CAR |
Floors Series (age 9-12) by Patrick Carman mystery ... adventure ... fantasy Publisher comments: Charlie had his chocolate factory. Stanley Yelnats had his holes. Leo has the wacky, amazing Whippet Hotel. The Whippet Hotel is a strange place full of strange and mysterious people. Each floor has its own quirks and secrets. Leo should know most of them - he is the maintenance man's son, after all. But a whole lot more mystery gets thrown his way when a series of cryptic boxes are left for him . . . boxes that lead him to hidden floors, strange puzzles, and unexpected alliances. Leo had better be quick on his feet, because the fate of the building he loves is at stake . . . and so is Leo's own future! title: Floors |
CHI |
The Secret Zoo Series (age 9-12) by Bryan Chick adventure ... action ... mystery ... animals Publisher comments: Noah, his sister Megan, and their best friends, Richie and Ella, live next door to the zoo. Megan is the first to notice the puzzling behavior of some of the animals. One day Megan disappears, and her brother and their friends realize it's up to them to find her. Their only choice is to follow a series of clues and sneak into the zoo. But once inside, will they discover there's much more to the Clarksville City Zoo than they could ever have guessed? title: The Secret Zoo |
ROB |
The Absolutely True Story ... How I Visited Yellowstone park With the Terrible Rupes
(age 9-12) by Willo Davis Roberts humor ... mystery Publisher comments: Lewis and Alison's vacation should be lots of fun. Driving to Yellowstone in a motor home, seeing all the fantastic sights, getting to know their new neighbors...the trip should be a blast. It turns out to be anything but. First they discover their hosts, the Rupes, have no interest in nutrition, manners, or their own children. Even worse, two strange men seem to be following them. Could they have something to do with the one-hundred-dollar bills little Billy Rupe keeps finding in the motor home? Lewis is afraid the answer is yes -- and he should be. |
HIA |
Scat
(age 9-12) by Carl Hiaasen mystery ... adventure ... nature ... humor Publisher comments: Bunny Starch, the most feared biology teacher ever, is missing. She disappeared after a school field trip to Black Vine Swamp. And, to be honest, the kids in her class are relieved. But when the principal tries to tell the students that Mrs. Starch has been called away on a "family emergency," Nick and Marta just don't buy it. No, they figure the class delinquent, Smoke, has something to do with her disappearance. And he does! But not in the way they think. There's a lot more going on in Black Vine Swamp than any one player in this twisted tale can see. And Nick and Marta will have to reckon with an eccentric eco-avenger, a stuffed rat named Chelsea, a wannabe Texas oilman, a singing substitute teacher, and a ticked-off Florida panther before they really begin to see the big picture. That's life in the swamp, kids. |
VAN |
Moon Over Manifest
(age 9-12) by Clare Vanderpool mystery ... historical Publisher comments: "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. Having heard stories about Manifest, Abilene is disappointed to find that it's just a dried-up, worn-out old town. But her disappointment quickly turns to excitement when she discovers a hidden cigar box full of mementos, including some old letters that mention a spy known as the Rattler. These mysterious letters send Abilene and her new friends, Lettie and Ruthanne, on an honest-to-goodness spy hunt, even though they are warned to "Leave Well Enough Alone." Abilene throws all caution aside when she heads down the mysterious Path to Perdition to pay a debt to the reclusive Miss Sadie, a diviner who only tells stories from the past. It seems that Manifest's history is full of colorful and shadowy characters—and long-held secrets. The more Abilene hears, the more determined she is to learn just what role her father played in that history. And as Manifest's secrets are laid bare one by one, Abilene begins to weave her own story into the fabric of the town. |
STE |
When You Reach Me
