Detective Donut and the Wild Goose Chase

by Bruce Whatley, Rosie Smith

"I was on a case, and I knew just how to begin. I'd follow my nose." Professor Drake, Detective Donut's friend and world famous archaeologist, is missing! And Donut has to find the professor's important Maltese statue before the notorious thief Goose does. But the detective is so distracted by thoughts of his birthday and a nice (up of hot cocoa, he doesn't notice that the strange bird claiming to be the professor's assistant looks alarmingly like Goose. Or that the oddly wrapped package in his mailbox is the very some size as the precious statue. Will he ever solve the mystery? And will anyone remember his birthday? Never fear--with the help of his faithful partner, Mouse, Detective Donut will crack the case! Team up with Detective Donut and his clever sidekick, Mouse, for the wildest goose chase ever! A precious statue has been stolen, and the famous archaeologist, Professor Drake, has disappeared— is the villainous Goose behind this plot? It's up to bumbling Detective Donut to find out! Bruce Whatley's hilariously funny illustrations, packed with slapstick gags and witty puns, hold the key to this mystery. Readers will love to follow along with the clues as Detective Donut finally cracks the case.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Mystery

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Bruce jumped into the unknown world of picture books after a career in advertising as an Illustrator and art director working in London then Sydney. Since 1992 Bruce has written and/or illustrated over 80 children’s picture books. Though based in Australia his work is published internationally and in 2014 was included in the Bologna Children’s Book Fair Exhibition.

His award winning titles include The Ugliest Dog in the World, Looking for Crabs, Detective Donut and the Wild Goose Chase, Diary of a Wombat, The Little Refugee, Flood, Fire, And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda and Cyclone.

His main inspiration has been his family, who feature in several of his earlier picture books, his wife Rosie Smith being co-author on many of his projects. He uses a variety of illustration medium including gouache, pen and ink, pencil, oils, watercolour and more recently CGI software. His aim is to entertain and surprise the reader with illustration styles that vary considerably depending on the text and the age group of his audience.

Bruce completed his PhD, in 2008 Left Hand Right Hand: implications of ambidextrous image making looking at the image making of the non-dominant hand discovering that in most people the ability to draw lies in using the ‘other’ hand. He has since illustrated 3 books with his non-dominant left hand.

Bruce is continually looking for new innovative ways to make images to tell his visual narratives.

Reviews

[Mabearbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poor Detective Don't, things just don't seem to be going his way, he's had a long night, he thinks his mother has forgotten his birthday and to top it all off, he's out of donuts. All he wants is a hot chocolate, donuts and his birthday socks from his mother but instead he ends up on a wild goose chase. Readers are taken on a fun adventure with Detective Donut who is trying to solve the case of his missing friend Professor Drake and chasing what he thinks is his birthday gift from hos mother. The talented team of Bruce Whatley and Rosie Smith have once again brought to life an engaging story with equally amazing illustrations.

[Jolynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious! Readers have to draw inferences from the pictures.
Comprehension strategy: inference
good with idioms.

[Siara Byers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detective Donut and the Wild Goose Chase is about a a bear whose name is Detective Donut. He is having a slump of a day when a strange bird comes in and says that Professor Drake is missing and that she needs Detective Donuts help. He sets out to do just that, but he keeps getting distracted along the way, and doesn't seem to notice the strange bird looks suspiciously like goose, the notorious thief who was behind a different heist. Through his bumbling, he discovers the goose and in the end when he heads back to his office, he cracks the code and realizes that the statue he was looking for was right under his nose all along in his mail.
The narrative was somewhat confusing, so I would not suggest you use this story with students under 3rd grade. It would be a great book to teach inferences, or making predictions, because there are a lot of examples of that in the story. You have to read between the lines quite a bit, so using this story to teach comprehension skills for higher grades would be fun.

[Jess Bergstom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is a fun mystery for children with the pictures that tell you as much about the story as the words do. This could be a great resource for teaching point of view and narrators. Students could see how the narrator is not always all knowing. Students could discuss what they saw in the story that the narrator missed and how it helped to tell the story. To continue the work on point of view, you could encourage the students to write this story from another of the characters point of view based on what they see in the pictures. This would be great to show that the same story can be told many different ways. Once done with this project students could discuss how people can get the same information and use it in different ways. Looking at things from multiple perspectives and hearing others ideas is always a great way to talk about the news and other current events.

[Alison · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a picture book, I am not sure that this would be a story that many young readers would actually get. It is a ironic take on the noir detective genre, although there are animals for characters, many of the references would probably go over their heads. Language is only suitable for readers. Good though for my English unit though, for which my students are teens, even then, I wonder how many would get the references.

[Allison Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book could be a great read aloud if the teacher reads it with expression and excitement. This is a great book for kids to be thinking about what is happening while the book is being read. The pictures are different than normal picture books. The book would be best suited for students who are in third or fourth grade. I do not think the younger grades would understand it as much.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was full of smart turns of phrase that made me laugh out loud and explain to my kids. Detective Donut is easily distracted and a little bit foolish, but his heart and tummy are in the right place. Good thing his partner is on the scene to steer circumstances in the right direction.

[emyrose8 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poor Detective Donut... he's just not very bright, is he? But, things turn out all right in the end!

[Ann Hackworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great mystery book for young readers with wonderful expressive illustrations.

[Jaime · Rating 2 out of 5]

Confusing book.

[Todd Roboltou · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this today at the library and just had to grab it. My son who is 5 asked me the other day what a detective was, having already answered him I thought this book might expand on his earlier thoughts. He picked it first for his bedtime books tonight... Win!

This is a great reading out loud book as the prose fits a 1950's seedy noir feel from movies like Chinatown and LA Confidential. I certainly put on a grizzled Bogart voice and my boy loved it. The artwork is very subtle and I needed to direct my sons eye to the pictures a few times. But other than that I certainly enjoyed it and so did my child. But to be Honest, I think this is a book more for older children and maybe the adults..

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny detective story that is patterned after popular crime fiction from the mid-twentieth century. The story is filled with puns and nods to older pop culture icons like The Maltese Falcon, "Ellery Queen," The Big Sleep, and a telegram from Western Union. The story is fun to read aloud and although many children will not get some of the subtle humor.

[Katrina Yazzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good. It was kind of hard for me to read. The illustrations were big and good enough for kids to see. I liked how the detective kept saying socks and that it was his birthday present. I also like how the goose went into disguise and that it gives the reader that there is something going on with the goose.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poor Donut. Not the brightest gumshoe on the block, but he gets the job done. Fantastic illustrations on this one, too.

[April]

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