Dear Beast: Someone Is Missing!

Dear Beast #3

by Dori Hillestad Butler, Kevan Atteberry (Illustrator)

Who says cats and dogs don't get along? A snobby cat and a good-natured dog team up--sort of--to solve the mystery of a missing classroom pet in this playful illustrated chapter book told in letters.

Simon the cat and Baxter the dog have finally learned how to share their owner, Andy. It helps that Simon lives with Andy's mom and Baxter lives with Andy's dad. When a problem comes up, they simply exchange letters to sort it out. Baxter's spelling has even improved, though not by much.

But then Andy's class pet goes missing, causing an argument with his friend Noah. Andy is so, so sad. Now it's every pet for himself! Both Simon and Baxter want to solve the mystery and make Andy happy again. Which pet will collect the clues and piece together the solution? Or will another neighborhood animal get there first . . .

This funny and heartwarming collaboration between Geisel Honor and Edgar Award-winning author Dori Hillestad Butler and bestselling illustrator Kevan Atteberry is a tribute to the love of a good pet--and the joy found in new friendship. With eight chapters and adorable full-color illustrations on every spread, the series is a perfect read for parents to share with kids.

Genres: Mystery, Humor, Animals

80 pages, Paperback

Published January 11, 2022

About the author

Dori Hillestad Butler is an American author of more than 40 children's books, as well as magazine stories, plays and educational materials. Her first book, The Great Tooth Fairy Rip-Off, was published in 1997. She is known particularly for The Truth about Truman School, a 2008 young adult title focusing on the subject of cyber bullying, and for My Mom's Having a Baby (illustrated by Carol Thompson), which in 2011 appeared on the American Library Association's list of most commonly challenged books in the United States for its portrayal of conception and childbirth. Her 2010 mystery title, Buddy Files: Case of the Last Boy, won the 2011 Edgar Award for the best juvenile mystery published in 2010. Before becoming a children's author, Butler worked for three years as a page at a library.

Reviews

[Darla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simon, the fastidious cat, and Baxter (Beast), the easygoing dog, are back and teaming up via snail mail (the mail is delivered by a snail) to find their boy's missing class pet. Louie, the leopard gecko, has escaped from his cage. Along with letters exchanged by Simon and Baxter, there are news articles from The Daily Crow and correspondence with the Undercover Snail, the guppies at the school, and even Muffet (the spider in the classroom). This series continues to tickle the funny bone while giving young readers an opportunity to see good and not so good old-fashioned letters.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

First sentence: Dear Beast, It has come to my attention that something is bothering Andy.

Premise/plot: Someone is Missing is the third title (I believe) in Dori Hillestad Butler's Dear Beast series for young readers. The books consist of letters--mainly between Simon, a black cat, and Baxter, a dog. (Simon calls Baxter, "Beast.") Both love, love, love their human (boy), Andy. In this one, Andy is sad, sad, super-sad that the classroom pet has gone completely missing. Can Simon solve the mystery of what happened to Louie??? (Louie is a leopard gecko). Can he do it on his own???? Or will it take a "village" of animals working together???

My thoughts: I have not read the previous books in the series. (I do have them on hold at the library). I enjoyed this one. I do think it would have made slightly more sense if I'd read the books in order. But overall, I enjoyed it enough to WANT to read the previous books. I think the books are silly and fun.

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Louie the class pet gecko is missing. Simon is positive he can solve the case from afar if only people will give him the clues. Baxter and Snail decide finding Louie might require a more hands on approach.

This was ok. It didn't enthrall me, but it wasn't bad either. It might be a good one to use to talk about voice as each character definitely has a unique voice. The illustrations are very cute.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beast and Simon are corresponding again. This time, Andy is down in the dumps because Louie, the class pet, is missing. Beast is determined to solve the case if only to stop Andy from neglecting Simon’s food bowl! But how can the cat solve the case if he refuses to leave the house? It’s going to take a former spy, going undercover, to help solve it.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have not read the first book in the series, but I think one is okay to read these out of order. Fun tension between the know it all cat and the playful dog. The terrible spelling of the dog really bothered me though - I guess kids can relate, but I wonder if it might not be so great for early readers....

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a cute and fun mystery as Simon and Beast write each other back and forth (still with Beast's atrocious spelling). However, the ending was disappointing and very abrupt as the story just ends and we are told the mystery is solved but not told how.

[Ann]

This chapter book series is a master class in voice.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good detective work!

[wildct2003 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I continue to enjoy this series, written entirely in letters and a newspaper article or two. In this particular title, the third one, Andy (with whom the two animals share custody) and his best friend Noah become estranged after the class pet, a leopard gecko, disappears, and Noah loses his turn at bringing Louie home for the weekend. Simon the cat is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery and make Andy happy again. Baxter the dog is completely on board with that idea, but Simon isn't interested in having help from Baxter. As in the other books in the series, the two correspond through letters to one another that capture their personalities and Baxter's inventive spelling. The competitive animals must rely on clues from Bubbles, Muffet, Guppies, and they get a great deal of help from Snail, who goes into spy mode and passes on his mail delivery responsibilities to Edgar Allan Crow. Once Simon realizes that geckos eat snails, he and Baxter become quite worried about his wellbeing. Of course, things are resolved in a satisfactory fashion in the end with the two pets continuing their correspondence, with Simon counting the number of misspelled words in Baxter's last letter. There's even a Doggy Dictionary translating Baxter's words. Colorful, kid-friendly illustrations complement the text, making this book so much fun to read, especially with its unique characters and distinct voices.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Andy’s class pet, Louie, is missing! Andy thinks it’s his fault, so Simon and Baxter are on the case to find Louie and return him to his cage!

Series favorite animals Cheeks, Edgar Allan Crow, Snail, and Bubbles are back! Meet some new animals, Muffet and Castle Rock School too!

My son likes this series as a read aloud! We’re looking forward to when the new book comes out early next year!