(age 9-12) by Rebecca Stead mystery ... family Publisher commments: This remarkable novel holds a fantastic puzzle at its heart. By sixth grade, Miranda and her best friend, Sal, know how to navigate their New York City neighborhood. They know where it's safe to go, and they know who to avoid. Like the crazy guy on the corner. But things start to unravel. Sal gets punched by a kid on the street for what seems like no reason, and he shuts Miranda out of his life. The apartment key that Miranda's mom keeps hidden for emergencies is stolen. And then a mysterious note arrives, scrawled on a tiny slip of paper. The notes keep coming, and Miranda slowly realizes that whoever is leaving them knows things no one should know. Each message brings her closer to believing that only she can prevent a tragic death. Until the final note makes her think she's too late. |
ANG |
The Strange Case of Origami Yoda
(age 9-12) by Tom Angleberger humor ... school ... mystery Publisher comments: In this funny, uncannily wise portrait of the dynamics of a sixth-grade class and of the greatness that sometimes comes in unlikely packages, Dwight, a loser, talks to his classmates via an origami finger puppet of Yoda. If that weren't strange enough, the puppet is uncannily wise and prescient. Origami Yoda predicts the date of a pop quiz, guesses who stole the classroom Shakespeare bust, and saves a classmate from popularity-crushing embarrassment with some well-timed advice. Dwight's classmate Tommy wonders how Yoda can be so smart when Dwight himself is so clueless. With contributions from his puzzled classmates, he assembles the case file that forms this novel. |
American Girl History Mysteries (age 9-12) historical ... mystery Each mystery takes you to an exciting moment in American history. title: Circle of Fire by Evelyn Coleman F COL title: Danger at the Wild West Show by Alison Hart F HAR title: Enemy in the Fort by Sarah Masters Buckey F BUC title: Ghost Light on Graveyard Shoal by Elizabeth McDavid Jones F JON title: Hoofbeats of Danger by Holly Hughes F HUG title: The Minstrel's Melody by Eleanora E. Tate F TAT title: Mystery at Chilkoot Pass by Barbara Steiner F STE title: The Night Flyers by Elizabeth McDavid Jones F JON title: Secrets on 26th Street by Elizabeth McDavid Jones F JON title: Shadows in the Glasshouse by Megan McDonald F MCD title: The Smuggler's Treasure by Sarah Masters Buckey F BUC title: The Strange Case of Baby H by Kathryn Reiss F REI title: Trouble at Fort La Pointe by Kathleen Ernst F ERN title: Under Copp's Hill by Katherine Ayres F AYR title: Voices at Whisper Bend by Katherine Ayres F AYR title: Watcher in the Piney Woods by Elizabeth McDavid Jones F JON title: Whistler in the Dark by Kathleen Ernst F ERN | |
BRI |
My Buddy, the King: a Novel
(age 9-12) by Bill Brittain friendship ... humor ... mystery Catalog: When King Tokab of Mokobway is saved from choking on a frankfurter by Tim Quilt, they become fast friends and together outwit a plot to do in the king. |
FEI |
Mystery at Manzanar: A WWII Internment Camp Story
(age 9-12) by Eric Fein adventure ... historical ... mystery Catalog: Fifteen-year-old Tommy, having been forced into a Japanese internment camp with the rest of his family, investigates when another internee is attacked. |
The 39 Clues (age 9-12) historical ... action ... adventure ... mystery Minutes before she died Grace Cahill changed her will, leaving her decendants an impossible decision: "You have a choice: one million dollars or a clue." Grace is the last matriarch of the Cahills, the world's most powerful family. Everyone from Napoleon to Houdini is related to the Cahills, yet the source of the family power is lost. 39 clues hidden around the world will reveal the family's secret, but no one has been able to assemble them. Now the clues race is on, and young Amy and Dan must decide what's important: hunting clues or uncovering what REALLY happened to their parents. title: The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan F RIO title: One False Note by Gordon Korman F KOR title: The Sword Thief by Peter Lerangis F LER title: Beyond the Grave by Jude Watson F WAT title: The Black Circle by Patrick Carman F CAR title: In Too Deep by Jude Watson F WAT title: Vespers Rising by Rick Riordan F RIO title: Into the Gauntlet by Margaret Peterson Haddix F HAD title: The Viper's Nest by Peter Lerangis F LER title: The Emperor's Code by Gordon Korman F KOR title: Storm Warning by Linda Sue Park F PAR title: Cahills vs. Vespers: the Medusa Plot by Gordon Korman F KOR | |
ROB |
