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FRE
Fourth Grade Weirdo (age 8-11)
by Martha Freeman
humor ... mystery ... school
Publisher comments: Dexter is like a square peg in a round hole: he just can't fit in. All the kids in his class enjoy the zany things their teacher Mr. Ditzwinkle does to make learning fun. All except Dexter, the weirdo who prefers the same routine. But when things start disappearing from school, Dexter is surprised that his teacher is suspected. Dexter thinks Mr. Ditzwinkle is odd, but he knows he's not a crook. Can Dexter the weirdo prove it by catching the real thief?
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VAN
The Mysteries of Harris Burdick (age 8-11)
by Chris Van Allsburg
authorship ... mystery
Harris left a title, but you fill in the stories accompanying these beautifully detailed illustrations.
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TAS
My Life As a Book (age 8-11)
by Janet Tashjian
humor ... mystery ... school
Publisher comments: Summer's finally here, and Derek Fallon is looking forward to pelting the UPS truck with water balloons, climbing onto the garage roof, and conducting silly investigations. But when his parents decide to send him to Learning Camp, Derek's dreams of fun come to an end. Ever since hes been labeled a "reluctant reader," his mom has pushed him to read "real" books; something other than his beloved Calvin & Hobbes. As Derek forges unexpected friendships and uncovers a family secret involving himself (in diapers! no less), he realizes that adventures and surprises are around the corner, complete with curve balls.
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ASC
Pearl's Promise (age 8-11)
by Frank Asch
friendship ... adventure ... mystery
With her brother in the clutches of a python in a pet shop, Pearl, a mouse, goes through hair-raising adventures to rescue him.
Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators Series (age 8-11)
mystery
Jupiter Jones' firm of young detectives is on the case.
title: Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators in The Mystery of the Dancing Devil : based on characters created by Robert Arthur by William Arden F ARD
title: Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators in The Secret of Phantom Lake : based on characters created by Robert Arthur by William Arden F ARD
title: The Three Investigators in the Mystery of the Deadly Double by William Arden F ARD
title: The Three Investigators in the Mystery of the Shrinking House by William Arden F ARD
title: The Three Investigators in the Secret of Shark Reef by William Arden F ARD
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BAB
Kneeknock Rise (age 8-11)
by Natalie Babbitt
folklore ... mystery
From the moment young Egan arrives in Instep, he senses the spell cast over the villagers by the Megrimum--the mysterious something that lurks on the mist-wreathed peak of Kneeknock Rise. Everyone shudders in horror--delicious horror--whenever the Megrimum's unearthly wail floats down to the village. Before long, Egan is climbing the Rise to find a practical explanation for those wails.
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BEL
The Johnny Dixon Mysteries (age 8-11)
by John Bellairs
magic ... spooky ... mystery
Thirteen-year-old Johnny Dixon joins Professor Childermass to take on the forces of evil...both natural and supernatural.
title: The Eyes of the Killer Robot
title: The Mummy, the Will, and the Crypt
title: The Revenge of the Wizard's Ghost
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CLE
Keepers of the School (age 8-11)
by Andrew Clements
friendship ... mystery ... school
Publisher comments: Benjamin Pratt's school is about to become the site of a new amusement park. It sounds like a dream come true But lately, Ben has been wondering if he's going to like an amusement park in the middle of his town - with all the buses and traffic and eight dollar slices of pizza. It's going to change everything. And, Ben is not so big on all the new changes in his life, like how his dad has moved out and started living in the marina on what used to be the family sailboat. Maybe it would be nice if the school just stayed as it is. He likes the school. Loves it, actually. It's over 200 years old and sits right on the harbor. The playground has ocean breezes and the classrooms have million dollar views. MILLION DOLLAR views. And after a chance — and final — run-in with the school janitor, Ben starts to discover that these MILLION DOLLAR views have a lot to do with the deal to sell the school property. But, as much as the town wants to believe it, the school does not belong to the local government. It belongs to the CHILDREN and these children have the right to defend it Don't think Ben, his friend Jill (and the tag-along Robert) can ruin a multimillion dollar real estate deal? Then you don't know the history and the power of the Keepers of the School. A suspenseful six book series, book one, We the Children, starts the battle on land and on sea. It's a race to keep the school from turning into a ticket booth and these kids are about to discover just how threatening a little knowledge can be.
title: We the Children
title: Fear Itself
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CHE
The Would-Be Witch (age 8-11)
by Ruth Chew
mystery ... spooky
Two children are convinced that the owner of the nearby antique shop is a witch.
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COR
Dead Before Docking (age 8-11)
by Scott Corbett
mystery
A young boy accidentally discovers that a murder is planned on board his Panama-bound freighter. Who is the victim? Who is the killer?
