Undercover Cat: Secret Agent Splat! by Rob Scotton

SPLAT'S DAD MAKES TOY DUCKS.

LOTS OF DUCKS.

THE DUCKS WERE KEPT IN THE GARDEN SHED AND SPLAT HAD NAMES FOR EACH AND EVERY ONE.

John, Paul, George, and Ringo stand in neat niches on the wall, along with dozens of other brightly painted wooden ducks, each one different. Splat has appointed himself Kitty Keeper of the Ducks, and along with his sidekick, Seymour the Mouse, checks on them daily.

But things go amiss in the duck shed! First the red duck is missing, and the next day, it is the black one that doesn't report for roll call! The red duck is back, but with a broken beak!

"WHO'S MESSING WITH MY DUCKS?" ASKS SPLAT.

Mom and Dad and Splat's little brother protest their innocence. It seems nobody touched the ducks, so the crook is assigned the temporary alias of "Mr. Nobody."

This is obviously a case for a clandestine kitty. Splat suits up in spywear--investigator's badge, Sherlock cap, and magnifying glass, and it's officially Secret Agent Splat on the case! Playing Watson to Splat's Sherlock, Seymour schleps the gear--camera, some white flour, their book of beak prints, and Splat's top-secret gizmo, and they are off to investigate.

The trail soon leads to a secret hideout, and inside a mysterious but familiar voice mutters, "So, you found me!"

Splat the Cat is the coolest kitty spy ever in Rob Scotton's hot-off-the-press Splat the Cat adventure, Secret Agent Splat! (Splat the Cat) (Harper, 2012) as he cracks his first case. Scotton's nervous but nervy main character Splat always makes for delightful reading, and this little mystery brings back his frenemy Spike for a comic return engagement. Pair this one with Scotton's February release, Splat the Cat Takes the Cake (I Can Read Book 1) (Harper, 2012) for a duo of fun reads--one I-read-to-you and one you-read-to-me for early readers.

For a thumbnail preview of this crack-the-case kitty at work, view the book's trailer here.