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The Adventures of Max and Pinky

The Adventures of Max and Pinky: The Mystery

MAX AND PINKY have painted the barn a nice, classic shade of red. But the next morning—it’s pink! They paint it again, but the very next day it’s plaid! What is going on?!

Something weird is going on—weird and mysterious! But never fear, adventure-loving readers. The best buds will ask the silliest questions, make the nuttiest alarm system, and get stuck in all sorts of place while searching—whatever it takes to crack the case!

Hmm—doesn’t that gopher look a little suspicious?

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

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About the author

Maxwell Eaton III

35 books47 followers
Maxwell Eaton III is the critically acclaimed author and illustrator of dozens of outdoor adventure-based picture books and comics for young readers. All of Maxwell’s books are informed by a life led outdoors in the mountains and on the water. He is passionate about sharing his love for the natural world with young people and empowers them to get outside; make and do with their own hands; to think and act with calm and collected minds; and to maintain perspective and humor. He skis, paddles, and writes in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State.

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5 stars
24 (26%)
4 stars
34 (37%)
3 stars
26 (28%)
2 stars
5 (5%)
1 star
1 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
Profile Image for Jon Nakapalau.
6,867 reviews1,075 followers
July 23, 2017
The mystery: who keeps painting the barn a different color every night? Will Max and Pinky be able to solve this chromatic conundrum? I could tell you...but I will let you find out for yourself.
Profile Image for Zack.
400 reviews3 followers
October 29, 2008
Book should work for a wide variety of ages depending on how it is presented. Enough little things to keep parents entertained while the kids follow a fun story.
8 reviews
November 13, 2014
The Mystery written by Maxwell Eaton III, was one of the most hilarious children stories of the mystery genre that I have ever read. What immediately drew me into this book was the cover. Although it was simple it was a great cover for communicating to the reader that the story is a mystery. The picture of Max and Pinky flashing a flash light with the title “The Mystery” in it was perfect. Not only was the cover a great example of a context cue for young readers, but so were all the pictures in this book. This book is about a first grade reading level. It is a very easy book so this would be great for an independent read. I would use this book to teach context cues, also to help children to become interested in reading. Not only do the pictures allow you to tell the story without reading it, but I thought it was very engaging how he added humor to the pictures. He added humor by having bubbles above the animal’s heads saying what they were thinking or saying. Inside of the bubbles were jokes that a beginning reader would find hilarious. The whole story gives human characteristics to animals.
In The Mystery Max and Pinky the pig who are the main characters have set out on a mission to paint the barn red. They work hard all day painting the barn and finished just before the sun set. Once they are done, they get ready for bed after a long day of hard work. But to their surprise when they woke up the next morning to go look at the barn it was no longer red it was pink! Max and Pinky are totally in shock because they are so sure that they painted the barn red. So they spend their whole day again repainting the barn red. This time instead of going to bed they decide to stay up all night to guard it, but they fell asleep. The next morning they woke up to another surprise. The barn is no longer red it is now painted orange, red and black. This caused Max and Pinky to have to repaint the barn again. This time they were determined to solve the mystery.
They did an interviews with all of the barn animals. The responses that they got from the animals were absolutely hilarious, but none of them seemed to know what was going on. So Max and Pinky decided to set a trap to catch the mystery painter. At the end Max discovered that Pinky the pig had been painting the barn in his sleep. Max thought that it was funny, and instead of telling Pinky that he was painting the barn, he decided to keep it a secret and let the adventures continue. This book leaves you wondering what color the barn will be painted next.
Profile Image for Tasha.
4,165 reviews143 followers
November 20, 2008
Max and Pinky return in another adventure, this time filled with mystery and intrigue. Max and Pinky set out to paint the barn red. They just manage to finish the entire structure before dark. But when they awake, the barn is PINK! They repaint. They guard it all night, but fall asleep. And now it's plaid! Finally, they decide they must investigate. They look for clues, conduct interviews, and set a trap. Who is the mystery painter? You'll have to read it to find out!

This book in the series continues the charm and wit of the earlier books. The illustrations are bright colored and great fun. The asides of many of the other animals in the picture add to the fun, though they could be skipped when reading the story to a group. Eaton excels at writing books with few words and lots of laughs. His characters say so much with a simple facial expression. This is simplicity at its best.

Highly recommended. This book will project well to a group, and children will adore the changing colors of the barn. Guaranteed to get them giggling. Appropriate for ages 3-5.
53 reviews
April 29, 2015
This book is a cute and simple mystery for young readers. It is fairly easy to read, and is a perfect picture book for curious readers who want to try to solve a mystery!

