The Case of the Missing Hippo

Fabio, the World's Greatest Flamingo Detective #1

by Laura James, Emily Fox (Illustrator)

This hilarious, brightly illustrated chapter book starring Fabio the flamingo detective and his sidekick Gilbert the giraffe is perfect for fans of CatStronauts and The Bad Guys.

In a small town on the banks of Lake Laloozee lives the world's greatest flamingo detective. His name is Fabio. He's not tall or strong, but slight and pink. And he's very, very clever.

When Fabio and his giraffe associate Gilbert drop in to the Hotel Royale for a relaxing glass of lemonade (pink, naturally), Fabio is persuaded to judge the hotel's talent contest. But when the most promising contestant--Julia the jazz-singing hippopotamus--goes missing, Fabio must put his thinking cap back on and solve the mystery!

Don't miss these other books from Laura James!

The Pug series
Captain Pug
Cowboy Pug
Safari Pug

Genres: Mystery, Animals, Childrens, Chapter Books, Middle Grade, Juvenile, Novels

144 pages, Hardcover

First published March 8, 2018

About the author

Laura James worked on projects including Veronica Guerin and Slumdog Millionaire before signing herself up for Bath Spa’s MA in Writing for Young People. The adventures of Pug are based on the antics of her very own adventurous dogs, Brian and Florence. Laura lives in the West Country.

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabio The World's Greatest Flamingo Detective! Loved this book! Great art! Once in awhile I like to get lost in a 'quirky' story like this; just go with the flow and see where it will take me. This book was really fun to read as a break before going on to some really heavy works; kind of a way just to recharge the 'kid' battery inside.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining enough but not one of our favorite mysteries. As with many of this level of chapter book from Bloomsbury, the aesthetic is excellent--great design and illustrations! However, the story was rather underwhelming-- too many characters, a bit of rambling, not enough development. We might still try the next one in the series. However, for a chapter book mystery with an animal cast we would recommend instead the Mack Rhino series (The Big Race Lace Case: Mack Rhino, Private Eye 1) or Digby O'Day and the Great Diamond Robbery. If you like a big cast of animal characters and fancy hotels -- and flamingos -- perhaps try Hotel Flamingo.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun chapter book! Fans of Captain Pug will love this new series - and it's a great way to get started with mysteries. The bright and vibrant illustrations by Emily Fox really make it stand out.

[Rebecca L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabio the Flamingo Detective: The Case of the Missing Hippo  is lots of fun! This whimsical little book is sure to delight both children and adults. The mystery element is a clever and unique spin on an animal tale. 

Fabio is a charming detective who is very much like Hercule Poirot, only with pink feathers and a beak. The story is both clever and engaging. This book would be a great way to introduce young readers to the mystery genre. 

All of the characters are charming and well developed. Fabio is utterly charming, his sidekick Gilbert is endearing, and I particularly liked the The General, who is a woman in uniform. Even the secondary characters such as the vultures and the judges are depicted by both the author and the illustrator with a great deal of heart. 

The stylistic elements of this book are eye catching and incredibly pleasing. The entire book utilizes only three colors: lime green, neon pink, and shades of grey. The vibrant hues are certain to grab the attention of both children and adults. After receiving this book from the publisher, I left it lying on my kitchen table for a few days before I had the chance to read it. Everyone who came to visit couldn't resist picking it up and flipping through the pages of this cozy little mystery. Even my husband was impressed by the book's design. 

I highly recommend Fabio the World's Greatest Flamingo Detective  for families, independent readers, and anyone who enjoys cozy mysteries with a whimsical twist 

Note: I received a free paperback copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. For more reviews like this one, please visit my website at http://www.BeckieWrites.com

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

If only the story was as good as the fantastic illustrations and overall design of this book.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 3 out of 5]

I much preferred the second book in this series, which I read first. The art is vivid, zany, and cute, and the characters are entertaining, but the mystery leaves a lot to be desired. Even though the eventual solution is interesting, there aren't a lot of clues for readers to follow, and the author spent too much of her page count describing different animals' acts in a talent show instead of building the plot.

[Sharni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous, fluorescent fun :)

[Justin Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mom’s review: too many characters with an underwhelming story. Great illustrations!

