Archive for Mystery

A Hitch at the Fairmont

Written by Jim Averbeck
Illustrated by Nick Bertozzi

Combining a lot of conjecture with a lot of historical accuracy, author Jim Averbeck takes the reader on a romp around San Francisco of the 1950’s. When eleven-year-old Jack Fair is orphaned, he moves to the Fairmont Hotel with his Aunt Edith. Shortly after Jack encounters Alfred Hitchcock, in town to check out filming locations, his aunt disappears. The last thing Jack wants is for the police to get involved. He knows his life is better outside the system, even with a mean aunt. So he enlists Mr. Hitchcock’s help to find his aunt. Communication with the kidnappers takes place with carefully arranged chocolates, on laundry lists, and by words circled on a newspaper article. The search leads them to an old mission, to Chinatown, and to the docks. We get to see Hitch as a beatnik poet and as an Aunt Edith facsimile.

Averbeck follows the smoking gun rule carefully, where anything mentioned more than a couple of times has more significance to the story than suspected at first. Each chapter is tied to and titled after one of Hitchcock’s films. And each chapter begins with a short graphic depiction of what happens in that chapter, helping to increase comprehension.

Readers will learn about film history, as well as about the books that inspired many of Hitch’s films. They will also learn about the history of San Francisco and some of its most famous landmarks.

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  • HitchAuthor: Jim Averbeck
  • Illustrator: Nick Bertozzi
  • Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster, 2014
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Hardcover, 416 pages
  • ISBN: 978-1-4424-9447-3
  • Genre: Historical fiction, mystery
  • Grade level: 3 to 7
  • Extras: Author’s note setting historical perspective, extensive appendix describing many Hitchcock films, fun video on Amazon and Simon and Schuster Kids modeled on the famous scene from The Birds

Boxcar Children: The Boardwalk Mystery

Written by Gertrude Chandler Warner

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Another lively mystery with the Alden family.  The Alden children, Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny, could have still been living in their boxcar but long ago Grandfather took them in.  Now they have a habit of solving mysteries everywhere they go.  This summer, Grandfather took them to New Jersey to visit Mr. Hanson, one of his good friends.  Mr. Hanson bought an amusement pier along the New Jersey shore.  He said he always wanted to own one.  His children, Wendy and Will, were not so happy.  They missed their friends in Colorado.  Even worse, pranks and practical jokes were ruining business at Mr. Hanson’s amusement pier.  There are even rumors that the rides at the pier are not safe.  Each time one of the Alden children help repair or clean up after the pranks, they gather one more clue about what is really going on.  They noticed spatters of paint on Wendy’s shoes like the red paint used for mean messages.  There is the angry Mrs. Reddy, who used to own the pier and she complains about how badly Mr. Hanson is running the pier.  There is Mr. Cooke, who owns all the other amusement piers on the shore and wants this one, too.  The Alden children each have their own talent, especially Benny, whose talent is to get into trouble.  One by one they put the clues together and see how all those people played a part in the pranks.  Violet has an idea that might save the pier if they can stop the pranks.

This mystery is the right length and complexity to intrigue young middle grade readers.  The clues are laid out well, hinting at the underlying motivation of the characters.  These updated stories use the familiar characters to engage a new generation of readers.  The reading level is a solid fourth grade and it is a good length for a class read aloud.  Use early in the fourth grade year.  Have the students keep a list of clues like the Alden children do as a reading worksheet and see who can solve the mystery first.

  • Boxcar ChildrenTITLE: Boxcar Children: The Boardwalk Mystery
  • AUTHOR: Gertrude Chandler Warner
  • PUBLISHER: Albert Whitman, 2013
  • REVIEWER: Risa Brown
  • EDITION: Hardcover, 134 p.
  • ISBN: 978-0-8075-0802-2
  • GENRE: Mystery, realistic fiction
  • LEXILE: 420

SPI : Shadow Paranormal Investigators – The Case of the Dark Shadow

Written by T.J. Bonham 

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SPI The Case of the Dark Shadow is an intriguing story for 4th through 6th graders interested in mystery. The book offers the 4th grade reader some challenging language and an unusual plot, but older readers should have no problem with the language and comprehension of this paranormal mystery.

The story grabs the reader from the first chapter by describing emotions common to students who have experienced loss, change, and the fear of starting at a new school. This will offer teachers many opportunities to discuss coping mechanisms for students.

The rest of the story is full of mystery and fun as the character and her friends battle a sinister dark shadow that threatens to harm a ghost hunter and her family. Interwoven in the mystery of the dark shadow is the emotional side of living with a parent deployed during war, another real life situation that kids this age are living with.

