The Moonlight Mystery Agency: The Birthday Cake Thief (Little Gems)

By Author / Illustrator
Vashti Hardy, illus Agnes Saccani
Genre
Mystery & Detective
Age range(s)
5+
Publisher
Farshore
ISBN
9780008680749
Format
Paperback / softback
Published
02-01-2025
Synopsis
Hana joins the Moonlight Mystery Agency to help Spark the bionic unicorn find her missing birthday cake in the first of an exciting new series from bestseller Vashti Hardy.
Hana has always longed to have a pet of her own. So when a cat turns up at her bedroom window one night, she thinks her dream has come true. But Ace is no ordinary cat. He's a detective cat who has come to invite Hana to join the Moonlight Mystery Agency, and that's when the magical adventures begin!
Join Hana and Ace on their first mission to solve the mystery of Spark the bionic unicorn's missing birthday cake!
Reviews
Jemma
This is the first book in a fabulous new series of stories for young readers who are dipping their toes into chapter books. The Moonlight Mystery Agency: The Birthday Cake Thief caught my daughter's attention immediately. The book itself is a great size, less tall than a standard book so it look unique, and the matt texture of the front cover feels lovely in the hand. The bold front cover is intriguing, with a mechanical-looking unicorn and trees that have wide eyes and smiles. I can see why my daughter was so keen to read it!
The story tells the tale of a girl, Hanna, who has always wanted a pet but her little brother is allergic to fur. This makes Hanna hold a grudge against him and she gets particularly upset when he takes her special soft toy. One magical night, she wakes at midnight to the tapping of a mysterious black cat at the window. But this is no ordinary cat; Ace is a detective cat who belongs to the Moonlight Mystery Agency. He holds a special key; a key that fits into Hanna's Great-Grampa's bedstead! All of a sudden, the bed is transformed into a hot air balloon and they are off on an adventure!
They meet Spark, the bionic rainbow unicorn who has lost her birthday cake. This is Hanna's first case that she must solve, to save the birthday party from disaster. On the journey, Hanna meets other fantastical creatures including a robotic rabbit and a group of trolls. The book has an important message of kindness and friendship, and Hanna realises she needs to apply this to her relationship with her brother.
Both my daughter and I loved this book! Although it is mainly set in a magical world, Hanna is highly relatable and my daughter understood the heart-warming message of the story with ease. The full-colour, vibrant illustrations compliment each page beautifully and she spent a lot of time looking at the details in each one. She is eight years old and a fluent reader, so this book did not challenge her, but it was the perfect story for her to read to me at bedtime.
As a teacher, I would like to read this to my class of six to seven year-olds. The length of the book is perfect for a two-week book study and it links well to Health and Wellbeing outcomes. I also think we could create some imaginative bionic animals in an art lesson and write a piece of creative writing linked to them.
This is a brilliant first book in a fabulous brand new mystery series. We would absolutely recommend The Moonlight Mystery Agency and look forward to seeing what Hanna and Ace get up to next!
104 pages / Reviewed by Jemma Jeffrey, teacher
Suggested Reading Age 5+