UPC 074644998436

When mittens, caps, and even coats begin to disappear, Madeline and her classmates turn to the usual suspect--Pepito. But for once their next-door neighbor is innocent; even his "bad hat" is missing. So our red-haired heroine dons her detective gear and joins Pepito and a police officer in search of the robber in this 24-minute video based on Ludwig Bemelmans's timeless characters. When the trio spots a girl wearing the bad hat, she is treated to a rhyme as clever as--if more irreverent than-- Bemelmans's originals: "I am Pepito, you bad bandito. / Your life as a thief is now finito." However, the impoverished girl returns the hat and the detectives press on to find the real thieves: 40 magpies with charitable intentions. --Kimberly Heinrichs