The Perplexing Pineapple

The Cryptic Casebook of Coco Carlomagno and Alberta #1

by Ursula Dubosarsky, Terry Denton (Illustrator)

Alberta is the clever cousin of Coco Carlomagno, the well-respected (if somewhat easily startled) Buenos Aires Chief of Police. When Coco runs into an unusually difficult problem, he calls on Alberta to help him solve the mystery. In this case he is being haunted by a mysterious floating pineapple. Is it a ghost?

Genres: Fiction, Childrens

84 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2013

About the author

Ursula Dubosarsky is an award-winning author of numerous books for children and young adults. About The Golden Day, her first book with Candlewick Press, she says, "The little girls watch, wonder, respond, change, and grow — and then their childhood is gone, forever. This element of the story, I suppose, is at least partly autobiographical. But, as I say — all of our teachers come home safe and sound in the end." Ursula Dubosarsky lives in Australia.

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Perplexing Pineapple is a puzzle book for kids, written by Ursula Dubosarsky and illustrated by Terry Denton. The book begins with Alberta, who has just received a message from her cousin, Coco. Coco is the Chief of Police in Buenos Aires and he is asking her for help in solving the mystery of “The Perplexing Pineapple”.

My first thought about the book is that it’s quite lovely. There are a few little puzzles throughout the book so it can be a bit of fun for readers to figure out the hidden messages and meanings of things. In the back of the book is how to solve them. The characters are fun, too. I enjoyed joining Alberta and Coco on their little adventure. They both seem really friendly and there’s a great positivity throughout the book.

The illustrations are definitely great. There’s really good glimpses into the adventure and I enjoyed seeing the characters going about the city and trying to solve the mysteries.

Overall, I think it’s a good book. I think the book is really well thought out with the puzzles; it can get readers paying attention to all sorts of little details and clues as to what is going on. I’m sure many kids will absolutely love reading this book.

[H.M. Waugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is a hoot, filled with humour and suspense, codes and clues. No other guinea pigs rock detective work quite like Coco and Alberta.

BEWARE! Our-yiggle ild-chiggle ill-wiggle art-stiggle alking-tiggle in-iggle ode-ciggle. So be prepared for that... :)

All the puzzles have help pages at the back, EXCEPT (of course... isn't that always the way...) the only one we can never solve. If anyone knows the secret behind the spelling of Coco's name on the medals at the end, please put us out of our misery and tell us what it is!

[Sean Harding · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book one of this light mystery series with heavy doses of both humour and puzzles - it seems to borrow the puzzle ideas from Dubosarsky's word spy series which were non-fiction. An entertaining read no doubt, if quite brief, and very light.

[Eugenia (Genie In A Book) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally

A book featuring GUINEA PIGS!!!

*This review is dedicated to my own two guinea pigs Milly and Mitsy :)*



This delightfully cute and fun novel will be sure to appeal to younger readers who are interested in adorable talking animals, a mysterious plot and puzzles to solve along the way.

I especially found the inclusion of 'Guinea-pig Latin' a nice touch and the illustrations really brought the story to life. The activity puzzles scattered throughout the novel and a few extra clues in the back will make reading all the more enjoyable for young mystery-solvers. There are even a few Spanish words thrown in as well (where the translations can be found in the glossary at the back) which I found pretty cool.

*Final Verdict*

Overall, this book was a quick read that definitely has all the elements of a great children's novel. I'll be sure to have my eyes open for what Coco and Alberta will be investigating next!


........
I received this novel through the Goodreads 'First Reads' program

[Julianne Negri]

The case IS perplexing! It really DOES have cryptic clues! And best of all - GUINEA PIGS!

The book is engaging on many levels. Set in Buenos Aires the book has a lovely spattering of Spanish words with a glossary at the back. Ursula Dubosarsky infuses the story with a strong back story to the characters Coco, The chief of police and his logic loving cousin Alberta. This teamed with delicate and whimsical Terry Denton illustrations means there is much for the children to nibble and spy and read and puzzle over .

Older readers will enjoy the puns and puzzles. Reluctant readers will be sucked in by the humorous illustrations and challenge of the mystery! There are codes, mazes and spoonerisms to enjoy. It's an active book - read, turn to the glossary, look, hold the book up to the mirror, think.

Best of all there is a whole series of these books!

[Chloe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to get a copy of this book for review. In this book the characters are guinea pigs and we focus on the two main characters named Coco and Alberta. One night Alberta got a message from her cousin Coco, who is the chief of police, saying that he needed her to come to Buenos Aires. Throughout the book we see Coco and Alberta trying to solve the mysterious case of the huge floating pineapple, which comes by everyday at the same time. Ursula Dubosarsky has added very cute riddles to solve during the course of the book and the illustrations and puzzles done by Terry Denton were very enjoyable. Overall this was book was very cute and fun and I’m looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

[Julz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in a 'Goodreads First Reads' competition. I am grateful to Ursula Dubosarsky and Goodreads for this.

Alberta the Guinea Pig is invited to Bon Aires by her cousin Coco to solve the Perplexing Pineapple Problem. The story is simple but engaging. It is the puzzles by Terry Denton, the illustrator, that makes this book so much more than a good read. My young son is asking to read more of these books and I will be recommending it to students at the school library I work in.

[Nova · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great book for 7 to 10 year olds. It is a humorous story involving the Chief of Police in Buenos Aires who is puzzled by a floating pineapple and strange wailing noises. he calls on his cousin Alberta to fly in and help him solve the case. This book is ridiculous but funny and will appeal to children. The puzzles and codes throughout the book add interest.

[Eina]

It's a cute book. Loved the activities embedded in the book and the short mystery element is amusing.
There were times where I found reading levels ambiguous, but considering the genre, it would be an inquisitive mind who attempts to read it anyway - meaning they will be unphased by the unfamiliar words and references.

[The Bookshop Umina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miss 8 and I enjoyed reading this together and working out the puzzles - although I think there was one that I'm still not sure I got!

A very cute story that will appeal to your bright young things :)

[Darrin Mason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing in the history of mankind has beaten the idea of a giant floating pineapple. This book is cute and takes pride of place as our unborn baby's first ever book. It didn't make me laugh but it did make me smile and that's good enough for me.

[Nella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful simple chapter book for all the word sleuths in the world.