A Dog Detective
The Buddy Files: The Case of the Lost Boy (Albert Whitman, 2010) by Dori Hillestad Butler is so much fun! I love the voice of the dog. It’s a quick read–perfect for the child just starting to read on his own, but entertaining enough for an adult to read aloud. I must read more in the series. (And buy for middle grandson . . . shh, don’t tell him!)
King is at the P-O-U-N-D because his people are missing. He’s got to get back to his neighborhood to find them. When King gets adopted by a new family, they rename him Buddy. Then, his new boy, Connor, disappears! King/Buddy must solve the case!
After you are entertained with this story, go to Dori’s site to see the dog that owns her! You’ll also see what other books this award-winning author has written.
P.S. I’ve also had the privilege of meeting Dori–besides being a good writer, she’s a great person too!
Tag: mystery
The Books of Elsewhere
Delightfully Dangerous!
The Books of Elsewhere (The Shadows, Volume 1, Dial Books for Young Readers, 2010) by JacquelineWest is one on those hard-to-put-down books. I felt sympathy right away for Olive in this wonderful story.
Here’s a brief summary, without of course revealing the end:
11-year-old Olive and her parents visit the creepy old McMartin house. Her mathematic parents are thrilled when they see the library and buy the house right then and there. Olive, who doesn’t take after her parents in math–she’s a creative person–senses that there’s something strange going on in this house. After they move in, she discovers a pair of old spectacles that allow her to go into the paintings in the house. Olive also meets a talking cat who warns her about dangers. And, yes, she’s going to be in danger!
I’m looking forward to more by this author! Volume Two: Spellbound will be released on July 12, 2011. You can watch a talk about the books on Jacqueline’s site.
The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity
The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity (Simon and Schuster, 2009) by Mac Barnett illustrated by Adam Rex is one funny mystery. The story is modeled after the old time kid detective novels, so expect some corn.
12-year-old Steve Brixton is enamored of the old mystery books about the Bailey brothers and himself gets mistaken for a detective by the Librarians (under cover agents) when he checks out a book on quilts at the library. He’s on the run from the police, including Jerk Rick who’s dating Steve’s mom. The only way to prove himself innocent is to solve the case.
Author Mac Barnett bills himself as “writer and strongman-for-hire” on his website. Check out the piano keys for more details.
But wait! There’s more. 
The sequel Brixton Brothers 2: The Ghostwriter Secret came out last fall and is on my to-be-read list. The next in the series, It Happened on a Train, will come out this October.
Illustrator Adam Rex is the author/illustrator of The True Meaning of Smekday. What? You haven’t read it? Learn more here about that title and stuff about Adam on his site where Abraham Superlincoln tells you to “choose wisely.”
Girl, Stolen
Take a teenage boy who’s only hope in life is to please his angry father, an Escalade with the keys left in the ignition, a teen girl asleep in the backseat, and what starts out as a simple car theft becomes a kidnapping.
Girl, Stolen (Henry Holt & Company, 2010) by April Henry is told in alternate viewpoints of sixteen-year-old Cheyenne, who has pneumonia, and Griffin, who accidentally stole her. Cheyenne is a very strong heroine, who has a big handicap in a self-rescue scenario–she’s blind!
April Henry is the author of other mysteries which I am checking out. Go to her website where you’ll find out fun things like… being published in a magazine when she was twelve… You’ll have to read the details there.
The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin
Humor, Attitude, and Murder!
The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2010) by Josh Berk mixes in those 3 elements plus history, a new friend and hot girls!
Will Halpin has left his girlfriend and the deaf school behind as he doesn’t want to take sides in the deaf fight. He’s a good lip reader so starts at a mainstream school at Carbon High. There in a history book, he discovers a relative’s death in the town coal mine. But that’s not the murder Will needs to solve.
This debut novel has received starred reviews from Kirkus. Josh Berk has another comedy/mystery coming out next year. I’m looking forward to it!
Read more about Josh at his website, where you can learn what inspired Dark Days and enjoy more of Josh’s sense of humor.