The Eleventh Hour (book)

The Eleventh Hour
Front cover of the 1997 edition
AuthorGraeme Base
IllustratorGraeme Base
Cover artistGraeme Base
LanguageEnglish
Publication date
1989
Publication placeAustralia
Media typePrint (hardcover)

The Eleventh Hour: A Curious Mystery is an illustrated children's book by Graeme Base. In it, Horace the Elephant holds a party for his eleventh birthday, to which he invites his ten best friends (various animals) to play eleven games and share in a feast that he has prepared. However, at the time they are to eat—11:00—they are startled to find that someone has already eaten all the food. They accuse each other until, finally, they're left puzzled as to who could have eaten it all. It is left up to the reader to solve the mystery, through careful analysis of the pictures on each page and the words in the story.

The book was a joint-winner of the "Picture Book of the Year" award from The Children's Book Council of Australia.[1]

  1. ^ "Winners and Commended Books 1980 - 1989 - CBCA". Children's Book Council of Australia. Archived from the original on 2014-12-16. Retrieved 2014-11-28.