Synopses & Reviews
“If you always feel fully and completely happy, my friends, then you do not need my drops and I will not sell them to you for any amount of money.” —Master Melville
Eleven-year-old juggling enthusiast Sullivan Mintz helps his family run the Stardust Home for Old People. Its not ideal: his best friend, Manny, is eighty-one years old. But life as usual turns upside down when Master Melvilles Medicine Show comes to town. Sullivans excitement at finding performers his own age dissolves into dread when he steps onstage for a magic act only to wake up imprisoned in the traveling shows caravan. As his fears subside, his questions multiply. Is his family better off without him? Would life as a juggler performing with other kids be worse than living in an old folks home? Being kidnapped could be the best thing that ever happened to him . . . or decidedly not.
Review
"Zesty and entertaining. The combination of school details, animal classmates, and homage to Raymond Chandler is glib but broadly and sustainedly humorous. . . . Young readers . . . will want to scuttle along with this schoolyard sleuth."
-The Bulletin
THE MYSTERY OF MR. NICE
"Green-scaled gumshoe Chet Gecko hits his stride in this hard-boiled follow-up to The Chameleon Wore Chartreuse . . . Hale throws in wisecracks by the handful, terrible jokes . . . , and daffy clues. . . . Hold on to your fedoras: this gecko's going places."-Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Fagan creates wonderfully engaging characters and tackles some tough issues."—School Library Journal
Synopsis
Chet Gecko loves a good mystery. Almost more than he loves his fee--stinkbug pie.
So when fellow fourth grader Shirley Chameleon asks him to find her missing brother, Billy, Chet expects the case to be as easy a pie. But Billy's disappearance is part of a larger plot, one that involves the Rat Sisters, a riddling junkyard dog, and a vicious Gila monster named Herman. If Chet doesn't solve the case fast, the entire school could be humiliated. Worst of all, Chet might not get his fee. And Chet's hungry. . . .
Synopsis
The fourth book in Kate and Sarah Klise's spooky and successful 43 Old Cemetery Road series, a lighthearted gothicand#160;epistolary noveland#160;of ghosts told in a lively compilation of illustrations, letters, newspaper articles, and drawings.
Synopsis
The letter-loving trio at Spence Mansion has something to grieve aboutand#8212;Ghastlyand#8217;s post office is about to close, which will cut off their connection to their fans. A new invention called VEXT-mail is threatening to replace not only letters, but books, hair dryers, and even garage door openers! Could the mysterious occupant of P.O. Box 5 and his seemingly sinister plan save the doomed post office? Will he strike down Ghastlyand#8217;s beloved ghostwriter in the process? In this fourth book in the award-winning 43 Old Cemetery Road series, eleven-year-old Seymour Hope and his new friend, Wy Fye,
must solve this postmortem mystery . . . before itand#8217;s too late!
Synopsis
A charming, humor- and heart-filled middle grade story of a misfit boy who finds an unexpected second life after being kidnapped by a colorful traveling medicine show.
About the Author
Kate Klise isandnbsp;the author of many punny and funny middle grade novels, including all of the books in the popular 43 Old Cemetery Road series. She has also written a number of picture books and young adult novels. Ms. Klise lives in Norwood, Missouri. For more information about Kate, visitandnbsp;
<>