Officer Panda: Fingerprint Detective by Ashley Crowley

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Ashley Crowley's debut picture book, Officer Panda: Fingerprint Detective is pretty clever and out of the ordinary, if the illustrations call to mind the widespread influence of Oliver Jeffers. Crowley begins his book with a map of Officer Panda's Patrol Plan and ends this first book in a projected series with a page of "fun facts" about fingertips


There's not much to the story in Office Panda, and don't expect too much serious sleuthing either. But, Crowley's mixed media illustrations are fun to peruse, with fingerprints incorporated into the designs.


Upon noticing an unusual fingerprint as he cycles off from the police station at 3pm, the start of his shift. Office Panda questions a farmer in his field, some pandas playing in a park and even a deer in the woods as the fingerprints pile up. Arriving him, Officer Panda sees even more fingerprints all over his house! Getting to the bottom of things, Panda points his finger straight off the page and at the reader, he exclaims, "IT'S YOU!" With the case closed, Officer Panda tucks himself into bed.

I'm not sure where Crowley will take Officer Panda next, but I'll be keeping my eye out for him.

Source: Review Copy

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