Jigsaw: Mystery in the Mail

by Bob Graham

Serendipity and positive thinking come into play as a family searches for a missing puzzle piece in Bob Graham’s enchanting story with a sweet surprise ending.

“Oh, let’s do it!” say Kitty and Katy and Mom when a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle mysteriously arrives in the mail. “I have time on my hands,” agrees Dad. Starting in winter with the edges, by autumn they’re almost done, only to discover that one piece is missing. Mom is sure that it must have accidentally gone out with the trash, so the Kellys pile into the car to comb through the local dump (“shouldn’t take long”). There they uncover forgotten letters, train tickets, discarded newspapers, and old photos yellow with age, but finding the missing piece is starting to seem like wishful thinking. “Let’s wish, then,” says Katy. As in all of Bob Graham’s work, the beauty here is in the details, with visual perspectives that offer a bird’s-eye view or take us underfoot, wordless sequences letting us in on a secret. Is it sheer luck—or perhaps the power of hope—that creates an ending to the story?

Genres: Picture Books, Family, Childrens, Juvenile, Fiction

40 pages, Hardcover

Published July 5, 2022

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

An Australian children's author and illustrator. His books include Max, which won the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize Gold Award, Jethro Byrd, Fairy Child, which won the Kate Greenaway Medal, and "Let's Get A Pup!" Said Kate which won the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award

Reviews

[Jeimy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an unexpected treasure. I loved the writing and was moved by parts of this, and then I cackled, I laughed so hard I’m sure the walls at work reverberated.

I also loved the illustrations and there is one in particular that I will cherish.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

There IS something about jigsaw puzzles that center on hope, the importance of small moments and a benevolent karma. Jigsaw pieces always go missing in our house and (mostly) they mysteriously reappear. Where have they been? Bob Graham's imaginings are an improbable delight and full of clues for sharp-eyed readers to appreciate.

Puzzle pieces are right up there for me with the mystery of missing socks, multiplying hangars and my coffee cup which somehow seems to teleport. Don't we all believe at heart that the universe is often benignly aligned and the puzzle pieces and packages will find their way home?

Graham's charming illustrations with his appealing big-nosed characters always make me smile and the pieces all come together in this picture book.

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

This family receives a jigsaw puzzle in the mail from a mystery person. Close to a year passes as they work on it and the dad completes it. Except - a piece is missing. Readers see what happened to that piece early in the story. The family sets out to find the piece and it is a bit contrived that they actually retrieve it and find it in their home again. The illustrations are charming but the story falls flat for me.

[Jennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyhing about this book is perfect - from the subtly embossed cover with the jigsaw shapes, the jigsaw end papers of the puzzle itself - the front with a piece missing and back completed, to the unfolding story. Jigsaw is a warm celebration of a family that works together and plays together and that takes the time to interact and share their time. The arrival of a mystery parcel, sender unknown, provides the vehicle for the story - a jigsaw puzzle to be completed. It takes a long time - measured by dad as he sets his watch to late Autumn, and we watch the family grow and interact through the passing of year, until the next Autumn when there is just one piece to put in - and it is missing. No surprises for the reader as we have seen what happened to the piece - the hippos bathers. BUT, the family perseveres to seek it out and serendipity plays its part. The lovely letter that young Kitty and Katie write to the sender provides the perfect conclusion.

The illustrations are soft, friendly and full of love - just like the Kelly family. Key moments are visually presented so that young readers can add to the events in the text and Graham perfectly captures the Kelly's home and community - with a wealth of daily events to discover in the house, the yard and the street.

Just a note, this appears to be the US edition, my copy is subtitled A Puzzle in the Post - will swap over when the hard working Goodreads librarians have added this in.

[Lisa Gemert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bob Graham's delightful picture book strikes the perfect note. To me, it shares exactly what the best picture books offer: it gives an experience. This book is more than words and pictures (which are, of course, delightful on their own). It is an opportunity for an adult or older child to read aloud to a young child and experience a shared discovery.

The premise sounds simple: a missing puzzle piece. Who hasn't had one of those? But instead of its leading to frustration and sending the puzzle to the landfill, the missing piece ends up leading to a family adventure.

I love so much about this book. It's evocative and touching without being over-the-top sweet. It is a beautiful testimony to the power of rejecting the culture of busyness. The world would be different if more people shared the father's line, "I've got time to spare." Can you even imagine?

I love the illustrations so much because they are detailed and reward you for spending a little time with them. You can tell what's going on at a glance, but do yourself a favor and stay awhile. I mean, you've got time to spare, right?

I love the subtle lesson on the importance of letter writing, and I love that there's a little unsolved mystery.

This one hits it out of the park.

*Note: I was given a copy by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

[Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

When a family gets a random jigsaw in the mail, they aren't sure who sent it but are more than excited to complete it. They take their time to make sure each piece is where it belongs. It isn't until they reach the end that they discover the worst thing possible. A piece is missing! They search high and low, but mom fears it was thrown out, so they take a trip to find for it. When they come up with nothing, it isn't until they return home that they find it in the most unexpected of places.

JIGSAW: MYSTERY IN THE MAIL is a sweet story about a family who comes together to work on the mystery puzzle. It shows children how much fun a jigsaw puzzle can be and how it can lead to random adventures. I love how the family bonds over this puzzle because I enjoy doing them with my daughter. She thought it was funny how they looked everyone for the missing piece because we've had the same thing happen to us, only we didn't find it.


Final Verdict: Overall, this is a story to teach about family bonding and how something as simple as a puzzle can bring everyone together. The illustrations remind me of the style you would find among the comic section of a newspaper.

[Lorie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An improbable tale about a puzzle piece gone missing! When a family anonymously receives a giant jigsaw puzzle in the mail, they are excited to spend months putting it together only to find that one piece is missing. This sends them on searches through the house and also the paper pile at the garbage dump with no success apparently. But the reader knows exactly where it went and how it is found!

