Hound the Detective

Puffin, Penguin Random House NZ, 4th Aug 2020 | Pencil, photoshop

Meet Hound, a brilliant detective who ALWAYS solves his case. But this latest trail of clues has him perplexed - could it be that he's missed something important?

Search for clues hidden in the pictures and help Hound to solve the riddle in this delightful return to the world of Puffin the Architect.

I’m Hound! And I’m a sleuth.
I solve all types of cases.
I sniff and snuff until my nose
detects the clues and traces.
Missing jewels, stolen cars --
I always solve the crime.
My latest case arrived by post.
Ha ha — detecting time!

This gorgeous, multi-layered and engaging whodunnit by an award-winning writer has a delightful surprise at the end. Readers will love studying each action-packed illustration, poring over the details of Hound’s secret passages and map, spotting the adorable animals lurking in the pictures, and finding the caterpillar hidden on every page.

NZ$19.99

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Awards & recognition

HIGHLY COMMENDED - Storylines Notable Picture Book Awards 2021

LISTENER TOP 50 BOOKS 2020

SHORTLISTED - Picture Book Award 2021 - NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.

Praise for Hound the Detective

'Hound the Detective is a book that begs to be read to a child - with detailed illustrations, a large format, a gentle alternate rhyme scheme and a repetitious refrain... Kimberly’s illustrations are glorious, and I feel like this might just become something that is a given with her books but I don’t want to understate how wonderful they are. This is an illustrator that understands light, and while some scenes are quite dark, each illustration plays with light in a way that brings life to each spread.'
THE SAPLING - October 2, 2020

If you love solving things, this is the perfect book for you! It will make you puzzle, and then it will put a smile on your face!...Kimberly has created an extra cool story that is fun to read, exquisitely illustrated, and leaves you feeling good. At the moment the good feeling that books can give you is worth its weight in gold. Fabulous!
PAULA GREEN, POETRY BOX

Hiding bear and a baking platypus, suspicious packages and the village map enthralled the gang as they tried to follow Hound’s paw steps and place the clues he’s sniffed out. The elaborate illustrations truly set the scene from beginning to end, and beginning to end again… and again.
RONNIE SWAINSTON, KIDSPOT

Hound the Detective is a book that begs to be read to a child—with detailed illustrations, a large format, a gentle alternate rhyme scheme and a repetitious refrain. The text is not overworked, as some rhyming text can be and Hound never forgets that it has a story to tell... Kimberly’s illustrations are glorious, and I feel like this might just become something that is a given with her books but I don’t want to understate how wonderful they are. This is an illustrator that understands light, and while some scenes are quite dark, each illustration plays with light in a way that brings life to each spread... anyone who has read and enjoyed the animals featured in Puffin the Architect, will be thrilled to welcome their friends back into their picture book lives. I don’t know where these guys live, but I want in.
THE SAPLING, Oct 2, 2020

According to the Year 4 pupils at Mangatawhiri School, who range in age from 7 – 9, this book will appeal to kids aged 5 – 10 as well as older kids and adults who like mysteries. It features Hound, a dogged detective who always solves his cases but, facing his latest whodunnit, is puzzled by the clues before him. Can readers help him? The clever rhyming language, which repeated and grew word patterns, and the pictures, packed full of detail, interesting colours and drawings of animals from all over the world, engaged nearly all those who read it and they enjoyed tracking down clues.
DIONNE CHRISTIAN, KETE

...charming and ingenious...I think kids will love this book. They will pore over its pages (for ages!) looking for the clues that thread the story together in such a clever way.
VASANTI UNKA, MAGPIES