7 Ate 9: The Untold Story

Private I #1

by Tara Lazar, Ross MacDonald (Illustrator)

6 has a problem.

Everyone knows that 7 is always after him. Word on the street is that 7 ate 9. If that's true, 6's days are numbered. Lucky for him, Private I is on the case. But the facts just don't add up.

It's odd.

Will Private I put two and two together and solve the problem . . . or is 6 next in line to be subtracted?

Genres: Picture Books, Mathematics, Mystery, Humor, Childrens, Number, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 16, 2017

About the author

Street magic performer. Award-winning ice sculptor. Hog-calling champion. These are all things Tara Lazar has never been. Instead, she writes stories for children featuring quirky characters and hilarious happenings. Tara writes the 7 ATE 9 series of picture books from Little Brown, illustrated by Ross MacDonald. Her next book is BLOOP, about an alien who comes to conquer earth but thinks the dogs are in charge! Tara lives in New Jersey with her husband, two daughters, and an adopted stray cat named Phoebe who thinks she is in charge of the planet. Visit Tara online to read about all her books at taralazar.com.

Reviews

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun play on words and a little math humor too! Cute set-up as a detective story that seeks to solve the mystery of the age-old question "Why is 6 afraid of 7?"

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though my nephew called 7 Ate 9 the “math book”, he still had fun. :)

“Word on the street is that 7 ate 9!
And now he’s after me,” said 6.

“Well, technically, he’s always after you,” I said.
“There’s 5, then 6, then 7.”

7 ate 9 is a fun play on words with a hard-nosed, old school detective voice and mystery. The case of the missing number nine has Private “I” (*giggles*) hitting the streets asking numbers and letters what they know and what they’ve seen.

Did 7 really eat 9? Are 6’s days numbered? Jump in and solve the case along with “I”. Count on loads of fun! :D

Recommended read.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Private eye I (yes, that's his name) must solve the mystery of the missing 9. This is a book to read slowly, chuckle, and then read again. Anyone who loves wildly delightful word play (and number play, if there is such a thing) needs to read this one.

[Skip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chock full of puns by Tara Lazar and clever illustrations by Ross McDonald, this book turns the age-old joke of "Why was 6 afraid of 7? ... Because 7 ate 9" into a mystery that needs to be solved by Private I. Not sure why we needed any other letters in this book about numbers though.

[Bookishrealm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was HILARIOUS! From the cover I had no idea that I was going to enjoy it. It came out in 2017, but it definitely has an older look to it. I've heard the jokes that go "why was six scared of seven? Because seven ate nine." I was really happy to to see that this joke was the basis for the book. The play on words literally made me laugh out loud. I enjoyed the fact that the author decided to include numbers as well as letters. I think that this book does attest to the fact that sometimes we don't feel special and that it can take someone reminding us that there are attributes about us that do make us stand out in ways that are different from everyone else. It was a fantastic book and I definitely recommend this for parents who are looking for fun ways to teach their children numbers as well as books that make readers laugh out loud.

[Brenda Kahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this punny mystery with your best "Just the facts ma'am" voice. Younger kids might not get much of the humor but middle school kids will.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

That alphabetic investigator, Private I, receives a visit from a distraught numeral 6 in this punny picture-book mystery. The rumor is that "7 ate 9," and 6 worries that he's next. Private I immediately sets out to investigate, soon discovering that all is not what it seems in the world of numbers...

I found 7 Ate 9: The Untold Story to be an absolute hoot, enjoying all of author Tara Lazar's many clever puns, and finding illustrator Ross MacDonald's accompanying artwork well-suited to the humor of the tale. Apparently there is a subsequent adventure involving Private I, due out in October of this year (2019). I look forward to reading The Upper Case: Trouble in Capital City , when it becomes available, and recommend this one to all pun-lovers, and to picture-book readers and listeners who enjoy a good mystery.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

As good as Tough Cookie by David Wisniewski. "Hard-boiled" detective fiction for the picture book crowd, featuring letters, numbers, and loads of puns.

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE THIS BOOK! Not only is this a mystery (detective story) book, but there are so many plays on words and numbers that I had to read it a second time and still am not sure if I caught them all. There's a cafe that serves great pi, 7 being such an odd number, and 8 disguising herself as the number 0 (by removing her belt). Smart humor is my favorite humor, and this book is full of it! (Also I can't get over the fact that the private eye is the letter I. lol)

[Jocelin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a creative play on the numbers as a murder mystery. No numbers were harmed in this story.

[Lynette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haha! So funny! A definite must read for a good pub book!

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid, punny entry in the Picture-Book-About-PIs genre. My fave is still Pigeon P.I., but if you like math puns, this one may be for you.

[Glen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book in a goodreads drawing.

A wonderful children's book that is a parody of a PI novel. The illustrations are great as well.

[D'Iberville Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

A puntastic book of numbers! Every page has mathematical puns sure to entertain kids as well as adults.

This story follows a Private Detective shaped like an I named Al F. Bet as he tries to solve the mystery of what happened to 9. In a very detective noir plot, 6 rushed into the office upset because 7 was after him. This plot develops unexpectedly but Al is not irrational...(See what I did there?)...he knows that there is more going on than meets the eye.

Highly recommended!

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

7 Ate 9: The Untold Story is a very entertaining story. And how can it not be, having been written by Tara Lazar?

Private I is asked by the number 6 to help him. He has heard that 7 Ate 9, and he is scared 7 would soon be after him. Private I pointed out that 7 is always after him – as in 5, 6, 7. That fact doesn’t console 6 and he fears his days are numbered as both 7 and 9 seem to be missing!

