Detective Beans: Li Chen’s cute kitten is on the case

There are many iconic detectives; Sherlock Holmes, Philip Marlowe, and Hercule Poirot, among others. Sleuths who follow a trail, sniff out clues, and won't stop until they've uncovered the truth. Now a new investigator enters the pantheon, one created by New Zealand author/illustrator, Li Chen. Allow me to introduce... Detective Beans.

Detective Beans & the Case of the Missing Hat

Detective Beans lives in Cat Town and is a kitten with an inquisitive mind and an adorable vibe. He's got all the things a detective needs; a magnifying glass, a trenchcoat and, of course, a hat. Or does he? When his trademark detective hat disappears Detective Beans has a new case to investigate (putting aside the mystery of who is leaving affirming notes in his lunchbox for another day).

Detective Beans follows his cute little kitten nose (and clues!) all over Cat Town, interviewing witnesses and potential perps. It's not a spoiler to say that this case has a few unexpected twists and turns and lots of jokes. This is a great book for kids who like silly humour but also high levels of "adorableness".

We meet a lot of interesting characters in Cat Town, including Beans' best friend, Biscuit, as well as neighbourhood birds, a butcher, an icecream innovator of questionable taste (honeycomb and squid flavour, anyone?), and a "purrveyor" of antiques, among others. 

Detective Beans is a great read for kids aged 8-10 years (or maybe a little younger if a grown-up is doing the reading).

Excited to learn that this cute kitten detective was the creation of a Kiwi author/illustrator, I used my extensive investigative skills to track her down (I used the email address on her website) and asked her some questions about her book, libraries and being creative.

My kid and I had a great time reading Detective Beans together, often laughing at the same jokes. I always think it’s a sign of a great kids’ book (or movie) if it can also be enjoyed by adults. Was that something you set out to do, or is that just a happy accident?

Thank you! That’s my favourite compliment to receive! This will sound a bit selfish but when I draw comics, I don’t think of the reader at all. It just creates too much pressure and it’s impossible to cater to everyone anyway. I just try to make stories that I personally will enjoy and I am a big kid at heart so I think that comes through in my work.

Detective Beans is very much set up like a traditional “gumshoe” kind of story and then a magical wormhole/portal turns up unexpectedly. What’s that about? 

Haha I like stories where you can’t quite tell where it’s going or what’s going to happen. There are so many well-established tropes within the detective/noir genre that are great jumping-off points to take things in a different (often sillier) direction. I really enjoy working those moments into my work. Who wouldn’t want to explore a magic portal?

What comics and graphic novels are your favourites (either for kids, or adults, or both)?

My absolute favourite comic is a manga series called Yotsuba&!. It’s about a five year old girl called Yotsuba and her daily adventures with her family and friends. This comic is my happy place and it never fails to cheer me up when I’m feeling down.

I also love Jon Klassen’s books. They’re not comics but I think his children’s books are absolutely fantastic.

Then closer to home, I really enjoy the webcomic Loading Artist by fellow kiwi Gregor Czaykowski. His work is more for adults and is a perfect mix of dark and unpredictable humour.

Do you have any advice for budding young comic book artists/writers?

I get asked this a lot and I’m afraid I have such a boring answer: just keep making stuff! The only reason I’m here is because I started drawing and making up stories as a kid and just never stopped. If you keep practicing, you’ll definitely get better. That’s just how it goes.

When I emailed asking you if I could interview you, you said libraries were very important to you as a child, can you expand on that?

I was a very shy kid and didn’t have a lot of friends, but I loved reading so books kinda became my friends. My parents couldn’t afford to buy me books so I spent a lot of time both at my school library and my local city libraries. I was even the librarian’s assistant when I was in intermediate! I got to read new books before they hit the shelves, that was a seriously cool perk. I read soooo many Animorphs books.

Will there be any more cases for Detective Beans in the future (my son and I are keen)?

Yes there will be! I’m currently working on two new Detective Beans books, which will be published in 2025 and 2026.

Find out more

• Also by Li Chen, Extra Ordinary Comics Vol. 3
• Read Li Chen's hilarious webcomics
• More posts about comics and graphic novels for kids