Bob Graham does not disappoint with this family fun story. Children will love the fact that they know what happened and will delight when it magically reappears. The story is a fun read aloud for lap or story time reading. Since the book is oversize, the images will appear clear to most in a class or group. The watercolor and ink illustrations are charming and are recognizable to those familiar with Graham's multitude of charming picture books.

I would highly recommend this book for purchase by elementary and public libraries.

This book was provided by the publisher for professional review by SWON Libraries.

[Sandy Brehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who (in an earlier life) was obsessed with jigsaw puzzles, I was eager to read this new picture book. It does capture much of that nearly-obsessive approach that puzzle-workers develop, including the ebbs and flows of interest by secondary helpers, the calendar-page-turns when momentum fades, and that ultimate frustration- a single missing piece! The story establishes all that in the first half, after giving the readers an early-pages visual narrative about where that missing piece will be found.
The scenes in the city dump are both comical in detail and surprisingly un-gross, with the resolution amping up the humor with more visual narrative details.
Overall, the comic-style illustrations, expressions, and attempts are managed with a level of tension that allows the humor to shine through. This is one of those "readers know the secret" picture books that will ahve kids poring over images for details they may have missed in prior reads.

[Brandon Dyer (Children's Librarian) · Rating 1 out of 5]

A family gets a mysterious jigsaw puzzle in the mail by an anonymous sender. The family opens the jigsaw puzzle box and decides to work on the puzzle together. Sadly, one of the jigsaw pieces goes missing and the family members must investigate and find the missing jigsaw piece.

This book misses its mark when trying to introduce young readers to the concept of mystery. Readers are aware where the jigsaw piece is hiding, which loses the mystery aspect. As well as, readers do not discover the identity of the anonymous sender which leaves readers with no closure at the end. The watercolor and ink illustrations do help readers follow the plot of the story. There might be a demand for this book because of the popularity of the author, but there are definitely better books that introduce young readers to the genre of mystery.

[Katriel Jernigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a family who receives a package from someone anonymous. The mystery package turns out to be a jigsaw puzzle the family decides to put together. A year passes before they are about to complete the puzzle when they realize a piece is missing. The family then spends the rest of the book searching for that one puzzle piece.

This story was so cute with a happy ending. I loved the detail in the illustrations when the family was at the landfill searching for the piece. The story made me so happy and I think children can learn a good lesson from this.

This book can be used in the classroom to show students the importance of hope and positive thinking.

[Gretchen · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are many things I like about this book but I feel as a whole the story doesn't really work for me. I like how the piece goes missing and that as the reader we are let in on the secret and watch it happen. I even like when they go to the garbage/recycling place to look for the piece and realize some of the "sweet things" in the garbage if that makes sense. But the fact that they don't know who sent it and that they really do finish the puzzle and they send a letter to "somewhere" just made the story part of this book a little less engaging to me.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some unknown person has sent the Kelly family a thousand piece jigsaw puzzle in the mail. While opening it, a single piece falls unnoticed on the floor. As the Kelly's work for months on the puzzle, and finally realize the missing piece needed to complete the puzzle. The Kelly's put on their thinking caps to try and figure what could have happened to the missing piece, and the search begins for closer to the mystery in the mail.

[Clementine · Rating 3 out of 5]

i just don't think this worked on any level? the illustrations feel weirdly dated and the story doesn't make sense. if the mystery is where the puzzle piece went, readers know the entire time, and if the mystery is who sent the puzzle in the first place, it's never resolved. so what is the point?

[Ann Haefele · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is for all of us who love to do jigsaw puzzles and have had the frustrating experience of a missing piece. Story highlights family time and enjoying each other , even in the midst of frustration. I love Bob Graham books as there is always a twist and fun unexpected ending. This one did not disappoint.

[Emily Carlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting concept, but it doesn't go off very well.
We never learn who the puzzle comes from, which is a bummer. Additionally, while the idea of the family putting the puzzle together is fun, is it really logical that they will go to the dump to find it?
I can appreciate the fun concept, but it wasn't a winner overall for me.

[Alisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uneven story of a family doing a jigsaw puzzle over months. The puzzle mysteriously arrives in the mail (the sender is never revealed) and a piece is lost before they can finish the puzzle. A quest is begun. Narration that reaches for lyricism but doesn't quite make it.

[Leova Manbhat · Rating 2 out of 5]

A box of jigsaw puzzle mysteriously arrives at the Kelly's house. Took while but they managed to put it together only to realize that a piece is missing! Off to the dump they go and miraculously, the missing piece sticks to dad's shoe.

Silly and pretty impossible story.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to admit I didn't quite get the point of the story. A family receives a mysterious jigsaw puzzle and discovers when they put it together that a piece is missing. So they head to the trash place to try and find it? What am I missing?

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave it 5 stars because I, too, love jigsaw puzzles. It is highly unlikely, however, that someone can find a single missing puzzle piece in a mountain of garbage. I thoroughly enjoyed the story anyway.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Cindy Dobrez · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of Bob Graham's books, but this one left me...puzzled.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not Graham's best, but like his others, a story that celebrates serendipity and the little joys in life.

[Y.Poston]

a sweet ode to jigsaw puzzling

[Lisa D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was all right, but I wanted it to be more puzzling.

[Evelyn Tan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read with my son..it was fun to guess where it was and look for it on the pages.

[Rebecca Gomez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful book. I like how impossible the situation seems, but the author/illustrator made the resolution completely believable. Never say never, I guess!

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Families who love jigsaw puzzles will delight in this book!

[Heath · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not something I could get behind.

[Syntha Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet story of possibilities and trash lol