6 has a problem. Everyone knows that 7 is always after him. Word on the street is that 7 ate 9. If that's true, 6's days are numbered. Lucky for him, Private I is on the case. But the facts just don't add up. It's odd. Will Private I put two and two together and solve the problem . . . or is 6 next in line to be subtracted? K-Gr 3—Private investigator Al F. Bet relates a recent case history—the mysterious disappearance of Number 9. It all starts with Client Number 6, who comes into the office visibly agitated about Number 7. Has shady 7 committed a horrific crime? Are his own days "numbered"? In search of some leads, the PI heads to Café Uno, and after interviewing a series of suspects and witnesses and having a generous serving of pi, he adds up the evidence in page after page of math-related wordplay. The intrepid investigator ignores all negatives, solving the mystery of the missing number by searching the streets and questioning a collection of verbose cartoon personalities (created digitally with Photoshop, colored pencil, and watercolor) featured prominently on the page. Readers will enjoy finding all of the math references hidden in the text and the art. The dialogue will gain appreciative groans up to the final moment, when Al is ready to resume his letter cases, because "they're A-OK in his book." VERDICT An A-1 purchase for those who love plays on words, mysteries, and humorous tales.—Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano ISD, TX ★ Winner, 2018 Irma Black Award for Excellence in Children's Literature ★ Winner, SCBWI Crystal Kite, Atlantic Region ★ Winner, Red Dot Book Awards, Early Years ★ Junior Library Guild Selection ★ Summer 2017 Kids' Indies NEXT Selection "An A-1 purchase for those who love plays on words, mysteries and humorous tales." ~ ★ Starred review, School Library Journal "Lazar's crisp, well-paced prose, combined with Ross MacDonald's dynamic illustrations, make the story a lot of fun to read...think of it as a kid-friendly version of 'The Maltese Falcon,' only with larger than life-size numbers, and no cigarette smoke." ~ The New York Times Book Review "The solution to the mystery is pretty clever, the pace is brisk, and the arithmetic jokes approach infinity. Lazar's numbers game stands up to repeat readalouds." ~ Publisher's Weekly "The newly numerate [will] find the goings-on hilarious. You can count on it." ~ The Horn Book "Pun fun reigns over this fast-paced whodunit. Counting has never been so mysterious or so much fun." ~ Kirkus Reviews "One of the wittiest picture books I've encountered in years and with the multiple levels of humor, 7 Ate 9 is sure to delight adults just as much as the kids they read it to!" ~ Ann Childs for the American Booksellers Association (ABA) Why is 6 afraid of 7? Because 7 ate 9! I imagined this popular schoolyard joke coming to life. What if 6 went to a Private *I* in the *Capital* city, determined to discover how 9 disappeared? Once I discovered the hard-boiled detective voice of Private *I*, the story took off. Full of number puns and a surprising twist, I hope this book brings you laughter...times infinity! Tara Lazar (www.taralazar.com) is the author of The Monstore, I Thought This Was a Bear Book , and Little Red Gliding Hood . She is a member of the Rutgers University Council on Children's Literature. Tara lives in Somerset County, New Jersey, with her husband and two daughters. Ross MacDonald (ross-macdonald.com) is the author and illustrator of Bad Baby, Henry's Hand, Achoo! Bang!: The Noisy Alphabet , and Another Perfect Day . Ross has created illustrations and humor pieces for periodicals such as Vanity Fair , the New York Times , the New Yorker, Newsweek, Time, Spy , and Rolling Stone . He was born and raised in Canada and now lives in Connecticut.