Who Ate Steve? - by Susannah Lloyd (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A hilariously quirky mini mystery reminiscent of Jon Klassen's classic I Want My Hat Back.

Welcome to this extremely interesting book about size. Marcel is a bird and he is big. Steve is a worm, and he is . . . Wait a minute! Steve has DISAPPEARED! Does Marcel know something about it? And can he be persuaded to return that poor worm RIGHT NOW?!

Susannah Lloyd's hilarious and strong narrative voice, paired with Kate Hindley's humorous illustrations, will leave readers in stitches as they solve the simplest mystery they'll ever read!

Review Quotes

An early bird doesn't catch the worm.This U.K. import, ostensibly about size comparisons, has an unseen narrator loudly scolding Marcel, a large bird, who's apparently consumed Steve, a small worm. How does the unseen narrator know? The illustrations clearly show Marcel ambling off, a worm's body dangling from the bird's beak. Steve's released unharmed, though. The lesson resumes, but the disgruntled Marcel flies off with Steve again, disrupting the proceedings. Marcel smashes into a tree and falls to the ground, and Steve drops from Marcel's mouth. The narrator attempts the lesson again, and Marcel makes another grab for adorable, wide-eyed Steve, who's been unperturbed about everything and has simply adjusted his tiny hat. The narrator admonishes Marcel: "YOU ARE NOT JUST LETTING YOURSELF DOWN. YOU ARE LETTING EVERYBODY DOWN." The narrator issues an ultimate warning, finally getting around to the exercise's original point: Marcel is big, while Steve is small. The "math lesson" draws to a close. But Marcel is now missing. The final illustration's a hoot-Marcel finally gets some comeuppance upon encountering an even bigger predator. Talk about comparative sizes! The hilarious, crisp color illustrations incorporate creative typesetting into the artwork, wonderfully abetting the side-splitting proceedings.
Kids won't want to eat the titular character, but they'll definitely gobble this tale up. (Picture book. 4-7)

About the Author

Susannah Lloyd (Author)
Susannah Lloyd is the author of picture books Who Ate Steve?, Here Be Giants, Here Be Dragons, Oh Monty!, This Book Can Read Your Mind, and The Terribly Friendly Fox.

Her books have been translated into ten languages.

She loves reading stories, especially the ones you find in children's books. Libraries and bookshops are her happy place.

Her favourite book from childhood was 'Trubloff, The Mouse Who Wanted To Play The Balalaika', by John Burningham. It made her want to play the balalaika too, but, alas, she still cannot. Her favourite food is trifle and her favourite words are 'in cahoots' and 'hullabaloo'.

She wrote her first ever book when she was five, on her kitchen table, with the help of a large pot of felt tip pens and a stapler. It was about a fox, a wolf, a crow and a stolen balloon. It had a very mysterious ending. This was followed by an ambitious murder mystery series, started aged 11, abandoned aged 12. She is now making up for lost time.

Her books are inspired by old black and white movies, dusty stuffed animals in museums and all things small in the world.

Kate Hindley (Illustrator)
Kate is a children's book illustrator living and working in Bristol, UK. She worked as a Print Designer at a Northamptonshire-based design company before she got her first book deal with Simon and Schuster back in 2011, illustrating Claire Freedman's The Great Snortle Run, which was nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal. Since then, Kate has illustrated a number of bestselling picture books, including The Naughtiest Girl, The Wishing Chair and You Must Bring a Hat.