Fun All Year (Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends Series) Book

Bertie the Badger's Grandpa is a retired conjurer living in a retirement home for magicians and the like. One day Bertie comes to visit and see the magic show only to find that the residents have had their magic things stolen. Bertie's on the case, and goes to speak to each of them. Who stole the special magic props?

I'm a huge fan of Graeme Base and this is another delightful read. There are clues on every page amidst the gorgeous illustrations, a code to be cracked and the hidden props to find. Not only are the illustrations wonderful but Base's rhyming story is a delight. A sample:

The first stop was the Bear of Wrath (his real name was Vlad).
Apprenticed to a carpenter when he was just a lad,
His special trick was sawing whole babushka dolls in two
And magically repairing them without the aid of glue.

There's also a moral, a subtle one, of belonging and inclusion and crossing class lines, and of using your imagination and improvising rather than getting hung-up on things. A very sweet book with a fun puzzle embedded in it.