Before, he saw messy.
Now, he saw amazing!
A work of modern art.
“Wow!” said Wallace. Then he tugged the shoelace with his beak. “But you stole this from the fox. You stole a lot of things.”
“It was all in the name of art.” Scarlet hung her head. “I’m sorry.”
“You can’t steal,” said Wallace. “You need to give everything back.”
“Poor Monty,” said Grace. “She can’t give back his cupcake.”
Right then, the baby birds began to sing. Wallace had an idea.
“She can give Monty something else,” he said.
A little later, they flew Monty and Sal to the nest.
Flying was tricky—with a chipmunk and groundhog on their backs!
“Look! No hands!” cried Sal.
On the way, Grace told Monty that Scarlet was the thief. But she didn’t tell him about the surprise.
“It’s a birthday party for the baby birds,” cried Grace.
“There’s singing!” cried Monty.
“And dancing,” said Sal.
“And presents,” said Scarlet.
Grace handed Monty the purple-and-white-swirl cupcake wrapper. It was filled with nuts and berries.
“Yum!” cried Monty. “I love parties even more than cupcakes.”
“Case solved,” said Wallace. He gave Grace a high five.
“Two cases solved,” said Grace.
“Time for bed.” Wallace yawned.
“Not yet,” said Grace. “I want another turn. I spy something red.”
“Scarlet’s wing!” This game was way too easy for Wallace.
“No.” Grace grinned.
“Hmmm.” Wallace looked and looked and looked. “I can’t find it.”
Grace had tricked the Master of Tricky!
“I need a clue,” said Wallace.
“The back of the clue is in front of you.” Grace could be tricky, too.
Wallace looked closer. Then he clapped his wings together. “Now I see him!”
“Good detectives follow the clues,” said Grace.
“Always,” agreed Wallace.
Wallace and Grace were very good detectives.
Heather Alexander is the author of many books for young readers, including the Amazing Stardust Friends series. She lives by the woods in New Jersey and often finds deer, fox, turkeys, rabbits, and the occasional owl detective in her yard.
www.heatheralexanderbooks.com
Laura Zarrin is an illustrator by day and a detective by night. She is often called upon to solve mysteries for her family. She’s been known to find lost shoes and lost homework and to discover who ate the last chocolate chip cookie. When she’s not solving mysteries, she spends her time drawing, reading, drinking really strong iced tea, and eating fig Newtons. She lives in Northern California with her husband, their two sons, and her assistant, Cody the Chihuahua.
www.laurazarrinstudios.com
Text copyright © 2017 by Heather Alexander, LLC
Illustrations copyright © 2017 by Laura Zarrin
All rights reserved
You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
First published in the United States of America in May 2017 by Bloomsbury Children’s Books
www.bloomsbury.com
This electronic edition published in 2017 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Alexander, Heather | Zarrin, Laura, illustrator.
Title: Wallace and Grace and the cupcake caper / Heather Alexander ; illustrated by Laura Zarrin. Description: New York : Bloomsbury, 2017. | Summary: When Monty the chipmunk’s cupcake is stolen, owl detectives Wallace and Grace try to find “whoo-done-it.”
Identifiers: LCCN 2016036833 (print) | LCCN 2016040985 (e-book)
ISBN 978-1-68119-010-5 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-68119-471-4 (e-book) • ISBN 978-1-68119-472-1 (e-PDF)
Subjects: | CYAC: Mystery and detective stories. | Owls—Fiction. | Forest animals—Fiction. | BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION / Readers / Chapter Books. | JUVENILE FICTION / Mysteries & Detective Stories. | JUVENILE FICTION / Animals / Birds.
Classification: LCC PZ7.A37717 Wag 2017 (print) | LCC PZ7.A37717 (e-book) | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016036833
ISBN: 978-1-6811-9010-5 (HB)
ISBN: 978-1-6811-9471-4 (eBook)
ISBN: 978-1-6811-9472-1 (ePDF)
Art created with Blackwing pencils and Photoshop
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Wallace and Grace and the Cupcake Caper Page 2