Luna and the Case of the Missing Mooncakes

by Natasha Yim, Violet Kim (illustrator)

Celebrate diversity, math, and the power of storytelling!

A math picture book series for preschoolers and kindergarteners with relatable stories and part of little kids’ everyday experience.

Someone in the family is stealing mooncakes! Could it be big brother Kai? Luna’s other brother Benji? One of the cousins? Or maybe a grown-up? Detectives Luna and Mina search for clues and eliminate suspects during the Mid-Autumn Festival celebration. Can they catch the thief?

Storytelling Math celebrates children using math in their daily adventures as they play, build, and discover the world around them. Luna and the Case of the Missing Mooncakes is a playful exploration of logic, featuring Chinese American characters and includes a cultural note about the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Genres: Picture Books, Mystery, Food

35 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 12, 2025

Reviews

[Amanda Kerschen · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Luna and the Case of the Missing Mooncakes* by Natasha Yim is a delightful and engaging story that brings the magic of the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival to life. Luna is excited for her family to come over and celebrate, and they plan to enjoy mooncakes shaped like the Chinese zodiac signs. But while playing with her cousins, Luna discovers that one of the mooncakes has mysteriously vanished! With her cousin by her side, Luna embarks on an adventurous hunt throughout the house to solve the mystery and find out who the sneaky thief is. After a series of fun clues and some teamwork, they finally catch the culprit.

What I loved most about this book is how it introduces readers to a cultural tradition that might be unfamiliar to many, all while being entertaining and playful. The story offers a wonderful peek into the Mid-Autumn Festival, the importance of mooncakes, and the Chinese zodiac. The last pages add extra value by including fun facts about the festival and a bit of math related to the mooncakes, which is a clever educational touch.

Although I really enjoyed the cultural exploration, I felt the writing was a bit too simplistic at times. That said, *Luna and the Case of the Missing Mooncakes* is still a fun, lighthearted read that would make an excellent addition to any child's bookshelf. I would give it 4 out of 5 stars, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for an entertaining, educational story with a cultural twist. I received an advanced reader copy from NetGalley and Charlesbridge.

[Bookmeaway · Rating 3 out of 5]

Luna and the Case of the Missing Mooncakes is a cute and fun mystery for young readers.
An investigation full of clues, leads, and red herrings. It allows the reader to do deductive thinking, observation, research the pages and illustrations to solve the mystery of who stole the cakes with multiple suspects all along.

The page "Exploring the math" gives suggestions on how readers can interact with the book in several ways. (Match each mooncake with a character, discuss if the characters' decisions and deductions are correct...) I would have liked a few more pages to delve deeper into the investigation and the cultural aspect of mooncakes, with the astrological signs and other characters. I enjoyed discovering and learning more about the Chinese tradition of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 3 out of 5]

This picture book introduces kids to the Chinese tradition of the Mid-Autumn Festival, and as the main characters solve a mystery, kids will also learn about deductive reasoning. Because there isn't much character development and the illustrations of the other children often look very similar, it can be difficult to differentiate some of the suspects from each other, but the story is solid overall. This will appeal to people who are looking for mystery books for young children, and to people who are interested in books about Chinese holidays.

I received a temporary digital copy from NetGalley, and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

[TAreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful and adorable story about Luna and her cousin Mina solving the case of the mooncake thief! I truly love stories with extended family members coming together to celebrate a festival and a whole group of elders and cousins getting together. This story gives me all of that with gorgeous, expressive and colorful art! I love the mystery and the thief, too! It was a delight reading this. We also learn about Mid Mid-Autumn festival and the backmatter includes more activities for kids to try on their own. Absolutely loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book teaches about deductive reasoning (questioning and detective work) as well as an important Chinese Festival, Midautumn Festival. The illustrations are enough to give you an idea of what is happening but not too much. They do give some great insights into the Chinese festival. The story is short enough for my 5 year old to pay attention and think throughout.

Thank you to Charlesbridge, Natasha Yim, and NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

[SUSANA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author Natash Yim has written a book that will keep her readers entertained from the first word to the last, and then some more. This text and beautiful illustrations keep you engaged, entertained, and it will activate your mind while joining detective Luna for an adventure. And parents, trust me, you'll love it too.

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

A girl and her cousin tried to figure out who keeps eating moon cakes when they aren't supposed to. why didn't any of the adults hide the box, and why wasn't a child disciplined for eating the other children's moon cakes?

[Melanie Gaum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story with logic and deductions.

ARC from Netgalley.

[Anna Ouchchy · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the latest book in the Storytelling Math series, Luna and her cousin Mina try to solve the mystery of the disappearing mooncakes during Mid-Autumn Festival. But the mooncake thief is not easy to find! This book serves as a great introduction to logic for young readers and will be appreciated by teachers and librarians as well.