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HUT
Follow That Bus! (age 8-11)
by Pat Hutchins
adventure ... school ... mystery
Two bank robbers find that a group of second graders visiting a farm are more than they bargained for.
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ROB
Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job (age 8-11)
by Willo Davis Roberts
mystery ... adventure
A baby sitter and her three willful charges make a formidable team to outwit their surprised kidnappers.
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STI
Goosbumps Series (age 8-11)
by R. L. Stine
mystery ... spooky
The Goosbumps mystery series will chill you to the bone!
title: Attack of the Jack-o'-Lanterns
title: Don't Go to Sleep!
title: My Best Friend is Invisible
title: My Hairiest Adventure
title: You Can't Scare Me!
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SMI
The Hundred and One Dalmatians (age 8-11)
by Dodie Smith
mystery ... humor
The daring, hilarious pack of hounds is at the center of this classic tale of canine intrigue.
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HOW
Tales from the House of Bunnicula (age 8-11)
by James Howe
authorship ... humor ... mystery
Dear possible reader of this book: I want to be a writer, just like my uncle Harold, who wrote a bunch of books about our friend Bunnicula. So I wrote this story. And boy! Did I ever get into trouble! My friend Delilah stopped speaking to me because I put her in my book. Uncle Harold stopped speaking to me because I didn't put him in my book. A writer's life isn't easy! But back to my story: It's about how a talented and lovable (not to mention smart) wirehaired dachshund puppy named Howie saves the world from a disgusting, evil menace named...oops, that would give away the story. But trust me, this menace is disgusting and evil, all right!!! Your friend, Howie
title: Invasion of the Mind Swappers from Asteroid 6!
title: Nighty-Nightmare
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HOR
Diamond Brothers Mysteries (age 8-11)
by Anthony Horowitz
humor ... mystery
What would Tim Diamond, the world's worst private detective, do without his quick-thinking brother Nick? The bumbling detective and his kid brother are at it again in these hilarious, fast-paced mysteries. Find out if Nick can get to the bottom of these mysteries before Tim messes everything up, or worse, gets them both killed.
title: Public Enemy Number Two: a Diamond Brothers Mystery
title: The Falcon's Malteser
title: Three of Diamonds: Three Diamond Brothers Mysteries
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BOS
Series: The Name of This Book Is Secret (age 8-11)
by Pseudonymous Bosch
mystery ... adventure ... action ... humor
Publisher comments: Warning: this description has not been authorized by Pseudonymous Bosch. As much as he'd love to sing the praises of his book (he is very vain), he wouldn't want you to hear about his brave 11-year old heroes, Cass and Max-Ernest. Or about how a mysterious box of vials, the Symphony of Smells, sends them on the trail of a magician who has vanished under strange (and stinky) circumstances. And he certainly wouldn't want you to know about the hair-raising adventures that follow and the nefarious villains they face. You see, not only is the name of this book secret, the story inside is, too. For it concerns a secret. A Big Secret.
title: The Name of This Book Is Secret
title: If You're Reading This, It's Too Late
title: This Book Is Not Good For You
title: This Isn't What It Looks Like
title: You Have To Stop This
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WRI
The Ghost of Ernie P. (age 8-11)
by Betty Ren Wright
mystery ... spooky
Catalog: After a freak accident kills Ernie and cuts short his Top Secret Plan, his friend Jeff is haunted by Ernie's ghost and pushed toward carrying out the plan.
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WRI
A Ghost in the Window (age 8-11)
by Betty Ren Wright
mystery ... spooky
Catalog: A man who died in a car crash after allegedly stealing $50,000 from a bank, tries to communicate with the family through Meg's dreams. Sequel to "The Secret Window."
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WRI
The Secret Window (age 8-11)
by Betty Ren Wright
mystery ... spooky
Catalog: Meg is afraid to tell anyone when her dreams literally start coming true, but she needs help before she can learn to use her gift of seeing into the future.
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WAL
Peppermints in the Parlor (age 8-11)
by Barbara Brooks Wallace
family ... adventure ... mystery
Emily Luccock is looking forward to living at Sugar Hill Hall....She remembers her aunt and uncle's grand old mansion well, with its enormous, elegant parlor, marble fireplace, and white china cups filled with hot chocolate. But this time things are different. Her aunt's once bright and lively home is now dead with silence. Evil lurks in every corner, and the dark, shadowed walls watch and whisper late at night. And no one ever speaks. Everything's changed at Sugar Hill Hall, and Emily knows something awful is happening there. What's become of Uncle Twice? Why is Aunt Twice a prisoner in her own home? Emily is desperate to uncover the truth. Time is running out, and she must find a way to save the people and home she cares so much about.
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WRI
Christina's Ghost (age 8-11)
by Betty Ren Wright
mystery ... spooky
Christina's summer in a spooky, isolated Victorian house with her grumpy uncle turns into a ghostly adventure.
