Maddison McQueen and the Cupcake Mystery

What a stunning, colourful, attention grabbing cover! Kids will be keen to whip this one off the shelf! I can't wait to get it into my library! It's the first in a series; I've already bought the second book in the Red Collie Mysteries.

This is a dyslexia friendly book so it has nice cream coloured pages, an easy to read font and short chapters. I love the different poses (line drawings) of Ruby, the Border Collie at the beginning of each new chapter.

The story follows the adventures of Maddison and her friends Josh and Rose as they try to find out who stole Grandma's cupcakes which she had made to enter into the baking competition at the Wanaka A & P Show. As Maddison, Ruby and her friends try to solve the 'Mystery of the Missing Cupcakes' they come across lots of clues. It's a tale of suspects, persistence, friendships and the consequences of telling lies. The excitement of the plot comes to a peak when the kids finally get into the show grounds. Even I was nervous for them not to get caught!

Many New Zealanders will have memories of A & P shows. I recall making sand saucers! As our family own a Jack Russell terrier, I can relate to the dogs, Jessie and Rusty and how naughty they can be! Any dog loving kids will love this book.

So, did Grandma win the competition?