The Madonna Ghost

Written by Linda Marie Frank

This mystery appeals to me on many levels. Annie embarks on summer vacation with her Aunt Jill to Fire Island, but her aunt is a detective secretly working on a case.

Annie hopes to find some people her age. She is excited to learn that Ty is visiting neighbors. He is close to her age and soon becomes a romantic interest. Soon Annie discovers they are both adventurers. They will team up to solve the mystery of a ghost reported to haunt the island.

At first glance, the reader might guess this is a book for a middle-grade or young adult audience, but this is not the case. I found myself engrossed in the story and every character. Frank has a background in forensics which allows her to describes the smallest detail. She paints a vivid picture of the setting. The dialogue between the characters is so authentic that readers can visualize themselves in every scene.

A bit of romance, an intriguing mystery, a touch of paranormal and fast-moving events combine to make the book an interesting and unique read for ages eight through eighty-eight.

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Logan Scott Files: A Spoiled Brat is Missing!

Written by D.C. Spaar

This is Book One of a chapter book series that is perfect for a beginning or reluctant reader. The print size is large and the short chapters are easy to follow.

Scott possesses the talent of finding lost objects. The local police department decides they could use his help in their secret division. They recruit Scott, offering him lots of fancy tools like glasses that see-through buildings and a spray that makes him invisible.

His first case involves finding the daughter of an influential citizen. It turns out she is a spoiled brat. Will Scott follow the clues to discover her whereabouts? Can he use his smarts to close the case?

Children love a mystery to solve. This book of about fifty pages is a quick read with lots of appealing characters. Recommended especially for ages six through ten.

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The Dragon Defenders – Book 1

Written by James Russell

Animations by Yongtao Zhang

Paddy and Flynn are two brothers who live on an island in the Pacific ocean. That may already sound like an adventure. They also have a dog named Coco, a pet falcon, and a horse. In addition their island is home to secret dragons.

Sounds like a promising beginning to an adventure series for late elementary school and middle-grade readers. The two brothers become detectives and try to thwart the evil boss who wants to capture one of the dragons.

This is a page turner that is made even more attractive by the ability for readers to download an app to turn the book into an interactive adventure. Readers who download the app are able to read secret codes, and view three dimensional animations. There is also a map to trace the journey.

Lots of authentic dialogue, intrigue, teamwork, colorful characters, and bravery to spur readers on and get them hooked on reading the entire series.

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Trick or Treat Free For All: A Halloween Kids Book

Written by: Marina J. Bowman, J.K. Campbell, Richard Clark, Eli Cranor, Connor Grayson, Deb Logan, Scott Peters, D.M. Potter, and M.K. Radican

Here is a book that will please beginning and middle-grade readers. There are ten different stories. Each is written by a well-known children’s author.

These stories have different themes that correspond with the genre and characters familiar to each of the authors. Detective story fans, magic fans, folktale fans, and mystery fans will find a story to love. Reluctant readers will be enticed by the shorter length and off-beat characters.

Teachers might read one of these each day or the collection might be read aloud at a Halloween party. Anthologies are not common for young readers, but I think it is a good way to introduce readers to a wide variety of different genres and book series.

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Scaredy Bat and the Frozen Vampires: An Illustrated Mystery Chapter Book for Kids 8-12 (Scaredy Bat: A Vampire Detective Series 1)
Written by Marina J. Bowman
Illustrated by Yevheniia Lisavoya

Ellie is a twelve-year-old vampire who loves to solve mysteries. The fact that she is afraid of almost everything fails to deter her. Ellie fears loud noises, spiders, and clowns, among many other things. One thing she does have is a large network of friends who come to her aid. When Ellie attends a vampire wedding, everyone freezes solid. How can she overcome her fears and solve the mystery before it is too late?

The author includes bonuses for budding detective readers. She offers a quiz to test if the reader qualifies to be a detective. Readers receive a guide to analyzing suspects and recording evidence.

Lisavoya draws excellent black and white illustrations to sustain interest levels. The book is not too lengthy, which encourages reluctant readers.
One caveat, I read the Kindle version which contains formatting errors. I would rate the book three stars in the Kindle version, but five stars in the paperback edition.

Recommended for middle-grade readers in the print version.

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Cassie’s Coven: The Case of the six-legged frog (The Cassie Coven Series Book 1)

Written by Helen Allan

The first book in this middle-grade mystery series features four Australian girls. Cassie and Lolly share a love of horses and attend school together. One day Cassie buys an old book and discovers it is a magic book of spells. Shortly after Cassie finds a sickly fox kit and Lolly discovers a six-legged frog in a nearby creek. The book talks about a coven of four witches, yellow, black, white and green. Lolly and Cassie invite Charlotte and a new girl at school, Pia to join their group. Pia’s great-grandmother offers an old cottage on her property as a clubhouse. Soon the girls are using it to solve the mystery of why nearby animals and cattle are becoming sick and dying. Lolly and Cassie fall ill, and they show symptoms of poisoning.

The four girls decide that Mr. Larkin, a neighbor, seems too eager to scare them off his property and they vow to investigate why. They use the clubhouse to get close and are shocked to discover that the book of spells can help them to solve the mystery. This is the first book of the series that combines fun adventures of four ten-year-old friends, some magic, and issues related to the environment set in Australia. Recommended for readers ages ten and older.

