<3 this book! Straight out of my childhood and I figured out the mystery! It only took me 16 years. . .

I LOVE THIS BOOK. I did a program based in it for tweens last year and it was amazing (albeit sparsely attended, but it's a tween program so any attendance is great!). Any time any person expresses any interest in puzzles (coworkers, kids, parents, strangers) I leap up and offer them this book. I love introducing kids to anagrams and pigpen ciphers, because I distinctly remember my elementary school library helping me as I pored over this book as a weird 5th grader. I had so much fun!

This is a good mystery story for older young kids. My niece and I read it together, and we enjoyed the story. I pre-read the book before I read it with her, and I admit, I had to "cheat" and look at the key in the back of the book to discover the answer to the mystery. I don't think that the clues presented themselves very readily, and that's a good thing in a mystery. If this were an adult mystery, I'd think it was great! In a *children's* mystery story, however, maybe a few *slightly* more obvious clues would have been good--I'm not saying the challenge should have been removed, but an easier bone every now and then would have been welcome. In short, my niece enjoyed the book, but I know she would not have found any of the clues on her own. Beautiful illustrations (of course), and as another reviewer mentioned, the rhyming text was outstandingly well done! The illustrations and well-crafted text raises this from a three star to a four star for me.

This is just a beautiful, clever book. The puzzle within the book would make a great GT project.

The Eleventh Hour is an absolutely delightful children’s book that combines a whimsical mystery with stunning illustrations. When Horace the elephant turns eleven, he throws a grand costume party, inviting all of his exotic friends to join the celebration. The party is filled with games, music, and fun, but something goes terribly wrong—someone has eaten the birthday feast! The rhyming text sets the stage, but it’s the lavish, detailed illustrations that truly bring this story to life.

What sets The Eleventh Hour apart is the incredible artwork. The illustrations are some of the most detailed and intricate I’ve ever seen in a children’s book. Every page is packed with so much to look at—hundreds of tiny details and hidden clues that keep you coming back for more. It’s the kind of book where you can spend hours just exploring the pictures, each time noticing something new. In addition to the vibrant illustrations, the mystery itself is fun and engaging. As the reader, you are invited to search for clues and piece together the puzzle, making it an interactive and exciting experience.

I can’t believe I’ve never heard of Base before now—this book has truly opened my eyes to their incredible talent. If you enjoy mysteries and love illustrations that reward careful observation, The Eleventh Hour is a must-read. It’s a perfect blend of fun, challenge, and visual delight that will captivate both children and adults alike.

My mom bought this book for my sisters and I after the illustrations caught her eye in a local bookstore. She brought it home, and we had a lot of fun reading it together, pouring over the beautiful illustrations, and trying to decipher the mystery.

When Horace the elephant turns 11 he throws himself an elaborate birthday party, and invites all of his other animal friends to join in the fun. There are games, costumes, and of course an elaborate feast that Horace himself had prepared. Unfortunately, as the 11th hour draws near, the guests are disappointed to learn that the feast has already been eaten. Through a series of clues, the reader is left to discover who stole the feast.

Author/illustrator Graeme Base pulls out all the stops in this book, which is full of mysterious clues, scrambled sentences, riddles, and hidden characters cleverly placed in the beautiful art. Hands-down one of my all-time favorite books for kids.

If the world were keeping track it would know that my wife has probably set some kind of record for reading to our children. But, alas, the world doesn't keep track of and remunerate such behavior.

Rarely do I get a turn to read to the kids but whenever I do get a turn I often choose this book. The kids are captivated by the amazing artwork while I am more impressed with the sophisticated rhyming. Call me simple, but I love good rhyming. Here is an example from my favorite page:

The Zebra said, 'It wasn't I!
By All my Stripes, I'd rather die!'
The Tiger said, 'It wasn't me!
I've far too much integrity.'
Then Cora cried, 'It wasn't us!
We wouldn't dare cause such a fuss.'
And Kilroy squeaked, 'I'm far too small;
One mouse could never eat it all!'

The Swan looked darkly at the Pig,
The Thief must be someone who's big!'
But Oliver denied all guilt,
And said, 'Now Thomas, he's well built.'
The Rhino sobbed, through sniffs and tears,
'I've known our Host for years and years,
And though my appetite is large,
I must deny this dreadful charge.'

The Cat had yet to say a word,
Which Eric thought could be inferred
As Prima Facie evidence
Of Feline Guilt re this Offence.
But Alexandra lashed her tail,
'Your theories are to no avail!
We Cats do not steal others' food.
It's wicked, bad and very rude!'

The Judge was next: 'I too deny,
Although I have no alibi,
All blame for this horrendous crime...'
(He babbled on for quite some time.)
'I'm not the kind of Crocodile
To fake a tear or force a smile.
My countenance is plain to read;
My friends, I did not do this deed!'

Get out a pad of paper, a pencil, and your thinking cap. Your little one won’t get all the puzzles, but this book left Mavis’s Mom and me going through the book an hour after the babe had fallen asleep.

Moral: There’s always more than meets the eye.

Length: The story was long… before we discovered there were additional puzzles to solve. How many 11th hours will you stay up exploring this book?

Favorite Line: “Pride comes before a fall.”

Overall impression: There may be a doubt in your brain as to whodunit, but there can be no doubt at the creativity of this book. This book is like those first Pixar movies: sure, it’s for the kids - but there’s another level to it sure to please the adults as well. We’ll come back to this book often as Mavis grows up and becomes able to do her own sleuth work.

The eleventh hour: A Curious Mystery by Graeme Base is about an elephant named Horace hosting his eleventh birthday party. As host, Horace invites ten of his closest friends (Pig, Zebra, Rhino, Swan, a Began Tiger, Mouse, Cat, Sam the crocodile, and twin sister giraffes), creates eleven games for entertainment and cooks an extravagant feast consisting of eleven “sorts of foods like Elephants like the best.” Despite his party guests arriving early in the morning, Horace decides that they all must eat at the eleventh hour. This is where the curious mystery comes in -
However, when it came time to eat, Horace and all his friends found that the delicious feast Horace prepared had already been eaten. Readers are left with no answer to who really ate all the feast. I always loved reading mystery books growing up as I thought they were so cool and it was always great when an author was able to come up with a really great mystery. When I first began to read the story I was a bit confused on where the true mystery was about to come in but Base created a fun and interactive mystery left for readers to solve. I can tell that the age audience is geared towards older children as in order for the mystery to be solved one must examine and analyze all the detailed illustrations and look for secret clubs, hidden messages, or any possible “red herring.” This is one of the reasons why this book is just so much fun to read as an adult and would be even more fun to read to children. If one was to read this book aloud to a child(ren), the reader could use this book as an example to read between the lines and learn to pay attention and focus on all details. Some examples would include: the pencils have the words “drawing conclusions from sketchy clues may lead you astray” carved into them, a message in the gates of Horace's house, writing on the walls in the hall, woven letters in the banners, mixed random letters/morse code/hieroglyphs in the outline on the illustrations, and highlighted numbers in the bingo card. Base follows a coupled rhyme scheme throughout the book (AABB) and although his story includes solely animals, Base uses anthropomorphism to give these animals human-like characteristics. I think even if children weren’t able to solve the mystery or didn't have much interest in solving it, they would still find enjoyment in the story as the story nor the illustrations are boring.

One of my absolute favorite books as a kid.

The mystery in this book is a great challenge. The illustrations are very colorful and whimsical. I enjoyed the poetic nature of the text as well. I did not solve the mystery, but did work to solve the cyphers and enjoyed the challenge of the puzzle.

I love the mystery puzzles in this book, but I must admit, I was stumped!!