In the story, Max and Pinky paint the barn. However, they wake up the next morning to discover it's been repainted a new color. This continues to happen, so they hatch a plan. In order to catch a culprit, they set up an elaborate string of events that will end up sounding an alarm to wake them up. They would then go down to the barn to find out who has been repainting it at night. When the alarm sounds, Max is surprised by who he finds painting the barn in his sleep!

The pictures in this book are great, They are fairly simple, but they give the animals in the story character and emotion. They also provide more to the story in the form of speech bubbles.
Profile Image for Marit.
50 reviews1 follower
Read
November 7, 2012
This book was a really wonderful and funny. The visual jokes in this book made me laugh so much. Max and Pinky is so sweet to each other and I thought this book was a heart-warming story about the value of true friendship. The book is a great picture book and the text was easy to read because it was short sentences per page, which is very good for the young children. The speech bubbles from some of the characters was very funny and made the book very funny. I think the speech bubbles is great to learn the children to use ''signs'' when they draw and makes art. The illustrations are cute and colorful and the pictures are so big that it covers the whole page, and this makes it interesting for the youngest children.
27 reviews
October 8, 2013
Maxwell Eaton III wrote an adorable children's mystery about Max and Pinky. They decide to figure out what is causing the barn to keep changing colors. This book is perfect for young children, between the ages three and eight. The drawings are simple and somewhat crude but they fit with the storyline and add to the entirety of this mystery. I recommend this book for parents and teachers with younger children.
Profile Image for Liz Todd.
2,291 reviews
May 11, 2015
We have read this book no less than 6 times in the 3 weeks we had it from the library. G loves this book. The ending is a surprise, and it was fun to go back and read with new understanding. Simple text, simple idea, funny speech bubbles. I only wish that we could find more "clues" about what was happening along the way. There were 2 small clues that we found on a re-read, but I would have liked more. :)
Profile Image for Cathy.
1,042 reviews
April 27, 2010
Max and Pinky decide to paint the barn, but in the morning it is different than they way they left it; they set out to find out what happened and solve the mystery. Easy reading for first and second grade, bright simple pictures to attract younger ones' attention and fun for older kids (and adults) with its comical sidebars.
Profile Image for Amy Brown.
643 reviews14 followers
March 6, 2009
Funny mystery for the preschool set. Max and Pinky paint the barn but when they get up the next day the barn has been painted another color. They repaint the barn but the next morning find that it has been repainted again. Who could be doing this? Max and Pinky are determined to solve the mystery.
591 reviews197 followers
July 28, 2008
Not as brilliant as the first but I'll take anything with Max & Pinky as long as there are marshmallows.
Profile Image for Molly.
1,026 reviews6 followers
March 6, 2009
Cute story about a mystery of who keeps painting the barn. It gets funny and cute patterns and colors everyday. Fun mystery and great for a younger crowd. Ages 2+
Author 1 book100 followers
April 14, 2014
I really liked this book! It is silly and engaging throughout, and the element of the mystery will keep children reading until the end. Great for ECE level readers.
Profile Image for Maudie.
78 reviews
December 4, 2017
Genre: Modern Fantasy
Grade:K-3
This is a fun and interesting book about a pig and a boy names max who want to paint a barn.This seems easy enough its not. I love the pictures and the thought bubbles that the illustrator incorporated in his drawling. Love the book and all its cuteness.
Profile Image for Jordan Schwab.
27 reviews1 follower
March 30, 2016
This book is a very simple book for beginning readers. The mystery in it is simple yet could still keep the attention of the young readers.

The illustrations are done in black ink and digital coloring and are all full-bleed and sometimes are double page spreads. The illustrations are also very simple and colorful which hold the attention of the reader! The text is something you would typically see in a children's book and is large and easy to read. There are some parts, almost on every page where the characters in the book have something to say. This dialogue is in a font that looks like it could have been written.

There are really no borders or framing in the book at all. The text is just laid over the background in a color that makes it show up well.

I would use this book for rather young children in my classroom if I was introducing mystery to them.
Profile Image for Beth.
1,086 reviews14 followers
April 23, 2009
Fun story about painting a barn--and the mystery is kinda hard to figure out.

Illustrations are simple yet appealing, and add to the fun of the story. Good visibility for storytime even though the book is small.
Profile Image for Natalie Hoist.
75 reviews6 followers
December 6, 2016
This book was a fun read. It is a good book to have in your classroom to have your students make predictions about who they think did the "crime". This is an interactive book that is fun to read and I would highly recommend this to a lower level elementary classroom.
Profile Image for Kelly.
1,060 reviews36 followers
April 4, 2013
Adorable story for young readers with some sly little adult humor added at surprsing places.
74 reviews
October 19, 2016
This book is alright! I like that Pinky never gives up and they are looking for an adventure. And I think that's it's fun that they interrogate the different animals of the farm.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews