cover image Scoop!: An Exclusive by Monty Molenski

Scoop!: An Exclusive by Monty Molenski

Cathy Tincknell, John Kelly, . . Candlewick, $15.99 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-7636-3059-1

This comical caper by the husband-and-wife team behind The Mystery of Eatum Hall introduces a young mole who's an "ace reporter" wannabe. Monty Molenski's editor at The Daily Roar berates the bespectacled, camera-toting fellow for "wasting [his] time looking for aliens and monsters that don't exist." He wants Monty to bring him a "proper story." The mole thinks he might be onto something when he spies on his colleagues, who are headed for a place they call the F.P. Club. Suspecting it is a secret society, Monty tries to follow them after they disappear into a hotel, but the doorman refuses him entry. As the bumbling reporter makes several funny, futile attempts to enter the building, his camera inadvertently goes off repeatedly, capturing the outrageous goings-on around him. Readers will delight in spotting the colorful spectrum of characters (aliens and monsters among them) that oblivious Monty misses entirely. But his film, when developed, reveals plenty, clinching headline after headline for the reporter, who finally gets inducted into the F.P. (aka Front Page) Club. As in the artists' previous title, the predominantly dark palette of their computer-generated art serves their theme well; the otherworldly creatures seem quite comfortable among the shadows. Ages 5-8. (Feb.)