A 7 year olds review: “ehhhhh like ehh it was okay”

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this to my 6 year old. Could have done with a few less characters, I couldn't even keep track of them all and most of them were thrown at us very close together. But he liked it and requested the next one immediately.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adorable little mystery, but I don't like the hot pink and electric green pages - they look neat, but are very difficult to read.

[Pam Carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bright colored pages add to the fun plus there aren't too many stories featuring flamingos with giraffe partners.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

How can a hippo go missing? That is a job for Fabio, the world’s greatest flamingo detective and his sidekick, GIlbert, a giraffe who is no good at disguising himself, but does ask some pretty good questions.

The Hotel Royale is a struggling business, so a talent contest is being held to cheer people up and maybe get some more business to come in. Fabio, of course, agrees to be the head judge ... after all, he is very observant. But not so observant that he sees how Julia, on stage for her performance, disappears. Of course, the lights were out at the time. And so begins the case of the Missing Hippo. There are plenty of suspects, but not many clues. But don’t worry, Fabio is very, very, very clever. Just ask him.

A cute mystery for early chapter book readers. Plenty of pictures in bright pink and green, too.

[Shes_a_book_geek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fill review can be found at https://littlebigreads.com/2018/06/22...

There is no one quite like Fabio – The World’s Greatest Flamingo – He is slightly Bizarre but has great intuition which makes him a great detective. With the assistance of his friend and associate George -a giraffe whose terrible at disguise- Fabio solves crime in a somewhat fun and quirky way, but always get to the truth. This fresh new series by Laura James is imaginative, packed full of lively and sometimes extraordinary characters that you will want to read more about.

The mystery began with Fabio being asked to be one of the three judges for a contest to raise funds for the Hotel Royale. What was meant to be an entertaining night showcasing some of the talented contestants, and a few ear-piercing locals, ended up with the gifted Jazz Singing Hippo – Julia, going missing. Much to Fabio’s delight, the police in Lake Laloozee were slow and unreliable which meant he got to show of his accomplished detective skills.

Simply put, this book is a whole lot of flipped out fun, well paced and easy to read. The illustrations are a nice addition (although you may need those sunglasses), with short chapters, a well sized readable font making it an achievable read for a 7-9 year old. I had such fun reading this book and am looking forward to more books about Fabio, George and the other animals of Lake Laloozee.

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

From Erin, age 6: I liked the part when they found missing hippo. The book was super funny. Good for ages 6 or 7. I really liked the illustrations.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun mystery for 2nd-4th graders. The bright pink & green colors throughout make this a totally unique & stand-out book, too!

[Cuppa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabio is a fabulous pink flamingo detective with a giraffe assistant named Gilbert. Together they solve mysteries in their small town on the banks of Lake Laloozee. But sometimes they just want to relax and get some pink lemonade at the Hotel Royale. That's what they're doing when Fabio is asked to become a judge for the hotel's first talent show. But when a singing hippo goes missing, Fabio and Gilbert go into sleuth mode to solve the case.

This story has more twists and turns than a super size snake. Kids will enjoy the zany humor, fast pace and many plot twists. Adult mystery fans will enjoy the noir atmosphere and the nods to the Golden Age. This is an engaging read for newly independent readers and a fun book for adult and child to read together.

[Amy Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute little mystery for kids..lots of colorful characters..love the artwork.

[Eve L-A Witherington · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book aspiring singer Julia goes missing during Hotel Royales contest and luckily Fabio was a judge and so is on hand to crack the case.



With a clever plot twist involving the other guests we see how Julia isn't as you thought at first...



A short mystery for kids with colourful pages and a differing array of animals and personalities this is a thrilling book for kids!

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This mystery is so much fun! The illustrations and color pallet are fantastic. There are a lot of characters which could get a bit confusing for early chapter book readers but I think it would be a really fun read aloud.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Agatha Christie reference is not lost on me - but will be totally unrecognized by 3rd and 4th grade readers. That's okay - this is a mystery that'll lead them there eventually and they are likely to remember the connection. What fun.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great little story with the most gorgeous and vibrant set up! Fabio is a clever flamingo and along with some trusty friends he tries to solve the mystery of the missing hippo!

