by Moe Zilla

Created on: March 12, 2010

"A maze of hidden codes and clues, a clock at every turn,
And only time will tell what other secrets you may learn..."

The book's title page holds a rhyme - plus an invitation to help celebrate Horace's 11th birthday. (It's on November 11th - that's 11/11 - and you're supposed to wear a costume.) But turn the page, and you'll discover lavish full-page illustrations, and a story that rhymes. ("Now Horace was a clever lad; he planned the day with care, ensuring that his party would be quite a grand affair...") Horace is actually an elephant in a yellow shirt and suspenders, and each picture is a visual treat. For each page, Graeme Base has created realistic, sunny illustrations of the festive elephant and his animal friends.

Strawberries, chocolate, cream - the author lists out the happy details of the party that Horace is planning. And the rhyming sentences make the story seem even more playful, as the animals start arriving...in costumes. "The Pig came as an Admiral, the Zebra as a Punk, the Rhine was an astronaut, his spacesuit made of junk." There's a swan, a crocodile, two giraffes and even a Bengal Tiger. And Horace dresses as a Roman Centurion, as he leads them to the feast.

But wait - there's anagrams on the wall.  ("EON SEUMO CLOUD VEREN TEA TI LAL.") And a message hidden in the grating of the gate. "Watch... the... cloc- -ks..." The words on a calendar form sentences, too.  ("Tic Tock. Can you see it?") There's even dim letters in a frame which surrounds a grand drawing of the birthday feast, and it suggests a secret second way to read the book.

C-A-N Y-O-U F-I-N-D H-I-D-D-E-N M-E-S-S-A-G-E I-N E-V-E-R-Y I-L-L-U-S-T-R-A-T-I-O-N-?

After a while, the intrigue of the hidden puzzles start to distract from the mystery storyline. Horace lays down a warning - no one can eat his feast until the 11th hour. There's a delightful animal sack race, and a concert in the ball room. But there's also letters written across the front of the sacks, and even a clue hidden in the notes on the musical staff. Yes, the top tune is Mozart's "The Magic Flute." But the tune across the bottom of the staff is...three blind mice?

Even as a grownup, I couldn't find all the clues. (They're that tricky, and they might even keep older kids busy!) But fortunately, there's a four-page glossary at the back of the book - with several paragraphs by the clever author explaining exactly where he'd hidden his cllues. And a fifth page offers "The inside story" from Graeme Base himself, revealing another important clue. ("...in a book that revovles around the number eleven you need only look as fare as the eleventh letter of the alphabet.") But I found my biggest clue by decoding one of the book's anagrams.

ORILKY SKEPAS ETH THURT....

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