A book for middle grade readers that includes real life situations that engage the reader will only serve to encourage students to keep reading, but a book that also includes “outside the box” topics, like ghosts and the paranormal, can broaden their scope of interest and be just what the teacher ordered for the reluctant reader. Teachers can use this as a classroom book read aloud or together because of the topic, the mystery, and the overall interest to boys or girls.

SPI would be a great addition to the 4th to 6th grade classroom library. The book can be used as an adjunct to reading advancement, comprehension, and writing lessons for students in these grades, making it useful for teachers working with state reading guidelines. And books that have excellent plots and story lines are always appreciated by teachers who prepare students for state testing involving reading passages for comprehension and understanding.

  • SPITitle: SPI:Shadow Paranormal Investigators (The Case of the Dark Shadow)
  • Author: T.J. Bonham
  • Publisher: Schiffer Publishing,Ltd.
  • ISBN: 978-0-7643-4132-8
  • Pages: 111
  • Reviewer: Terri Forehand
  • Lexile: 810

Thrice Upon a Marigold

Written by Jean Ferris

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Happily-ever-after isn’t as easy as it sounds.  King Christian and Queen Marigold are as much in love as ever.  They are thrilled with their new baby girl, Poppy.  Marigold thinks the only thing she has to worry about is what gifts the fairies might give at Poppy’s Welcome Party.  Then, the unthinkable happens.  Princess Poppy is kidnapped by the ex-torturer-in-chief and the ex-poisoner-in-chief as revenge for losing their jobs when the evil Queen Olympia was removed from the throne.  That was in the prior books of the Marigold trilogy.  This book brings in Phoebe and Sebastian, the children of the Terrible Twos, Boris and Vlad, the torturer and poisoner in question.  They are ashamed of their heritage and keep as low a profile as possible.  Phoebe is the librarian and Sebastian is a blacksmith.  Phoebe intercepts a message about the kidnapping and, with Sebastian’s help, tries to alert the castle that a plot is brewing, but they are not in time.  They ask if they can go along on the rescue mission because they know Boris and Vlad better than anyone.  They each have the secret desire to make up for the bad things their fathers have done.  It seems, too, that Phoebe and Sebastian understand one another better than anyone else ever has.  The madcap rescue has all the elements of an epic adventure: royal guards, a retired wizard, an elephant and a fire-breathing dragon as well as a dramatic rescue of both baby and mother.  There could even be love in the works, too.

With a delightful, tongue-in-cheek voice and zany plot twists, this would be a great class read aloud.  Students might demand to hear all three books in the series!  Jean Ferris says on her website (http://www.jeanferris.com/) that she had no intention of writing a sequel to Once Upon a Marigold,  but, in that story, she wanted to give her readers the message to be ready for whatever comes along in life.  She now has written two more Marigold books and introduces readers to Phoebe and Sebastian.  These two characters have not had an easy life.  A Venn diagram could be the perfect way to compare Phoebe and Sebastian’s character traits as a literacy activity.  Thrice Upon a Marigold would make a fun book trailer, too.

  • Thrice Upon a MarigoldTITLE: Thrice Upon a Marigold
  • AUTHOR: Jean Ferris
  • PUBLISHER: Harcourt
  • REVIEWER: Risa Brown
  • EDITION: Hardcover, 250 p.
  • ISBN: 978-0-547-73846-8
  • GENRE: Fairy tales, fantasy
  • LEXILE: 890, Reading level 4.7

Lost in the City: A Julie Mystery (American Girl Mysteries)

Written by Kathleen O’Dell

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Julie Albright is ecstatic about spending spring break with her dad. Though Julie doesn’t live far from her dad, in an apartment she shares with her older sister and mother, Julie only sees her dad every other weekend. And a week spent with her dad means she’ll also get to see her best friend, Ivy, just before Ivy’s family leaves for a wedding. Ivy asks Julie to pet sit her uncle’s talking parrot while the Lings are away, and Julie happily accepts.

But only a short time after beginning her job as pet sitter, Julie realizes that Lucy, the talking parrot, has vanished from her cage! Who has taken Lucy, and why?

The more Julie investigates and attempts to solve the mystery, the more suspects Julie places on her list of “would-be” thieves. Did elderly, sometimes-grouchy Mr. Shackley rid of the noisy parrot? Did her friend and former classmate, Gordon, snitch the bird? Was her Aunt Maia the culprit? Was Mrs. Marino, Gordon’s mom hiding something? Could Pirate Pete, the pet store owner, be involved? Or had Uncle Lee kidnapped his own bird?

The author does an exceptional job of keeping readers engrossed in the mystery and guessing about the mishap of Lucy until the very end of the story. All ends well, and Lucy is safely returned to her owner.

An additional part of the book, a “Looking Back” section with photographs, discusses the wild parrots of Telegraph Hill, one of the San Francisco locations mentioned in the fictional story of Julie and Lucy and also elaborates on the height of the vegetarianism movement of the 1970s.

