Agents of S.U.I.T by John Patrick Green

The agents of S.U.I.T, Special Undercover Investigation Teams, have taken on a new agent, a chameleon named Cilantro whose secret weapon is a natural camouflage ability to blend into the background. Cilantro’s only problem is that the very exciting spy technology V.E.S.T stays visible, spoiling the effect. Agent Cilantro’s first mission is to catch a cat burgler, who turns out to be a dog, who is stealing the tiny packets of condiments you get with takeaway and stash in the back of the utensil drawer. The burglar nearly escapes but gets caught up by the icecream van driven by The Investigators, alligators, Brash and Mango who feature in previous books in the series. As Cilantro explains “the dog is the source of the stolen sauce”. The puns and wordplay continue throughout as Cilantro and offsider Monocle are sent by Inspector Vague on an unspecified mission that involves crop circles, militant sheep and alien Throng. The colourful, clear graphics and straightforward layout propel the story forward, allowing the fun wordplay and absurd plot to stand out. At 200 pages the book would lend itself to being read aloud in episodes but I am sure that readers of the previous Investigators series will love this one. There are pages at the end on how to draw Cilantro using simple shapes and some fun information about the creators. The Investigators website has links, activities and videos.

Themes: Comics, Adventure, Wordplay, Investigation.

Sue Speck