The Eleventh Hour

Don your favorite costume and join Horace the elephant in celebration of his eleventh birthday. Bring your magnifying glass and your suspicion too, for a mystery awaits in The Eleventh Hour. Graeme Base's curious tale of a birthday party gone awry is a visual treat. Eleven animals arrive for Horace's party, all bedecked in costume: The Pig came as an Admiral, the Zebra as a Punk. The Rhino was an Astronaut, his spacesuit made of junk.The Swan arrived as Princess Pure, a most enchanting sight. Be [...]

In their dotage the Offspring will still be talking about their crazy mom having a signed first of this that she would read to them, but wouldn't let them touch until they washed their hands.

Here is a story about Horace's (an elephant) eleventh birthday party, and apparently there's a mystery to solve! The mystery isn't revealed until near the end, and the book definitely requires that you look back through it to solve the mystery. Overall, mystery hunting aside, I enjoyed this book, the fun characters, and the whimsical, jam-packed illustrations! For a rhyming book, the rhymes were really pretty good! I didn't find myself tripping over the rhythm or words hardly at all! For the mys [...]

I LOVE THIS BOOK. I did a program based in it for tweens last year and it was amazing (albeit sparsely attended, but it's a tween program so any attendance is great!). Any time any person expresses any interest in puzzles (coworkers, kids, parents, strangers) I leap up and offer them this book. I love introducing kids to anagrams and pigpen ciphers, because I distinctly remember my elementary school library helping me as I pored over this book as a weird 5th grader. I had so much fun!

One of the most amazing illustrations I've ever seen in children's books. Can't believe I've never heard of Base before now. The pictures are so detailed and there are hundreds of things going on in them, you could just look for hours. In this case, there's a mystery to be solved and some really fun clues to be looking for in the pictures. Not easy enough of a mystery for a small child, but just tough enough for my 1st grader, and it kept me interested too! The clues are hidden in the pictures a [...]

The other day, my son brought this home from my parents' house. I remembered it as one of my favorite children's books--and it didn't disappoint. This who-dunnit mystery is teeming with hidden puzzles, many of which I couldn't even solve today (morse code, musical notes, and more). I had so much fun re-"reading" (more like "puzzling over") this that I ordered seven more of Base's books--ostensibly for my kids.

One of my very favorite books as an older child - my sisters and I poured over this book for weeks.

Graeme Base: one of my favourite authors and artists, as a child, and now, still. I read this, and several of his other books, like "The Sign of the Seahorse" and "Animalia", with my siblings more than a decade ago when I was growing up. This book, specifically, came to my memory recently - really vaguely at first. My brother and I spent something like two hours researching online from our memory and finally rediscovered Graeme Base and this book, his book that stuck with us the most. Then, in 9 [...]

Wow, what a book! I had read this before, but that time I didn't make the effort to look for clues, solve the mystery, or even read the solution. I always planned to come back and spend more time with this book, so I'm glad I finally did! This time I read the book, looked for clues, deciphered many of the hidden messages, and solved the mystery before ever reading through the solution pages! And wow, the solution pages pointed out many clues I hadn't even noticed. Although some of those clues ar [...]

Ok this may be the coolest kids book ever, if you have a smart kid who likes puzzles or codes. It took us two or three HOURS to solve the book. It was so exciting that we did it in one sitting, working like mad. It is that absorbing. He did solve it, but we had to resort to a hint off the internet to find the swan's name. I'd say a smart 8 year old and up can do it, maybe with some help. Besides being super fun, the book is also lovely. My kid is now enjoying looking back at the amazing illustra [...]

This was a gift for my then, twenty-year old daughter. She loved it. One of her favorites.Who says all kids books have to be read to, or bought for kids? :D

In this "curious mystery" by Graeme Base, author of Animalia,Horace Elephant invites 11 friends to his eleventh birthday party. After a great deal of elaborate preparation, games, and sport, the awesome feast prepared by Horace is stolen! Which guest was responsible for this heinous crime? The brilliantly embedded clues and breathtaking illustrations contribute to the clever rhyming tale in this modern masterpiece.No elementary school classroom or personal library is complete without The Elevent [...]

This is a good mystery story for older young kids. My niece and I read it together, and we enjoyed the story. I pre-read the book before I read it with her, and I admit, I had to "cheat" and look at the key in the back of the book to discover the answer to the mystery. I don't think that the clues presented themselves very readily, and that's a good thing in a mystery. If this were an adult mystery, I'd think it was great! In a *children's* mystery story, however, maybe a few *slightly* more obv [...]

My mom bought this book for my sisters and I after the illustrations caught her eye in a local bookstore. She brought it home, and we had a lot of fun reading it together, pouring over the beautiful illustrations, and trying to decipher the mystery.When Horace the elephant turns 11 he throws himself an elaborate birthday party, and invites all of his other animal friends to join in the fun. There are games, costumes, and of course an elaborate feast that Horace himself had prepared. Unfortunatel [...]

