Published by Harry N. Abrams

Summary:  Willow is a duck who’s been raised by a beaver since her egg was washed out of the nest and got stuck in a dam.  She’s curious and dreams of being a detective, so when a large black object mysteriously lands in her pond, she and her friends get to work figuring out what it is and where it came from.  Once they’ve established that it’s a car tire, they realize it’s bad for them to have it in their pond and get to work removing it.  Their teamwork results in a successful outcome, and Willow is able to convey a “recycle” message to the truck driver who left his tire behind.  80 pages; ages 6-9.

Pros:  A good beginner mystery with a nice environmental message and fun illustrations by Dan Santat (side note: I was thrilled that Santat won the National Book Award last week for A First Time for Everything).  Happily, this is billed as book 1, so we can look forward to reading more about Willow and her friends.

Cons:  Getting the tire out of the pond, billed as a mystery, seemed more like just a problem to solve.