This fourth grade level story would be especially beneficial to children who are going through or have gone through a family divorce. In the American Girl collection of books, Julie is currently the only Historical Character to be released with divorced parents, and the story touches on Julie’s parents, who have been divorced a couple of years, as well as her friend Gordon’s parents, who are in the process of divorcing.

An informative website that would enhance science and reading activities relating to the story can be found at www.parrots.org. A plethora of information about almost 400 parrots, including photographs, is available under the “encyclopedia” tab.

  • Lost in the CityTITLE: Lost in the City: A Julie Mystery (American Girl Mysteries)
  • AUTHOR: Kathleen O’Dell
  • PUBLISHER: American Girl Publishing
  • REVIEWER: Julie Lavender
  • EDITION: Paperback, 143 p.
  • ISBN: 978-1-60958-177-0
  • GENRE: Middle-grade fiction

Circus Galacticus

Written by Deva Fagan

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Life has never been easy for Trix.  An orphan and an outcast among privileged students in the boarding school where she lives as a charity case, Trix survives because she is stubborn and angry.  Suddenly everything changes.  It starts small.  She can read writing that no one else can on the poster for Circus Galacticus.  A strange man appears outside her dorm room window, climbing in her room and attacking her.  Then her hair turns pink.  She needs answers and thinks that the mysterious message on the circus poster may hold the key.  She meets the Ringmaster and he offers her a place at the circus.  This is no ordinary circus.  This is an intergalactic spaceship filled with outcasts who are searching for a way to survive against the repressive government of the Mandate.  Trix must find out what her talent is and if she fits into this complicated world of new creatures and new rules before she endangers herself and the entire circus.  She learns that the piece of meteorite that her astronaut parents left her is something much more important than she thought and gives her valuable clues to who she really is.

Throughout Trix’s journey of self-discovery, she remains stubborn and rebellious but she learns that she doesn’t have to always take on the whole universe by herself.  Her courage to do just that helps her win the day.  Lots of adventure and science fiction daring-do.  Students can make a chart as a reading worksheet of each choice that Trix has to make, what her options are and what she chooses to do as a way of examining her character.  There is a discussion guide on the author’s website: (http://devafagan.com/circus-galacticus-discussion-guide/).  Although there is also a book trailer on the author’s website, students could make their own as a literacy activity.

  • Circus GalacticusTITLE: Circus Galacticus
  • AUTHOR: Deva Fagan
  • PUBLISHER: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011
  • REVIEWER: Risa Brown
  • EDITION: Paperback, 291 p.
  • ISBN: 978-0-547-85087-0
  • GENRE: Science fiction

A Smidgen of Sky

Written by Dianna Dorisi Winget

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A Smidgen of Sky is Dianna Dorisi Winget’s debut middle grade novel and it shines on many levels. Readers at the fourth grade reading level and up will fall in love with the protagonist, ten-year-old Piper Lee because of her spunk and voice. She puts her soul into all of her worries as she actively sets off to eliminate each and every one of them.

Piper Lee has meaningful problems that feel as real as the character Winget has created on the page. Several years prior to where Winget starts Piper’s story, we learn that her father’s plane crashed out at sea as he tried to rescue some friends during a bad storm. Because nobody has found his body Piper Lee has not given up on him and believes with all her heart that he will return. But her mother does not share Piper’s opinion that her father will return and has moved on with her life. In fact, her mother’s about to get married and is encouraging Piper Lee to move on with her life, too!

But Piper can’t. Her loyalty toward her father is too strong. So she is determined to find her father and break up her mother’s relationship with Ben, her future step-dad. Because she will stop at nothing, she takes dangerous risks to realize her dream. But is it what she really wants?

A Smidgen of Sky will give fourth grade readers a close look at how challenging it is for kids to lose a parent and gain a step-parent, as well as the good things that come from a blended family. Best of all, Winget’s story offers hope to those going through a similar situation.

  • Smidgen of SkyTitle: A Smidgen of Sky
  • Author: Dianna Dorisi Winget
  • Publisher: Harcourt Children’s Books
  • Reviewer: Annemarie O’Brien
  • Paperback: 195 pages
  • ISBN: 978-0-7636-6459-6
  • Genre: fiction, family, contemporary

Grandfather’s Secret

Written by Lois Szymanski

Illustrated by Kelli Nash

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Life along the Chesapeake is different than the life most other children experience. Fourth grade readers will learn a lot about Chesapeake life in a fun and exciting way in this family-style mystery.

