Dear Madeline, We have taken your parents in for questioning. Beware, if they do not talk, you will be next. We will be in touch. Do not go to the police or we cannot answer for our actions. But let me give you one clue! Finger food! Mwa-haha. Cordially yours, The Enemy
Just before her middle-school graduation, Madeline’s hippy parents are kidnapped and the only clue she has is a note signed “The Enemy,” a file card covered in a squiggly-lined secret code, and a car she saw speeding down her driveway that she could have sworn was being driven by a fox. Madeline sets off to her uncle’s house to see if he can decode the strange card only to find him in a feverish state. When he falls into a coma, she realizes she alone must find her parents. When Madeline encounters Mr. and Mrs. Bunny, she discovers she can understand animal speech, so out of desperation, she hires the Bunnys to help her find her parents, for who better to sniff out foxes than a pair of rabbits? After several false leads, an appointment with a marmot plans for bonnet-making to meet Prince Charles, and a disastrous visit to the Bunny Council, Madeline finds her parents. This cute mystery shows that sometimes, self-sufficient girls need the help of well-intentioned bunny rabbits.
ISBN: 0375867554 248p. Grades 3-6
Recommended by Alice Cyphers, Librarian, Pennsylvania USA