Inspector Hopper and his loyal sidekick, McBugg, are on the case year round. In fall, they solve the mystery of the haunted pumpkin (just a hungry mole). A nasty winter cold sends Inspector Hopper to the clinic, where he’s sucked into a search for an absent doctor (laid up in his bed with the same “bug”). A small beetle gets carried away like a kite on a windy spring day (to be retrieved by the detecting duo). And a cricket’s missing sheet music must be tracked down before a summer evening’s show (it was unwittingly used by a wasp to patch his nest). Clear, large typeface and illustrations on nearly every page create an appealing entrée to the mystery genre for young readers. (Ages 5–8)