Penny Pangolin and the Missing Ant Cake

 

Penny Pangolin and the Missing Ant Cake is an appealing and colorful illustrated book for kids by Wayne D. Kramer. Released 13th March 2023, it's 32 pages and is available in hardcover, paperback, and ebook formats. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free. The other books featuring Penny and friends are also currently available on KU. 

This is a fun short story with a mystery. When Penny's baked lemon ant cake goes missing, she and her friend Vin go looking for clues to solve the mystery.  The book is peppered throughout with  small illustrated details and interesting background species of plants and animals in Penny's neighborhood.

The art by Jade Zivanovic is rendered electronically and is balanced, whimsical, colorful, and appealing. The drawings are full of small details which invite readers to pause and take a closer look. In fact, the author/illustrator have hidden some animals and items in the pictures scattered throughout the book which invite readers to page through and find later. 

It's not just a fun anthropomorphic animal adventure, the author has included information about species conservation (they're critically endangered in the wild) and the importance of helping protect wildlife and nature. They've provided links for further reading and a QR code for more content. 

Four stars. Really cute short story with some good messages. This would be a good choice for public or school library acquisition, home use, or gift giving.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.