This book is great for kids who are into mysteries, clues, and decoding. Even better, this is great for kids who are into awesome illustrations. Even better, even better, this poem features some pretty sweetly rhyming pages. I was shocked. I owned Animalia as a kid, but didn't realize Graeme Base could be a pretty good writer! Secret aside for parents: If your child is not a decoder, figure out the mystery ahead of time, or look it up on the Internet. Luckily, the "help" pages are now taped toge [...]

My husband grew up with this book and, although I loved Animalia as a kid, this book was not in my collection. The two of us spent a couple of nights over the Thanksgiving break working out this mystery--what a fun way to pass an evening! The mystery here is simple enough for an older child to figure out with a little parental guidance, but the clues in code are quite difficult. There are so many beautiful and funny details hidden in the illustrations, and the whole concept is extremely well car [...]

I'm just not a big fan of animals in human clothing, but I did like how much is going on in each of these paintings at the surface level. Intrigued by all of the codes lurking in the background. Might take a shot at solving this without consulting the Internet. If kids can figure it out, surely I can, right? :)

The Eleventh Hour by Graeme Base is a wonderful mystery picture book for children. When Horace, the elephant turns eleven he plans a grand affair. Friends are invited, party games are chosen and a beautiful birthday feast is made. The day of the party arrives and all of his friends show up in their best costumes. Throughout the day, they all play the different games waiting for the eleventh hour when they can finally devour the feast. To their horror, the eleventh hour comes and the feast is gon [...]

Horace the Elephant is planning a spectacular party for his 11th birthday. He plans all sorts of games and events, such as pool, chess, and tennis. The most important part of the party, however, is the giant feast that he promises to feed his guests on the 11th hour. Once the time to feast arrives, all of the food is gone! Every guest denies stealing the food, but someone has to be lying. Who could commit such an atrocious act?This book is unnecessarily long, meaning that about half of the pages [...]

The children’s mystery book The Eleventh Hour by Graeme Base tells the story of Horace the Elephant who holds a party for his eleventh birthday. He invites his ten best friends to the party, with carefully planned games and a strict schedule to eat at 11:00. The clock strikes 11 and everyone proceeds to the Banquet Hall when they are all suddenly stunned to find all their food is gone. Someone snuck around and ate all of their food but who could it be? Many of them had plausible alibis that he [...]

I actually read this book for the first time while completing the genre presentation with my group. I have to say, that I was really surprised. When I initially flipped through it, I saw all the colorful illustrations and the all the busy pages and was really intrigued. Finding a picture book in the mystery genre is truly difficult, and I'm really impressed with all the details throughout the book as well as the diverse backgrounds and style employed. I really liked how at the end, it turns out [...]

I fondly remember the hours of fun I had figuring out the puzzles in this book with my mother when I was in 5th grade or so. Like all of Graeme Base's books, the illustrations in this story are superb. They are full of amazing details that can't all be noticed in just one read through. The story is fun, with a clever rhyme scheme. The puzzles are challenging and it will take a lot of time even for very clever children to figure them out and they may need some help from a friendly adult! I rememb [...]

"The Eleventh Hour" by Graeme Base is about an elephant named Horace. Horace is having an extravagant birthday party. He invites all of his friends and each one comes in a costume. Throughout the story they play games. There's a feast, but towards the end the food disappears! Horace isn't saddened though because he reappears with sandwiches and his humungo surprise birthday cake.The genre of this text is mystery. The lexile number is 1070. The author has won numerous awards: Children's Book Coun [...]

A combination mystery and picture book in rhyme. It is extremely rare to find such a skilled and creative illustrator/poet that makes children's books. I remember working on solving all the different puzzles hidden in this book with my siblings when we were young. It took us quite a while, but we felt very accomplished when we figured them out.

Wonderful rhyming, rhythm, and story! Superb artwork! A story filled with merriment and mystery. How did I miss this one for my children. This book will sure to spark the brain cells of any youngster.

Very clever book that will entertain for hours. Illustrations are magical with hidden clues, and drawings. So much in this little book that could absorb (especially a child) for very long periods of time.

This book is so classic, I am afraid that whatever review that I am going to give here is not going to do it any justice nor add any value to the already exceptional feedbacks given by the author’s fans since the 1980s.Little-AJ loves this book at first sight and was instantly captivated by the stunning illustrations, despite the extreme complexity of each picture. Little-AJ adores animals, and is obsessed with identifying different animals on picture books each day. This book is unique, becau [...]

Absolutely brilliant. Using the messages and codes hidden in the illustrations, can you solve which of the guests stole the feast? Some puzzles are simple, some are quite challenging. Some may even require you to do a bit of research (although you don't need to in order to solve the mystery). Great fun to read, and one I'm looking forward to sharing with others. I wish I had several copies to hand out!

A beautifully illustrated story where there reader uses clues in the pictures on every page to solve a mystery?!?!?!?! Yes! YES! YESSSS!!!!!! I love this book. The mystery is simple enough for children to solve, but the clues can be complex enough to engage a puzzle-loving adult. I absolutely recommend this book to mystery lovers, puzzle solvers, or anyone who enjoys a whimsical story. Love, LOVE! LOVE!!!!

A book challenge for 2017. Had to find something quick and this was on the shelf. A book with a number in the title. Adore Graeme Base and the art work in all his book are superb. This was a rhyming story about Horace's birthday party.