Hornswoggled!: A Wacky Words Whodunit

K-Gr 3–Looking for a title to inspire young writers to add some zing to their writing? Trying to make the point that a broad vocabulary can make life more exciting, zestful, and engaging? Look no further than the mystery in the forest that is this hilarious title. Deer wakes up to find that one of his antlers has been replaced with a tennis racket. He’s been hornswoggled! A helpful placard is held up to define hornswoggled and the game is afoot. One creature after another finds themselves the victim of theft (the catfish has been codswalloped, a bison has been buffaloed). Finally a clever detective with a nod to Hercule Poirot arrives only to find that he, too, has been outfoxed by the thief of the forest. Laugh-out-loud funny illustrations join with a witty text to make a mystery forest romp an engaging offering, encouraging all who read it to broaden their vocabularies. This title would make a great read-aloud for older elementary students who enjoy puns and witty wordplay.