I actually read this book for the first time while completing the genre presentation with my group. I have to say, that I was really surprised. When I initially flipped through it, I saw all the colorful illustrations and the all the busy pages and was really intrigued. Finding a picture book in the mystery genre is truly difficult, and I'm really impressed with all the details throughout the book as well as the diverse backgrounds and style employed. I really liked how at the end, it turns out to be the mouse who ate the dinner (along with some friends of course). This as demonstrated by the careful placing of mice in the busy illustrations to hint the reader. Of course the "red herring" here being the size of the mouse and everyone suspecting that whoever ate the dinner must have been very big.

Overall, I am totally in love with this book. The word choice was spectacular and incredibly fun. This would be fantastic for elementary or middle school age kids. The thematic was also appropriate for this age group. I like how the clues were presented to the reader in a not so obvious way, and the plot twist at the end (once the solution is presented of course). I also found a lot of enjoyment in the illustrations as mentioned above. They are very busy in order to conceal the details to solve the mystery but were very engaging and the colors really seemed to burst off the pages. The style and text were perfectly in line. Entertainment value aside, this was a fun and interesting read.

I fondly remember the hours of fun I had figuring out the puzzles in this book with my mother when I was in 5th grade or so. Like all of Graeme Base's books, the illustrations in this story are superb. They are full of amazing details that can't all be noticed in just one read through. The story is fun, with a clever rhyme scheme. The puzzles are challenging and it will take a lot of time even for very clever children to figure them out and they may need some help from a friendly adult! I remember being very proud to have figured out the thief without ever cracking open the solution at the end. However, if you do need some help, the solution is there and even if you figure out the answer, take a peak at the solution and see what clever riddles you may have overlooked. You don't necessarily need to solve every puzzle to get the answer in the end.

Even without the clever puzzles this book would be a winner for the illustrations. The hours of fun that the puzzles provide just push it over the top. I'd recommend this for any children in the later grades of elementary school, but even younger children will still enjoy the illustrations and the story even if they may not be able to solve all the puzzles without a lot of help.

The story was not particularly interesting or satisfying, but of course the story isn't really the point of this book. The point is all the puzzles and "clues" hidden in the pictures. Unfortunately, in the effort to put "oh, so many!" things to find in the pictures, really very few (or even none) of them must be solved to figure out the mystery. And many of the hidden messages actually say "red herring" or don't say that but don't provide much helpful information anyway (Watch the clocks! once maybe but the third or fourth time I find that I'm just annoyed). I read this with my daughter and we found some of the hidden messages and we did figure out who stole the feast, though mostly through decryption rather than picture searching. Then we read the explanation which had far more words than the story itself and were like, "okay". Hence my two star rating.

This book is great for kids who are into mysteries, clues, and decoding. Even better, this is great for kids who are into awesome illustrations. Even better, even better, this poem features some pretty sweetly rhyming pages. I was shocked. I owned Animalia as a kid, but didn't realize Graeme Base could be a pretty good writer! Secret aside for parents: If your child is not a decoder, figure out the mystery ahead of time, or look it up on the Internet. Luckily, the "help" pages are now taped together in the back of the book rather than having to send a mail order off for them, but even so. Your kids interests will dwindle once there is no new artwork if they aren't into mysteries. For ages 10-14. I know this might be a hard sell because it is a picture book, but I have trouble believing younger kids could really understand the book, even if they enjoy the pictures.

One of my very favorite books as an older child - my sisters and I poured over this book for weeks.

I taught a class on Sherlock Holmes for our home school co-op and as an exercise in observation and deduction we studied this book in order for them to earn their Junior Sherlockian certificates from the Beacon Society. 24 kids in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade over 6 weeks. Amazing! They were dedicated to solving the crime without cheating and by solving the puzzles. I did give them some "data" to work with to aid them. Such as talking a bit about morse code, pig pen ciphers, hieroglyphics, and other things that I knew they would have to have some familiarity with in order to solve the puzzles. I did this prior to introducing the book so that they were aware these things existed and in order to trigger that memory when they saw something familiar in the text. I cannot praise this book highly enough. The class was a huge success and the kids (and their parents!) are eager for more Holmes. You cannot beat that!

