The Case of the Vanishing Caterpillar

K-Gr 3–In this series, lovable mice Daisy and Scout bring their inquisitive nature and love of learning out of TV land and into readers’ hands. In Story Rock, readers follow along as Daisy and Scout learn how rocks can tell a story about dinosaurs, explaining what fossils are. In Vanishing Caterpillar, Scout and Daisy learn about the metamorphosis process while searching for their caterpillar friend. Both adventures follow a similar pattern much like the show. Scout and Daisy first discover a mystery; they search for and think about clues that Scout keeps track of in his notes; they perform further research on what they found; and, finally, there is a “mindful moment” to tie up the lesson. Readers are provided a predictable plot, but will still be engaged with the individual details of the new mystery, and are introduced to new concepts in accessible ways. Scout and Daisy provide plenty of clues and facts to help readers solve mysteries, learn about the world, and really think about what they have learned. The stop-motion stills that serve as the illustrations work well with each page, allowing readers to better follow the clues while seeing how Scout and Daisy are solving the mystery. Hogan and Hungerford are changing informational books for young children by combining engaging characters with scientific facts in fun and analytical stories.