As soon as Charley sees the houseboat his deceased grandfather left, he knows he has to restore it to its former glory. Charley’s father is a tough sell because he feels Grandfather let the family down by squandering money and the boat is just a piece of junk. But he comes around when he realizes Charley can be trusted. Charley and his friend Evan begin tearing up the floor inside the cabin. Suddenly, Charley hears and voice and feels his grandfather’s touch. Evan can also see the ghostly shape of Grandfather, who then tells the boys he needs them to retrieve some items that belong on the boat. The boys also encounter a ghostly lady who is guarding one of the items. And they learn of a third ghost. When the apparitions achieve their goals, they are able to pass on. Nash’s cover art is the perfect accompaniment to this enjoyable tale.

Throughout the narrative, the boys are shown using good safety techniques, adding to comprehension of the perils of life on the water. The boys use goggles and masks when working with chemicals. They always wear life vests on the water. When a storm hits unexpectedly, they wait it out like Charley’s father instructed him.

A number of excellent websites exist, which would aid in developing reading activities related to Szymanski’s story. http://www.kentislandheritagesociety.org/ and    http://www.smithisland.org/ are two such sites.

  • Grandfathers SecretTitle: Grandfather’s Secret
  • Written By: Lois Szymanski
  • Illustrated By: Kelli Nash
  • Publisher: Schiffer Publishing Ltd.
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Paperback: 64 pages
  • ISBN: 978-0-7643-3535-8
  • Genre: Life on the Chesapeake, Ghost Mystery

The Boy in the Box

Written by Cary Fagan

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Sullivan Mintz is the most ordinary eleven-year-old at Beanfield Middle School. In fact, the class bully calls him Mr. Average. Sullivan and his little sister, Jinny, help his parents run a home for the elderly. The only time he’s truly happy is when he’s practicing his juggling. When a he learns of a medicine show parked in a nearby field, he’s drawn to Master Melville’s Medicine Show three nights in a row. He is kidnapped by the owners of the show and told his parents can’t support him anymore. Sullivan slowly learns to fit into the medicine show. He befriends the other kids, all of whom were also kidnapped from their homes. The Melvilles have scary ways of keeping the kids in line. The rest of the story is about Sullivan developing an act for the show and about his parents and friends dealing with his supposed death. The people of Beanfield never give up on him. Given the plot devices of abduction and grief, it is recommended for children at least as old as the fourth grade. This is listed as book one of a series about “Master Melville’s Medicine Show,” so the reader is left to wonder what adventures the author has in mind next.

Because much of the plot revolves around an old fashioned medicine show, comprehension would be helped tremendously by reading activities such as learning about the age of medicine wagons and how they led into vaudeville. Perhaps classes could even prepare a vaudeville type show for parents. What if medicine shows did exist in the twenty-first century?

  • Boy in the BoxTitle: The Boy in the Box 
  • Author: Cary Fagan
  • Publisher: Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Hardcover: 283 pages
  • ISBN: 978-0-547-75268-6
  • Genre: Chapter book, Action, Friendship, Family
  • Lexile Score: 1130L

The Templeton Twins Have an Idea

Written by Ellis Weiner
Illustrated by Jeremy Holmes

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How often do you get to read a book where the end and the beginning are on the same page? That’s just the crazy devices fourth graders will enjoy in this romp through the lives of Abigail and John Templeton.

As a read aloud book, it’s also appropriate for younger kids. Despite the humor, there are a lot of emotions shown and lessons to be learned. The twelve-year-old twins have lost their mother. Their father, a professor and inventor, is having trouble dealing with the loss of his wife. Getting a “ridiculous dog” helps a little because he has to go outside to walk the dog, Cassie. But he decides that moving to a new university is the answer. When father and kids show up at “Tick-Tock Tech,” the kids’ nickname for the new school, father is confronted by villainous Dean D. Dean, who claims the professor stole his invention. Dean D. Dean kidnaps the twins in order to get the professor to sign over rights to the invention, but the kids, of course, outsmart him and his twin, Dan. For one thing, the twins each have a hobby that proves useful in thwarting the Deans. Plus they are smarter than the Deans. The invention, the Personal One-Man Helicopter or POMH, turns out to still have a few bugs.

The author and illustrator make such a great team, you would think they were of the same humorous mind. The illustrator seems to understand each and every crazy invention Professor Templeton comes up with. Throughout the text, the author speaks directly to the reader through the narrator, adding to the silliness. This is planned as the first in a series about the Templetons. The book and eventual series have their own website at www.thetempletontwins.com, where kids can continue the fun with the narrator.

  • Templeton TwinsTitle: The Templeton Twins Have an Idea
  • By: Ellis Weiner
  • Illustrated by: Jeremy Holmes
  • Publisher: Chronicle Books, 2012
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Hardcover: 229 pages
  • ISBN: 978-0-8118-6679-8
  • Genre: Chapter book, Humor, Family
  • Lexile Score: 850L
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