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

v. funny 😀

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous fun and very enjoyable read, what clever imagination.

[Nichola Grimshaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent short novel perfect for read aloud in Y2 or Y3. Amusing characters and a mystery to solve - the clues as to whodunnit are there if you listen carefully!

[Cathy Burroughs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short review: Probably great for a middle-grader. My 6 year old was bored; my 8 year old enjoyed it. Reading it aloud was a challenge.

Long review: Ultimately, my 8 year old said she would like to read more books by this author and the story is clever and not overly complicated. The author uses a lot of big words (new for us) like embezzling, strode, brandished, and subdued. So, in that sense, if you are looking for a middle-grade book to expand vocab this would be a great choice. Throughout the book there are entire pages of black print on either hot pink or lime green pages. It hurt my eyes getting through those pages and they appear every five pages or so. There are a lot of characters and it became a challenge to give them all different voices and I eventually gave up just to get through. Perhaps my family is not the intended audience and so I feel it would be inappropriate to give this book a negative review. But I will let my oldest find this author's other books on her own.

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fabio is asked to help judge a talent competition that aims to bring back the glory of the Hotel Royale. But when one of the competitors disappears from right on stage during tryouts, Fabio switches to detective mode. Can he figure out who kidnapped the signer hippo right out from under everyone's noses and how?

Warning: You will likely need sunglasses to read this book! Several of the pages are drenched in fluorescent pink and green. It is most definitely eye-catching, but also somewhat headache inducing. Kids who love the brightest colors possible will likely find themselves entranced by the practically glowing pages. Fabio wasn't as enchanting to me as Laura James' Pug books but it was still a decent mystery for lower grades. I personally prefer to have more evidence laid out for kids so they could possibly solve the mystery with the detective, but Fabio is pretty close-beaked with his observations until the big reveal. Hand this to kids who love bright colors, mysteries, and animal stories.

[Jenni · Rating 4 out of 5]

This easy chapter book follows Fabio, the flamingo detective and his loyal giraffe associate Gilbert, as they help to keep their favorite relaxation spot, The Hotel Royale in business. Fabio was enjoying his relaxing glass of pink lemonade when he was talked into becoming the head judge of the talent show the hotel was to put on. At the auditions, the singing hippo Julia goes missing. The next day at the Gold Cup, the biggest Laloozee athletic event, Fabio investigates the strange results of 100 yard dash and finds some interesting links that lead him to finding out what happened in Julia’s disappearance. This light mystery is a great introduction to the genre for younger readers and is the beginning of a series that would encourage them to read further. This would be a good addition to libraries that are looking for feel good mysteries for elementary students.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to make very clear, I throughly enjoyed the naming of the animals, however, my brain had a hard time linking the names to the animals at some points. It was a good, fairly quick read. Reading to my 7 and 9 year old (who aren't neurotypical kids) didn't go well, neither got invested into the book enough to enjoy it. That was kind of a bummer for me. My tween (who is neurotypical) flipped through it and enjoyed the picture more graphic novel parts of the book, but it wasn't enough to pull her in to read it cover to cover. I did finish it, I did love watching the pieces come together at the end, but it was an easy book to put down and put off picking it back up.

[Isa Rive · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flamingo detective Fabio is dapper in his straw hat. His favourite hotel has seen better days so a young employee organises a talent show to create a buzz. However when hippo singer Julia disappears, Fabio and his giraffe sidekick must try to solve the case. The assortment of animal characters in 30s attire are wonderfully illustrated throughout this book. The language is rich but I wondered if the target age might struggle to keep track of the many characters. Set in a hotel which has fallen out of favour somewhat, the plot centres around a talent show designed to bring back the buzz. Fun read for ~8yrs +/-

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my kids' first true mystery book. My 4 year old was in love with all the colors in the book. For a visual kid, this format is perfect. My 6 year old just likes to listen and he was so into trying to guess who the villain was.

I wish I could have given this book a 3.5 star rating. It was a fun read, it just wasn't a literary gem or something that I'd like to read over again, which is usually what I reserve the 4 & 5 star ratings for. When my kids are old enough to read by themselves, I'll check this one out again for them to read independently.