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WRI
Too Many Secrets (age 8-11)
by Betty Ren Wright
family ... mystery
Nine-year-old Chad and his friend Jeannie try to discover who is breaking into their neighbor's house, while Chad also deals with his suspicions about why is father has been spending so much time away from home.
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HUT
The Mona Lisa Mystery (age 8-11)
by Pat Hutchins
the arts ... mystery
Class 3 of Hampstead Primary School takes a school trip to Paris and lands right into the middle of a mystery.
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DEF
The Light on Hogback Hill (age 8-11)
by Cynthia DeFelice
friendship ... mystery
When she investigates the mysterious light up on Hogback Hill, eleven-year-old Hadley finds and befriends a hunchbacked old woman with a tragic past.
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CLI
I Hate Your Guts, Ben Brooster (age 8-11)
by Eth Clifford
friendship ... mystery
Catalog: When eleven-year-old Charlie's nine-year-old cousin Ben arrives from Japan with the wrong suitcase to spend a year with him, Charlie is irritated by Ben's genius intelligence, but comes to admire him as the two are drawn into a mystery concerning a handwritten will in Ben's suitcase.
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CLI
Scared Silly (age 8-11)
by Eth Clifford
humor ... mystery
Catalog: Sensible eleven-year-old Mary Rose, constantly at odds with her imaginative seven-year-old sister Jo-Beth, finds that they need to work together when an unplanned visit to a strange shoe museum and house of magic illusions involves them in the disappearance of a Chinese emperor's shoes.
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CLI
Help I'm a Prisoner in the Library (age 8-11)
by Eth Clifford
humor ... mystery ... adventure
Catalog: Two girls spend an adventurous night trapped inside the public library during a terrible blizzard.
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CLE
Room One: a Mystery or Two (age 8-11)
by Andrew Clements
friendship ... mystery ... school
Catalog: A young boy living in rural western Nebraska investigates the connection between a mysterious face in the window of an empty house and the possible closing of the one-room school he attends.
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HOW
The Celery Stalks at Midnight (age 8-11)
by James Howe
spooky ... mystery ... humor
Chester the cat is more than ever convinced that Bunnicula is a vampire when there is a harvest of white vegetables on the morning after the night that Bunnicula was probably wandering through the neighborhood.
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HOW
Howliday Inn (age 8-11)
by James Howe
humor ... mystery ... spooky
Harold and Chester are sent to the Chateau Bow-Wow when the Monroe family goes on vacation. When a French poodle involved in a messy love triangle disappears, Chester and Harold enter the crime-detection business.
sequel: Return to Howliday Inn
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HIL
The McGurk Mystery Series (age 8-11)
by E.W. Hildick
realistic ... mystery
The McGurk Detective Organization is on the case! It's up to Willie, Wanda, and Joey to step in, and when they do, you can be sure that trouble is just around the corner.
title: The Case of the Bashful Bank Robber
title: The Case of the Secret Scribbler
title: The Case of the Treetop Treasure
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WRI
The Ghost Comes Calling (age 8-11)
by Betty Ren Wright
mystery ... spooky
Catalog: While vacationing at a spooky cabin on Perch Lake, nine-year-old Chad tries to clear the name of Tim Tapper, the cabin's ghostly inhabitant, who was blamed for a truck accident in the 1930s.
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CHI
Utterly Me, Clarice Bean (age 8-11)
by Lauren Child
mystery ... school ... humor
It's not easy to concentrate at school when mysterious things are happening all around you. In fact, Clarice Bean is starting to feel just like her favorite heroine: Ruby Redforr, schoolgirl detective. Clarice and her utterly best friend, Betty Moody, are planning to ace their book project about Ruby and win the class prize, until Betty disappears into thin air, and horrible teacher Mrs. Wilberton teams Clarice up with the naughtiest boy in school. Will her new partner ruin everything? Will Betty ever come back? And what on earth happened to the silver trophy everyone's hoping to win?
sequel: Clarice Bean Spells Trouble
sequel: Clarice Bean, Don't Look Now
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RUB
Steal Away Home (age 8-11)
by Lois Ruby
mystery ... historical
When twelve-year-old Dana Shannon starts to strip away wallpaper in her family's old house, she's unprepared for the surprise that awaits her. A hidden room, containing a human skeleton! How did such a thing get there? And why was the tiny room sealed up? With the help of a diary found in the room, Dana learns her house was once a station on the Underground Railroad. The young woman whose remains Dana discovered was Lizbet Charles, a conductor and former slave. As the scene shifts between Dana's world and 1856, the story of the families that lived in the house unfolds.
