Synopses & Reviews
The eagerly anticipated followup to the Newbery honor winner and New York Times bestseller, Three Times Lucky Small towns have rules. One is, you got to stay who you are -- no matter how many murders you solve.
When Miss Lana makes an Accidental Bid at the Tupelo auction and winds up the mortified owner of an old inn, she doesn't realize there's a ghost in the fine print. Naturally, Desperado Detective Agency (aka Mo and Dale) opens a paranormal division to solve the mystery of the ghost's identity. They've got to figure out who the ghost is so they can interview it for their history assignment (extra credit). But Mo and Dale start to realize that the Inn isn't the only haunted place in Tupelo Landing. People can also be haunted by their own past. As Mo and Dale handily track down the truth about the ghost (with some help from the new kid in town), they discover the truth about a great many other people, too.
A laugh out loud, ghostly, Southern mystery that can be enjoyed by readers visiting Tupelo Landing for the first time, as well as those who are old friends of Mo and Dale.
Review
"This small comic novel makes good use of a lot of chickens."--
The New York Times Book Review[star]"A lively, humorous story. . . . Colorful and spirited."--School Library Journal (starred review)
Review
PRAISE FOR THREE TIMES LUCKY -
Newbery Honor - New York Times bestseller
- Edgar Award Finalist
- EB White Read-Aloud Award Honor Book
- "What do you get when you combine Because of Winn-Dixie's heart with the mystery and action of Holes?...Mo LoBeau is destined to become a standout character in children's fiction." (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)
- "Here is a writer who has never met a metaphor or simile she couldn't put to good use." (Publishers Weekly, starred review)
- "Turnage's lively novel features a distinctive voice and a community of idiosyncratic characters." (Booklist, starred review)
- "The heroine of Sheila Turnage's "Three Times Lucky" is so plucky that young readers may wish she lived next door." (Wall Street Journal)
- "A literary descendant of Scout Finch of "To Kill a Mockingbird" -- Mo LoBeau announces this novel's mystery from behind the counter of the Tupelo Diner: 'There's been a murder and we're out of soup.'"(Newsday)
Review
* "The perspicacious Mo LoBeau is at it again!. . . humor and action abound."
Review
* "Just as its predecessor did, this sequel shines thanks to Turnage's deft, lyrical language and engaging characters."
Review
* "Turnage's ability to create convincing characters and her colorful use of language combine to make this a fresh, droll, rewarding trip to Tupelo Landing."
Review
* "The budding detective has clearly taken to heart something her foster mother always emphasizes: 'All the world's a stage, sugar, so hop on up there.'"
Review
"A rollicking sequel."
Review
2015 Texas Bluebonnet Award Nominee
Review
"This sweet story has an old-fashioned feel."
—Booklist
"Piper Lee is an instantly likable, flawed character with a good heart. Hand this one to kids who want realistic fiction with just a dash of excitement."
—School Library Journal
"Winget's poignantly flawed characters and honest emotional circumstances draw readers into a story that feels like its set in a simpler time and place."
—Publishers Weekly
"Piper's voice is authentically youthful, as are her questionable decisions, and plenty of kids will find common ground with her as she struggles with her mother's remarriage and with the fact that her father is gone for good."
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Synopsis
Ruby Lavender and Miss Eula are a pretty good team, for a couple of chicken thieves. What other granddaughter-grandmother duo could successfully drive the getaway car for chickens rescued from a journey to the slaughterhouse, paint a whole house shocking pink, and operate their own personal secret-letter post office?
So, when Miss Eula leaves for Hawaii to visit her new grandbaby, Ruby is sure that she will have a lonely, empty, horrible summer in boring old Halleluia, Mississippi. What happens instead? She makes a new friend, saves the school play, writes plenty of letters to her favorite (and only) grandmother . . . and finally learns to stop blaming herself for her grandfather's death. Not too bad, for a nine-year-old.
Synopsis
A new paperback edition of the charming and hilarious coming-of-age story about two chicken thieves--best friends--and how each learns to survive loss
Synopsis
When Ruby's grandmother, Miss Eula goes to visit her new grandbaby in Hawaii, Ruby is sure that she will have a lonely, empty, horrible summer without her in boring old Halleluia, Mississippi. What happens instead? She makes a new friend, saves the school play, writes plenty of letters to her favorite (and only) grandmother . . . and finally learns to stop blaming herself for her grandfather's death. Not too bad, for a nine-year-old.
Winner of numerous awards and included on seventeen state reading lists, Love, Ruby Lavender is now republished in paperback with the original cover art by Marla Frazee.
Synopsis
A charming and hilarious coming-of-age story about two chicken thieves, best friends, and how each learns to survive loss.
Synopsis
Ruby Lavender used to have a good life. She and her grandmother, Miss Eula, were inseparable--they even drove the getaway car together for chickens rescued from the slaughterhouse! But this summer, Miss Eula will be in Hawaii, and Ruby's sure it'll be a lonely, empty, horrible season without her. What happens instead? Ruby makes a new friend, saves the school play, writes plenty of letters to her favorite (and only) grandmother . . . and finally stops blaming herself for her grandfather's death.
Synopsis
In this warm and witty middle-grade debut set in the deep South, ten-year-old Piper Lee struggles to accept her daddy's death, her mama's upcoming marriage, and the new step-family that will come along with it. But when her plan to call off the wedding spirals out of control, Piper Lee must face the consequences and figure out how to fix things.
Synopsis
Whether she likes it or not, ten-year-old Piper Lee DeLuna is about to get a new family. Four years after the plane Piper's daddy was piloting disappeared, her mama is remarrying. The way Piper sees it, Mama's being plain disloyal. Besides, who'd want to get stuck with a prison guard for a stepdad and that weenie, Ginger, for a stepsister? But when Piper Lee hatches a foolproof plan to get the wedding called off, it quickly spirals out of control. And by the time Piper realizes what shes done—and just how much she really cares about her new family—it might be too late. Told in Piper Lee's irresistible Southern voice, A Smidgen of Sky is about new families and new beginnings.
About the Author
Sheila Turnage is from eastern North Carolina, just like Miss Moses LoBeau, the protagonist from Three Times Lucky. Her first novel for children, Three Times Lucky, is a Newbery Honor winner, a New York Times bestseller, an E.B. White Read-Aloud Honor Book, and an Edgar Award finalist. It has been nominated for six state awards and has been licensed in five countries. Her follow up book, The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing, also a New York Times bestseller, has received five starred reviews, is a SIBA Okra Winter 14 pick, and a Junior Library Guild selection. Sheila is also the author of two nonfiction adult titles: Haunted Inns of the Southeast and Compass American Guides: North Carolina, as well as one picture book, Trout the Magnificent illustrated by Janet Stevens. Her next children's book, The Odds of Getting Even (a Mo and Dale mystery) will be available in October 2015.