Reviewed by Rusty Key Writer: Jordan B. Nielsen

Recommended for: Ages 7 to 10 for independent reading, or 5 and up as a read aloud. There is a message about the dangers of false accusations, but the light tone makes it suitable for younger children. Though the main character is female the book is gender neutral and the detective plot can easily be enjoyed by both boys and girls.

One Word Summary: Precious.

Full disclosure: I read The Great Cake Mystery with a bias. I was a tremendous fan of the HBO tv series The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, based on Alexander McCall Smith’s wildly popular series of books for adults. For eight weeks in the spring of 2008, Sunday nights at nine o’clock were when I received my weekly infusion of joy from the lush, playful, moving and thoroughly charming stories set in Smith’s Botswana. Where every person seemed to glow from the light of an internal goodness and there was “no problem so great that it can’t be solved with a cup of bush tea”. Precious Ramotswe, the lady detective of “traditional build” solved her cases with a combination of good cheer, wit, and smiling tenacity, and all was put right with the world by the end of each episode. It was, quite frankly, a revelation.

So when I received an advanced copy of The Great Cake Mystery: Precious Ramotswe’s Very First Case it was without an ounce of trepidation as to whether an adaptation of Smith’s characters would work for a young audience that I sank my teeth in. Mma Ramotswe was already such a big-hearted and curious creature as an adult that meeting her as a child could not fail to please. And indeed there was no need to fear. Cake Mystery is as lovable and vibrant as its adult predecessors and a worthy inspiration for all aspiring young detectives, be they ladies or not.
Precious Ramotswe is a little girl living in a small village in Botswana. She was born with a natural curiosity and a knack for problem solving, talents that lend themselves very well to detective work. She loves hearing her father’s stories and attending her small school that sits atop a big hill, sharing the countryside with monkeys and birds and all the other animals endemic to Africa that we Americans can only see from a distance in a lousy zoo.

But one day something happens that shakes things up: a piece of cake goes missing from one of Precious’ friend’s backpack. The cake is soon followed by a piece of toast covered in jam, and then a pair of sticky buns. Accusations begin to fly around the schoolyard of who the thief could be before landing on Poloko, a “rather round boy” who is caught with sticky fingers. Poloko swears his innocence, so it is left to Precious, the one person who believes him, to prove it.

Like the HBO series, there is an inherent goodness to this story that makes Smith’s universe feel like a safe and nurturing place to be. Lovely woodcut illustrations of shadowy lions and rotund cooks adorn the pages and enhance the feeling of the story, but Smith’s lilting prose already does a stellar job of transporting the reader. The setting lends a richness to the story that makes it unique from the typical Nancy Drew or Boxcar Children type of mystery for kids. The ending of course holds a nice little surprise that will likely elicit some giggles.

It was a true delight to meet the young Mma Ramotswe, and I hope we’ll be seeing more of her in the future. For now, she can take a seat in our Golden Key Collection.

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