Book Finder

Move over Nancy Drew; Sophie – better known as Sesame – Seade is on the job! Here, Sesame and her friend, Jeremy, solve the mystery of why the rowing team is getting sick. Told with humor and solid pacing, this is sure to engage light mystery fans.

Buck Anderson’s friend, David, has moved; now Buck has no one to share his underground explorations or his everyday troubles including being bullied for his stutter. How Buck overcomes his problems and has a cave named in his honor is told in a tense, fast narration.  

The four Fletcher boys (each from a different background; each adopted) and their two fathers vacation in New England. Together the boys and their neighbors, the Galindo girls, help solve the mystery of the closed lighthouse in this fast-paced novel with recognizable events and personalities. The characters in this stand-alone book were first introduced in The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher.

Fans of Roald Dahl will enjoy spending time with young Alfie as he overcomes tough times and the new – and truly evil – dentist who’s come to town. Over-the-top humor and a fast pace are complemented by prolific black/white line drawings in this witty, satirical novel. In the audio version of this book, the author and cast bring the riotous characters to life.

The narrator is a rule-follower; his sister Jenny is a rule breaker. When Jenny breaks a rule, her brother must break a few in order to save her from the unique and quite humorous monsters she released. The outrageous tale is told and illustrated with verve and wit.

Marvin, James’ beetle friend, goes collecting (finding useful things for their cupboard home) when he must get his human friend to help his injured uncle. Even though Marvin is a beetle, his emotions are as human as James’ in this well paced, generously illustrated and thoroughly engaging novel.

How Bruce Wayne became Batman is told in a picture book (not comic book). Muth’s well-crafted watercolor illustrations are dramatic accompanied by a brief telling of how young Bruce overcomes his fears of the dark by falling into a bat cave.

In this funny, poignant graphic novel memoir, Bell chronicles her hearing loss at a young age and her subsequent experiences with the Phonic Ear, a very powerful — and very awkward — hearing aid. The Phonic Ear gives Cece the ability to hear — sometimes things she shouldn’t — but also isolates her from her classmates. After some trouble, she is finally able to harness the power of the Phonic Ear and become “El Deafo, Listener for All.” And more importantly, declare a place for herself in the world and find the friend she’s longed for.

Will Timmy and Total no longer be detecting partners? Readers will find out the fate of the dynamic duo in this fourth, funny, highly illustrated and certainly not final installment in the Timmy Failure series.

Young readers share short, humorous escapades with Piggy Pie Po, a large-eared porcine hero. Lively illustrations and vivacious, rhyming illustration make this an adventure to share more than once.

In this peek into the secret lives of toys, three beloved playthings participate in a series of small adventures. StingRay is a plush stuffed animal who enjoys acting the know-it-all. Lumphy is a tough little buffalo who doesnt mind the occasional cuddle. And Plastic (whose physical appearance is kept mysterious for quite some time) is a sensible bouncy ball. The first book in the Toys trilogy.

Young Mac introduces readers to Miss Emily — better known as Emily Dickenson, poet extraordinaire — as an adventurous, lively woman who wants to share wonders of a circus with a group of children. Animated black/white illustrations accompany the action told in free verse for an open, inviting, and highly readable novel about a famous poet.

The movement of the train rocked me like a lullaby. I closed my eyes to the dusty countryside and imagined the sign I’d seen only in Gideon’s stories: Manifest—A Town with a rich past and a bright future. Abilene Tucker feels abandoned. Her father has put her on a train, sending her off to live with an old friend for the summer while he works a railroad job. Armed only with a few possessions and her list of universals, Abilene jumps off the train in Manifest, Kansas, aiming to learn about the boy her father once was. (2011 Newbery Medal Winner)

Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place—he’s the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians’ time as well as their ghostly teachings—such as the ability to Fade so mere mortals cannot see him. (2009 Newbery Medal Winner)

Two plush toys, Stingray and a buffalo named Lumphy, and Plastic, a red ball, want to play in the snow. And so they do! Lush illustrations and rich language come together in the toys’ first picture book adventure. (The characters were first introduced in longer novels; all are ideal as read-alouds for younger children.)

A little girl activates a robot and finds a friend but now must save her friend from fierce, nasty robots. This nearly wordless adventure is presented in comic book form and is sure to delight young readers.

Rudger, Amanda’s imaginary friend, and Amanda, a human girl share adventure (and alternate telling the story) of their everyday adventures – and how they thwart an evil plot to rid the world of all imaginaries. Tension builds in this well-paced, inventive novel enhanced by evocative black/white illustrations.

Since his grandparents disappeared on an iceberg, Archer’s mother won’t let the well-mannered boy out of the museum-like house. Still, he finds unique adventures and companionship in this fast-paced, charming, witty and well written novel presented in a handsomely illustrated format.

Emily doesn’t mind her family’s annual move because San Francisco is home to Garrison Griswold, book publisher. But there’s a nefarious plot against Griswold, creator of Book Scavenger. How will Emily and her new friend, James, solve the mystery? Find out in this fast-paced, often funny, sometimes tense mystery-adventure.

Strange and humorous adventures begin when Rory and his nemesis, Tommy-Lee, are placed in a secret isolation ward when they turn bright green from a strange ailment. Rory’s understated narration reveals likeable, quirky characters in unlikely but engaging circumstances.

When a skunk first appears in the tuxedoed man’s doorway, it’s a strange but possibly harmless occurrence. But then the man finds the skunk following him, and the unlikely pair embark on an increasingly frantic chase through the city, from the streets to the opera house to the fairground. What does the skunk want? It’s not clear ― but soon the man has bought a new house in a new neighborhood to escape the little creature’s attention, only to find himself missing something …

Sam and Dave are on a mission. A mission to find something spectacular. So they dig a hole. And they keep digging. And they find … nothing. Yet the day turns out to be pretty spectacular after all. Attentive readers will be rewarded with a rare treasure in this witty story of looking for the extraordinary — and finding it in a manner you’d never expect.

When a new family moves into his home and Leo the Ghost’s efforts to welcome them are misunderstood, Leo decides it is time to leave and see the world. That is how he meets Jane, a kid with a tremendous imagination and an open position for a worthy knight. That is how Leo and Jane become friends. And that is when their adventures begin. (Goodreads)

In his old school, everyone knew Miles Murphy as the town’s best prankster, but Miles quickly discovers that Yawnee Valley already has a prankster, and a great one. If Miles is going to take the title from this mystery kid, he is going to have to raise his game. It’s prankster against prankster in an epic war of trickery, until the two finally decide to join forces and pull off the biggest prank ever seen. (Goodreads)