The creators of the Ladybug Girl series have entirely too much fun sending out an easily distracted detective in search of a missing cat and, more important, jelly donuts. Dispatched by his boss, Ms. Chief (ahem), to the apartment of Ms. Flamingo, who has reported the errant kitty, Agent Lion briskly gathers clues ("Does Fluffy have a trunk?" "Does he have antlers?"), checks out the surrounding area (pausing to pore over the latest issue of Jelly Donut Digest), and then returns empty-pawed to Ms. Flamingo's for tea. Sitting on her sofa, Agent Lion solves the mystery at last when the pillow on his lap begins to purr. "How can I ever thank you enough?" coos Ms. Flamingo. Well, "jelly donuts go particularly well with tea." Along with laying out mouthwatering donuts on the endpapers, Soman slips literary and other sight gags into his cartoon illustrations as he takes his leonine investigator, clad in trench coat and tiny fedora, from pillar to post. A delectable caper, reminiscent of a Marx Brothers romp for its speed and silliness.

Ms. Flamingo's cat Fluffy is missing, but Agent Lion is on the case...sort of. He means well and works hard--he is often shown with his tongue at the side of his mouth, like a child concentrating intently--but he's far from sharp-witted. During his investigation, he asks Ms. Flamingo if Fluffy has antlers and tries to peg a pigeon as the cat in disguise. As the lovable, bike-riding, snack-loving detective tries to find Fluffy, readers explore his town and the characters therein, rendered in pale watercolors; light teals and pinks with touches of vivid purple mark this cozy community of anthropomorphized animals. Occasional intentional contradictions in text and art accentuate the humor: the line "He took the absolutely most direct route" is illustrated with an aerial view of Agent Lion's circuitous path to Ms. Flamingo's home, marked by stops for popcorn, ice cream, and jelly donuts (his favorite). Expect more giggles over the visual hyperbole, such as a tall apartment building bending over due to the loud wails of Ms. Hippo's babies, awakened from their nap by Agent Lion. This spin on the bumbling detective trope will delight readers; children love to see a grown-up making so many mistakes, and Agent Lion has personality to spare.

Dressed in a trench coat and fedora, Agent Lion has a cheery disposition and an ardent love for jelly doughnuts-but as a detective, he-s got some shortcomings. Husband-and-wife creators Soman and Davis (the Ladybug Girl series) channel the old Pink Panther films but with an all-animal cast. Clear panel artwork provides plenty of comic contradiction as Agent Lion heads over to Ms. Flamingo-s apartment building to talk to her about her missing cat, Fluffy. -He took the absolutely most direct route,- the text says, while a double-page aerial view tells another story: Agent Lion makes stops at Donut World, Popcorn Palace, and more before arriving two hours later. -Does Fluffy have a trunk?- he asks Ms. Flamingo helpfully, and goofy scenarios follow: -No one move!- Agent Lion says, pointing to a rooftop creature. -Agent Lion,- says an exasperated Ms. Flamingo, -That is a pigeon.- After further investigations, and almost in spite of himself, Agent Lion solves the case. As a bonus, a spread of Ms. Flamingo-s lobby features Easter eggs: an elephant cast as Christina in a version of the Wyeth painting, a monkey resembling Thompson-s Eloise, and plentiful other animal heroes just right for curious readers. Ages 4-8. (Feb.)