Review of "The Case of the Missing Pink Piggy" by Linda Harkey

Score: 94/100 (9.4 out of 10)

We all know the feeling... You suddenly realize that your favorite thing is not where you left it. And before you know it, you are tearing the house apart, looking through every bag--every nook and cranny--retracing your steps, and checking the same spot five times.

Everyone can relate to the anxiety and heartbreak of losing a favorite toy, a comfort blanket, or that one small trinket that just feels like home, even if it would look ordinary or even silly to anyone else.

Maybe you're a parent or a teacher who is dealing with a child who is missing their favorite stuffed animal or blanket. And, let's face it, even adults lose their keys, badges, and phones sometimes. We end up doing the Macarena with our pockets in a frantic attempt to find it.

The Case of the Missing Pink Piggy by Linda Harkey masterfully captures that all-too-familiar feeling.

In this cozy winter mystery, we meet Nini, a German Shepherd who is absolutely devoted to her squeaky Pink Piggy toy. When Piggy suddenly goes missing after a romp in the snow, Nini is heartbroken, anxious, and more than a little lost without her favorite friend. Thankfully, she is not alone. Lobo, her loyal dog companion, steps up as the calm, collected detective of the pair, helping her follow the clues and put the pieces together.

What follows is a gentle, dog-sized whodunit that young readers will love. Harkey keeps the mystery simple enough for children to follow while still making it engaging for adults who are reading along. The story blends kid-friendly humor with real emotional stakes, especially for any child who has ever clutched a favorite toy at bedtime or cried when it could not be found. When Speedy the pack rat enters the picture with his little stash of "treasures," the book becomes not only a tale about a missing toy, but also a story about honesty, making amends, and understanding why friends sometimes make mistakes.

SPOILER WARNING
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As an aside, we're a bit torn about what to think about Speedy, the pack rat, and how he was handled in this book. See, Speedy is the first suspect, the main suspect, and the culprit. Nini almost immediately jumps to the conclusion that Speedy is responsible for Pink Piggy's disappearance. And, what's a bit surprising to us is that he happens to be responsible for its disappearance. So... it almost seems like the mystery is diminished.

What makes great mysteries great is when there are multiple different conclusions and multiple different suspects, leading to twists and turns. This book includes almost none of that and no red-herrings. It is what it is. What you see is what you see. What you get is what you get.

It is a bit troubling that Nini jumps to a conclusion and accuses someone of something (on very sparse evidence), then is essentially proven right. In Poo and Order by Angeli Fitch, that's essentially what Mrs. McPoodle did because she had a bias against pit bulls. Because of that, she was quick to blame the neighborhood pit bull for a crime. She was proven wrong. In this book, Nini accuses Speedy because Speedy has a particular inclination or nature to hoard things as a pack rat, then she's proven right.

Wouldn't it have been more effective to include other suspects or a surprising explanation? Or at least not have Speedy of all people be responsible for the theft.

As an aside, it's interesting that Speedy might be considered a kleptomaniac in human terms. Kleptomania is an actual mental health disorder that prompts the sufferer to impulsively take and collect things that don't belong to them. We actually see some of the other items that Speedy collects in his home/nest ("Midden"): some buttons, coins, a blanket/cloth, and a paperclip. It kinda makes Speedy seem less like a hardened no-good criminal and more like a victim of habit.

Anyway, those are just some thoughts we had.

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Perhaps we're just making the error of expecting something conventional from a Linda Harkey children's book. Harkey's children's books just aren't conventional. In fact, they tend to be very unconventional. She's always finding ways to subvert our expectations.

And, hey, this book accomplishes quite a bit. It teaches kids about friendship, teamwork, being intuitive, solving problems, and finding the courage to forgive. It might even be a reminder to avoid bad impulses like the ones that try to get you to covet and take other peoples' things. We all know that kids want what other kids have, but it isn't right to take it.

Harkey also sneaks in some terrific nature and science tidbits. Children are introduced to pack rats, seeds, snow, animal tracks, and the idea that some animals help plants grow by moving seeds around. The winter setting feels crisp and cozy, and the illustrations reinforce that feeling with expressive dog faces, playful body language, and a landscape that makes you want to curl up with a blanket and read.

One of the strongest features for parents and teachers is the activity section at the back of the book. There are tracing pages, puzzles, vocabulary exercises, comprehension questions, and even movement and pretend prompts that encourage kids to act out parts of the story. This turns the book into a full experience, not just a quick read, and makes it ideal for classrooms, therapy settings, or bedtime reading that can stretch across multiple nights.

We all have a “Pink Piggy” in our lives, that one object that looks ordinary to others but carries our memories, comfort, and joy, which is why it hurts so much when it suddenly is not where we left it. But there is no greater relief than finally finding it.

The Case of the Missing Pink Piggy joins Harkey's remarkable, award-winning collection of adorable children's books.

Check it out on Amazon!