Tough Cookie

Sometimes the way the cookie crumbles is a saving grace, particularly in this clever spoof on a hard-boiled detective tale, set inside the cookie jar. The "tough cookie" who narrates is a trenchcoat-wearing, gruff detective who came from a good family - "Lots of dough. Lived the high life. Top of the Jar." But when he hit bottom, he became a P.I. Now he's tracking the culprit who's making mayhem out of the cookie jar by snatching away cookies such as the Pfefferneuses, and roughing up the tough cookie's partner, Chips. Some quick thinking on the part of the P.I.'s delicious (a politically correct adjective, in this case) former girlfriend, Pecan Sandy, and a crowd of cookie crumbs thwarts the greedy fingers once and for all. The hero gets his man - or hand - and the girl. Wisniewski (The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups, 1998, etc.) is dead-on witty, while his torn-paper collages have a authentically crumbly look. The puns are numerous, but good, and visual details - such as the map of the Jar, a wanted poster showing the shadowy outline "Fingers," and more - guarantee lots of giggles for onlookers young and old. (Kirkus Reviews)