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Timber View Camp

Written by Jason Deas

Sally and Reggie are fifth-grade friends who are also neighbors. When Sally receives a free “golden ticket” to attend Timber View Camp, she is upset about leaving her home this summer. Her fears are somewhat alleviated when Reggie also wins a ticket.

When the day to leave for camp arrives, they are dismayed to see an ugly purple double-decker bus with a strange driver who speaks in rhyme pick them up. The pair is even more alarmed when they are dropped off in the middle of nowhere with only a four-part riddle to guide them. By pulling together the campers dub themselves the 12 up and use each of their talents to survive and make it to the campground.

Things keep getting weirder as Reggie and Sally, along with their new friends, fear that they are being watched and followed. Tony and Sissy, their counselors, mysteriously disappear as the odd events unfold. The campers cleverly team up with Cynthia, whose family works at the camp, to develop a plan to expose the owners and turn the tables on them.

This mystery contains wonderful characters, clever plot lines, and lots of humor to accompany the mystery. Young detectives will have to use their smarts to solve it.

Highly recommended for readers ages nine and older.

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Bread N’ Butter: Private Rye

Written by A.J. Cosmo

When Floret Viridian, a beautiful head of broccoli, comes to visit Private Rye in the fridge, he suspects trouble. Floret asks him to find out who stole the royal jelly from her last night. She is the maid for the Dom, who will be furious with her when he finds out. Rye goes with his sidekick butter to Cereal Box Alley, the seedy side of town. There he interviews a potato who tells him that Leek is a suspect. The trail leads to the Carton Egg section and eventually to the Soda Can Diner. Eventually Rye solves the mystery after the plot takes a surprising turn.

There is lots of humor and some clever lines filled with creative analogies and plays on words. This beginning chapter book is perfect for reluctant readers. Clever characters, mystery, and humor set up a winning combination. Recommended especially for seven to ten year old readers.

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Charlie the Smart Elephant: Books for Kids: Bedtime Story, Beginning Reader

Written by Jeff Harris

Short tale of less than twenty pages featuring Charlie the Elephant, an intelligent but hungry elephant who was born in a small town somewhere in Africa, but who longs to live the life of a pet in a cozy family. One day he is adopted and placed in a stray animal shelter where Charlie finds the company of other animals. He is delighted when a boy named Connor adopts him; and the family builds a separate house for the elephant. Then Charlie becomes sad because he has everything he needs and is bored. Charlie rejoices when he overhears two pet dogs talking about their cookies being missing. So Charlie decides to become a detective and solve the missing cookie mystery. Following the cookie crumbs, Charlie comes to a deep forest. Should he enter the forest and risk becoming lost? Will he solve the mystery and return to his family?

This book is charming and sweet for a bedtime story, and beginning readers will be able to handle the text, but the plot does not always flow smoothly or connect the dots. Children might have questions that go unanswered. A few simple illustrations are included. Targeted for readers ages two through fourteen, I would recommend it as a bedtime story for preschoolers or as a beginning reader for a child who enjoys stories about pets.

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Miss Nelson is Missing!

Written by Harry Allard

Illustrated by James Marshall

One of my favorite books to be read and shared with my students and my own two children. Originally published in 1977 in Hardcover edition, today it is available on amazon in multiple formats.

Miss Nelson is a sweet and pretty young teacher who has great difficulty controlling the rambunctious students in Room 207. They are rude and obnoxious, spitballs are visible on the ceiling and paper airplanes soar through the air. One day Miss Nelson fails to show up. Miss Viola Swamp dressed all in black and wearing ugly white make-up walks in as their substitute. The students soon learn, “ Be careful what you wish for.” Miss Swamp goes way beyond mean, and they could never have imagined so much classwork and homework. The children realize what a good teacher they have lost. Fear, panic and desperation flood their hearts. When it appears that Miss Nelson is not coming back, they even hire a detective to try to find her.

Marshall does a fantastic job with the illustrations, which look like a combination of cartoon and watercolors. Each one portrays exactly what is unfolding in the classroom. As a teacher and mom, I certainly enjoyed the humor and reality of the situation. Targeted for ages four through eight, this book is perfect for that age group, but my second grade students chose this book as one of their favorites. The book is a fun read any time of year, but also is perfect as a back to school read.

About the Author and Illustrator ( bios taken from their Amazon Page)

Harry Allard is the author of several hilarious books for children, including three books about Miss Nelson and four books about the Stupid family, all illustrated by James Marshall. He currently lives in Oaxaca, Mexico.

James Marshall (1942–1992) created dozens of exuberant and captivating books for children, including The Stupids, Miss Nelson Is Missing!, and the ever-popular George and Martha books. Before creating his canon of classic, hilarious children’s books, James Marshall played the viola, studied French, and received a master’s degree from Trinity College. He also doodled. It was the doodles, and the unforgettable characters that emerged from them, that led him to his life’s work as one of the finest creators of children’s books of the twentieth century. In 2007, James Marshall was posthumously awarded the Laura Ingalls Wilder medal for his lasting contribution to literature for children.