This graphic novel is precisely as obtuse as it should be.The most famous-and possibly the dumbest-chicken joke of all time is, "Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side." It follows a classic formula. It treats something ridiculously obvious as a huge surprise. This chicken story adopts the same structure. A hen lays an egg and can't figure out why it's suddenly vanished, even though one of the clues is a broken eggshell. She even brings in "the world's #1 goat detective," Billiam Van Hoof, who takes a plane to reach the other end of the farm. Some readers will lose patience once they realize the egg has simply hatched. Others will want to see how Dumais maintains the suspense. Arguably, she doesn't. She just keeps adding more clues (a feather, teeny little footprints) until the pages run out. But the details along the way are hilariously confused: a signpost pointing to "unknown," a map that's accidentally drawn upside down. And the childlike illustrations are, for the most part, sweetly minimalist. One sequence consists of nothing but eyes glancing suspiciously at each other. But because every character is an extremely anthropomorphized animal, readers are treated to absurd touches like a cow wearing a black-and-white spotted dress. And many readers will enjoy feeling ahead of the game.A shaggy dog story with chickens. What's not to like? (Graphic mystery. 5-10)

A -day like any other on the farm- takes an exciting turn when animals Pig, Dog, Cow, Sheep, and Raccoon, hearing a -blood-chilling scream,- discover that someone has stolen Hen-s egg. The barnyard friends know there-s only one thing to do: with three hearty rings of Cow-s bell, they summon Insp. Billiam Van Hoof, World-s #1 Goat Detective. As the animals track down clues, finding bits of straw, a broken eggshell, and a yellow feather, it quickly becomes clear that the over-the-top inspector, with his assorted paraphernalia (-detective sandals-) and goofy disguise (a dashing mustache), is truly terrible at solving mysteries. Dumais-s paneled illustrations add extra brightness and humor to the mystery as Hen stomps around in pink bunny slippers and Sheep nervously knits. Intermediate readers will welcome the engaging inspector for investigative fun. Ages 6-9. (Sept.)

Gr 1-4 Hen wakes one morning and whips the barnyard into a frenzyshe can't find her egg. Fellow animals initially eye one another with suspicion, then agree to call in Billiam Van Hoof, the world's self-declared greatest (and admittedly only) goat detective, who lives just up the road. Though the answer is evident from the first scrap of evidence, the guileless gumshoe is stumped but determined to work toward a solution. Eventually, Hen's newly hatched chick wanders in, stopping calamity just short of catastrophe. In omelets and graphic novels, less is more. This tale contains but three essential ingredients: a quirky caper, anthropomorphic animals, and a paneled format composed of simple illustrations and pithy dialogue. Attentive readers may crack the case early on, but they'll be rewarded by laugh-out-loud details and visual gags, such as brown-spotted Cow wearing a black-and-white cow print dress. Setups and payoffs are hilarious, as when Van Hoof takes a wrong turn past two signposts at the outset and must parachute into the farm; Hen later prevents him from making the same mistake at a new fork in the road. VERDICT A quick, cute, and obvious elementary whodunit. Steven Thompson, Bound Brook Memorial P.L., NJ