz club ("The Black Cat," of course), an antiques store, a restaurant, and more. Beans briefly regains--and then loses--the hat, and a chase ensues as the tale reaches an ever-more-exciting crescendo before coming to a thrilling conclusion. Snazzy, appealing artwork, with firm lines, stylish focus, and an atmosphere reminiscent of hardboiled, 1930s detective tales, enhances this absurdly funny and clever graphic novel, which features vivid characters, snappy dialogue, and nonstop action. Catnip to feline lovers and mystery fans alike.(Graphic fiction. 8-10)

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Starred review from October 15, 2024
Grades 2-5 *Starred Review* When his detective's hat goes missing, Beans becomes a cat on the case, asking questions, following clues, and not stopping until he finds the culprit--or until he has to be home for dinner, whichever comes first. The hat, having been blown out of Beans' window during the night, is found by a neighboring bird who gives it to a pair of kids, who gives it to a magician, and on and on, until Beans finally tracks it down, only to have the wind blow it away again. Will Beans ever get his hat back? Will Beans make it home before his mother begins to worry? Will there be pizza for dinner? All these questions are answered in this hardboiled-detective spoof full of sight gags and witty banter. From Beans' trench coat to his meeting with his trusty sidekick at the (ice cream) bar and asking the bartender to make it a double (scoop), everything a fan of detective fiction could want can be found in this book, albeit made kid-appropriate. Readers not familiar with all the genre's tropes will find a lot to love here, too: much of the humor is universal and genuinely funny, especially the jokes told through the art. Marketed to young middle-grade readers, Detective Beans also might delight older readers and fans of mysteries, all of whom will be on the lookout for Beans' next case.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.