Private I goes to the café for a slice of pi. (No, I didn’t mean to type pie.) The waitress, whose name is B, has the scoop. She’d heard that 7 ate 9, and she drops a scoop of ice-cream onto Private I’s pie that’s shaped like the number π – which is the mathematical pi.

As you can easily figure out from what little I have said – not wanting to give away the whole story – there are many puns and word plays in this funny picture book 7 Ate 9: The Untold Story. The bold, creative illustrations by Ross MacDonald (a Canadian now living in the US) are perfectly suited to the story and visually add to the puns. The reader must pay attention to the illustrations to not miss the added humour.

In a surprising and funny conclusion, Private I cleverly solves the mystery of the missing 9 and 7, reminding the adult reader a little of Sherlock Holmes. 🙂

Tara Lazar has cleverly written a book for children that is full of puns, plays on words, and humour. Young readers are sure to enjoy 7 Ate 9: The Untold Story.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book that is cute and clever, but may be trying too hard to be too many things. If a parent is reading this book to a child, the parent and child will laugh at different things in the story. Too many letter and number jokes will go over the heads of younger children, and the noir detective setting is a little odd in this case, which initially appears to involve violent cannibalism among numbers.
Of course, that's based on a traditionally awful joke, so you're not supposed to take it seriously, but will small children "get it" that a slice of "pi" at a diner costs $3.14? And a key plot point involves a character holding his face upside-down for an entire conversation. Try that for a moment...
Still, it's very cute, and has some great gags. Generously, I could give this one 3 1/2 stars.

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I usually find puns annoying if clever. This book is riddled with puns--and I enjoyed every one of them! Lots of laughs. Kids will probably not catch every single one, but should catch enough to find the humor aside from the fun story that plays on the classic joke. Adults will have a good laugh seeing all of them. Quite fun. Maybe fun to share in storytime if I do a numbers lit moment beforehand to remind them of the number order.

[Meghan Doyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before reading this book, I knew there were going to be lots of puns. But I did not expect that many. 7 ate 9: The Untold Story by Tara Lazar, illustrated by Ross MacDonald is a children's mystery book that has jokes that even flew over my head. The story of Private I trying to locate 7 because he ate 9 was interesting. Private I had to talk to many numbers, only to realize his answer was right in front of his face. The numbers in this book were very interesting looking, they had faces in such random places. Especially 11, 11 was scary to look at. Some things children can learn from this book are their numbers. This book is engaging and has nice illustrations to associate the writing with. The theme of this book is hard to tell, but I got the general idea that just because you do not get as much attention as something else, does not mean you are not important. This theme is important to teach young children because they must understand that there are other people in this world who need help and may need more attention than others. This book is a WOW book to me because it was engaging, and the illustrations were very pretty to me. As an artist, I love pretty illustrations that also connect to the story.

Lazar’s use of humor and wit really makes this book fun to read. Even the title, 7 ate 9, shows how playful the text will be. So much wordplay and so many puns! Lazar also had great pacing in this story. It was snappy, which is great for a young audience. It keeps the reader interested. Finally, the plot twist in the story was fun and surprising. Lazar had me guessing on every page. I believe this book does not contain any bias. It is simply a short story about a detective trying to solve a mystery. If there were people in the book, you could argue yes. However, they are giant colorful numbers.

[Alex Baugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

It all begins when a very scared 6 runs into the office of Private I of the Al F. Bet detective agency and tells him that word on the street is that 7 ate 9 and now 7 is after him. After taking the case, Private I tells 6, "Stay here. I'll get to the root of this." "I hope so!" says 6. "I fear my days are numbered." What follows is a caper that sounds like it is straight out of a 1940s film noir mystery as Private I tries to find clues about 9's disappearance. It has the same kind of hard-boiled old school way of speaking, but with the slangy language is replaced with punny language. And the number puns never stop. And Ross MacDonald's bold, colorful illustration, digitally created with colored pencils, and watercolors, are as energetic as the caper itself. This didn't work with my younger readers, but it was a real hit with older kids who are already somewhat math savvy. They really enjoyed finding and talking about the math references. Their favorite - Cafe Uno where customers can get a slice of 𝝿.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mathematical PI mystery, complete with LOTS of math jokes and puns. This would go over best as a read aloud for elementary students who are familiar with concepts like odd and even numbers, multiplication/division, etc. Also a great gift for any math lover.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is just too cute! It practically forces you to pick it up and read it no matter your age.

We've all heard that timeless joke, "Why was 6 afraid of 7?" "Because 7 ate 9."
This book takes the opportunity to turn the question into a mystery that needs to be solved by Private I.

Full of all kinds of puns for words and numbers, this is sure to entertain the adult as well as the child they're probably reading it too.

Highly recommend.

[Brooke Beeson-King · Rating 5 out of 5]

So very clever with lots of word play and puns.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Run read aloud and great puns.

[Chance Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute detective story with letters, numbers, and wordplay. I can believe that numbers and letters are anthropomorphic noir subjects, but not that 11 exists in a world with 1. How does even work?!

[Nancy Kotkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exponentially funny detective story about numbers. A mystery full of arithmetic puns and mathematical references that kids will love to hunt and identify.

[Krystal]

Some cute word play in this one.

[Nadina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute story. I liked all the puns and jokes around numbers and letters. The illustrations were simple but good. Enjoyable story.

[Carly Cretney Petersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book to a group of 4th graders. It has a noir detective feel with number and letter puns for days

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great punny twist on a classic children's joke that will amuse little ones and parents alike.

[maddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

a masterpiece