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KLI
Trial by (Jury) Journal (age 8-11)
by Kate Klise
humor ... mystery ... letters/journal
Get ready for a trial unlike any Tyle County has ever seen. Sixth-grader Perry Keet is missing, and Bob White, his co-worker at Tyle Park Zoo, will stand trial for the alleged murder. But Keet's disappearance is only the beginning of this legal thriller.
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HOW
Bunnicula (age 8-11)
by Deborah and James Howe
humor ... mystery
This book is written by Harold. His fulltime occupation is dog. He lives with Mr. and Mrs. Monroe and their sons Toby and Pete. Also sharing the home are a cat named Chester and a rabbit named Bunnicula. It is because of Bunnicula that Harold turned to writing. Someone had to tell the full story of what happened in the Monroe household after the rabbit arrived. Was Bunnicula really a vampire? Only Bunnicula knows for sure.
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FLE
Jim Ugly (age 8-11)
by Sid Fleischman
adventure ... mystery ... animals ... humor
Twelve-year-old Jake is thrown into an uneasy alliance with proud, one-man dog, Jim Ugly, when the dog's owner, Jake's father, suddenly disappears. Confident that Jim Ugly can pick up Jake's father's trail, boy and dog set out on the adventure of their lives.
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SOB
The Encyclopedia Brown Series (age 8-11)
by Donald Sobol
mystery ... brilliant protagonist
Whenever ten-year-old Leroy (nicknamed ``Encyclopedia'') Brown's father, Chief of Police of Idaville, had a difficult case, Encyclopedia always managed to solve it at the dinner table. So, he decided to open his own detective agency.
title: Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective
title: Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of Pablo's Nose
title: Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Midnight Visitor
title: Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Secret Pitch
title: Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Disgusting Sneakers
title: Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Slippery Salamander
title: Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Mysterious Handprints
title: Encyclopedia Brown Keeps the Peace
title: Encyclopedia Brown Saves the Day
title: Encyclopedia Brown Gets His Man
title: Encyclopedia Brown Lends a Hand
title: Encyclopedia Brown Carries On
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KLI
Regarding the Fountain (age 8-11)
by Kate Klise
mystery ... letters/journal ... humor ... school
The Dry Creek Middle School drinking fountain has sprung a leak, so principal Walter Russ dashes off a request to Flowing Waters Fountains, Etc. We need a new drinking fountain. Please send a catalog. Designer Flo Waters responds: ``I'd be delighted...but please understand that all of my fountains are custom-made.'' Soon the fountain project takes on a life of its own, one chronicled in letters, postcards, memos, transcripts, and official documents.
sequel: Regarding the Sink: Where, Oh Where, Did Waters Go?
sequel: Regarding the Trees: a Splintered Saga Rooted in Secrets
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KLI
Letters From Camp (age 8-11)
by Kate Klise
mystery ... humor ... family ... letters/journal
Sent to Camp Happy Harmony to learn how to get along with each other, pairs of brothers and sisters chronicle in letters home how they come to suspect the intentions of the singing family running the camp.
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HAL
The Chet Gecko Mystery Series (age 8-11)
by Bruce Hale
humor ... mystery
In these hilarious mysteries, Chet Gecko can't think of anything but eating and sleeping. Nevertheless, he's called upon to foil sinister plots, catch wiley thieves, and take on vicious monsters.
title: The Big Nap: From the Tattered Casebook of Chet Gecko
title: The Chameleon Wore Chartreuse: From the Tattered Casebook of Chet Gecko
title: Farewell, My Lunchbag: From the Tattered Casebook of Chet Gecko
title: The Hamster of the Baskervilles: From the Tattered Casebook of Chet Gecko
title: Murder, My Tweet: From the Tattered Casebook of Chet Gecko
title: The Mystery of Mr. Nice: From the Tattered Casebook of Chet Gecko
title: This Gum for Hire: From the Tattered Casebook of Chet Gecko
title: Trouble Is My Beeswax: From the Tattered Casebook of Chet Gecko
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ERI
Hank the Cowdog Series (age 8-11)
by John Erickson
humor ... mystery
In the first installment, Hank the Cowdog, head of ranch security, is framed for the murder of a chicken and becomes an outlaw with the coyotes.
title: The Case of the Vanishing Fishhook
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CHR
The Hockey Machine (age 8-11)
by Matt Christopher
mystery ... survival ... adventure ... sports
Catalog: Abducted by a "fan" and forced to become a member of a professional junior hockey team, thirteen-year-old star center Steve Crandall quickly realizes that he must play not only to win but to survive.
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BYA
Hurculeah Jones Mysteries (age 8-11)
by Betsy Cromer Byars
mystery
Supersleuth Hurculeah Jones and her friends crack one case after another.
title: The Dark Stairs

El Carmelo Elementary School, Sat Aug 25 11:55:28 2012
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