The Eleventh Hour by Graeme Base is a wonderful mystery picture book for children. When Horace, the elephant turns eleven he plans a grand affair. Friends are invited, party games are chosen and a beautiful birthday feast is made. The day of the party arrives and all of his friends show up in their best costumes. Throughout the day, they all play the different games waiting for the eleventh hour when they can finally devour the feast. To their horror, the eleventh hour comes and the feast is gone. One of the guest is a thief! Can they figure out who did it?

As adults we think of mystery books being chapter books. There are a lot of details that go into writing these books which sometimes means a longer book. But that is not always the case. The Eleventh Hour is a picture book that younger readers can understand and enjoy. The detailed pictures tell the story very well along with the text. They are colorful, full-spread illustrations that help with solving the case presented in the story. Without these hints, the mystery would be very difficult to solve. With rhyming and music like words, the storyline keeps children’s attention. The use of animals also makes it even more fun and engaging. Kids can imagine this event actually taking place in their imagination. It’s something that they could come up with. These elements make this book very high quality.

To be considered under the mystery genre, stories must have some characteristics. The Eleventh Hour has these mystery elements. One of these is the feeling of suspense and surprise. There is definitely surprise when the characters find the feast gone. They had been waiting all day for this banquet and it all comes crashing down in a second. Then comes the suspense of who the thief is. With each new excuse from the characters, the suspense really builds. It seems that none of them did it, but that’s impossible. Another element of mystery is foreshadowing. Throughout The Eleventh Hour, there was simple foreshadowing. First with each new game. As the day continued, there was new game after new game. This makes the reader feel as if it is building up to something important because of the length of time that has gone by. The theft is also foreshadowed by how the characters are portrayed. At every game, there was someone who was called out on cheating. It was leaving doubt within the readers’ mind of the integrity of characters. This led up to the climax of the mystery. One other element that this story has is the “puzzle” element and idea gaps. After the story ends, there is still no conclusion on who stole the feast. This allows for the readers to fill in their own ideas to the story and solve the puzzle. By going back through the book, they can deduce who the real thief was.

As a children’s mystery, The Eleventh Hour is a great choice. It has many elements that make a wonderful puzzle for children to solve. With quality pictures and a quality story, this story can be classified as a high quality children’s book.

This was a gift for my then, twenty-year old daughter. She loved it. One of her favorites.

Who says all kids books have to be read to, or bought for kids? :D

Okay. I literally spent 5 hours reading this book. 5 HOURS! Okay, okay... it was probably more than 5 hours. Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that I spent FOREVER trying to figure it out and follow/decode all the clues... and I still had to use the cheat sheet in the back to figure out who the thief was.
Looking back, it seems so obvious... sigh.
Graeme Base, you are freakin' amazing.

In their dotage the Offspring will still be talking about their crazy mom having a signed first of this that she would read to them, but wouldn't let them touch until they washed their hands.

This book kept me fascinated for hours upon hours when I was little. Every time I read it I discovered something new on every page. Love it.

A mystery to solve and puzzle on every page. Base’s illustrations are decadent.

I was excited to revisit this book again. When I first when through it in the 90s I know I lost a whole night’s sleep pouring over all the codes. In hindsight, the puzzles are a lot and pretty intense for many younger readers. I know my own children got a lot of use out this book, but mainly for its large size. They used it as a base for their endless artistic projects. My current copy has a much smaller trim and I’m not convinced it didn’t cut out some of the clues. Or perhaps, they were shrunk down to the point where my much too old eyes could latch on.

52 Book Club 25 PB: 48)  Related to the word “puzzle”