To Grandmother's House We Go
(age 9-12) by Willo Davis Roberts family ... mystery To avoid foster home care while their mother is recuperating from illness, three children run off to the home of a grandmother they have never seen, where they find a cold reception and a terrible secret. |
HAH |
Time For Andrew: a Ghost Story
(age 9-12) by Mary Downing Hahn family ... mystery ... spooky Aunt Blythe's house gives Andrew the creeps, full of dark rooms, creaky noises, and the sound of a woman sobbing somewhere in the shadows. Then, in the middle of the night, Andrew awakens to find a boy standing in his room...a boy who is Andrew's double, except he looks as if he's come from the grave. He wants to follow him, to a place where he will meet the spirits of long-dead ancestors...a place from which Andrew may never return. |
SEL |
The Invention of Hugo Cabret: a Novel in Words and Pictures
(age 9-12) by Brian Selznick the arts ... mystery ... math/science/technology ... historical Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo's undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo's dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery. |
PAR |
Liza, Bill and Jed Mysteries (age 9-12) by Peggy Parish action ... adventure ... realistic ... mystery Who or what is taking the kitchen scraps from the garbage every night? What starts out as a puzzle becomes a mystery. Every night Grandma leaves table scraps in a wrapped plastic bag in the garbage can where, according to plan, the McNellis children pick them up to feed their kittens. But the plan changes when the bag is gone in the morning. The twins, Liza and Bill, and brother Jed decide to investigate the matter. First the children discover Liza's missing red sweater in a part of the woods she hadn't been to before, next they read about runaway children in the newspaper, and then their new puppy is lost. Finally they find a teepee in the woods with what seems to be Indians in warpaint dancing and shooting arrows! The young detectives must put all the clues together and solve the mystery. title: Key to the Treasure |
NAY |
The Witch Saga (age 9-12) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor mystery ... spooky When the darkness, tolls the hour, I shall have you in my power... Lynn and her best friend, Mouse, are positive their neighbor, Mrs. Tuggle, is a witch. And they suspect the old woman is forcing Lynn's sister, Judith, to join her coven to witches. But Lynn and Mouse can't prove anything and their parents don't believe them. The girls are desperate to expose Mrs. Tuggle's evil nature, especially since her actions are becoming more threatening everyday. Now Lynn's parents have announced that they're going away for the weekend, leaving Judith and Mrs. Tuggle in charge. Can the girls outsmart Mrs. Tuggle and save Lynn's family -- or is the dark magic too strong to conquer? title: Witch Water title: The Witch Herself title: The Witch's Eye |
GOI |
The Garden of Eve
(age 9-12) by K. L. Going family ... mystery ... spooky ... illness/loss Evie reluctantly moves with her widowed father to Beaumont, New York, where he has bought an apple orchard, dismissing rumors that the town is cursed and the trees haven't borne fruit in decades. Evie doesn't believe in things like curses and fairy tales anymore--if fairy tales were real, her mom would still be alive. But odd things happen in Beaumont. Evie meets a boy who claims to be dead and receives a mysterious seed as an eleventh-birthday gift. Once planted, the seed grows into a tree overnight, but only Evie and the dead boy can see it--or go where it leads. The Garden of Eve mixes spine-tingling chills with a deeply resonating story that beautifully explores grief, healing, and growth. |
BUC |
The Sisters Grimm Series (age 9-12) by Michael Buckley fantasy ... folklore ... humor ... mystery In the tradition of Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events and The Spiderwick Chronicles comes a new humorous mystery of fantastic circumstances. The Sisters Grimm Book One: The Fairy Tale Detectives introduces us to two orphaned sisters, Sabrina and Daphne, who are sent to live with their mysterious grandmother, Relda Grimm. Grandmother Grimm lives in a strange town in New York State, known for it's extraordinary number of unexplained and unusual crimes. As soon as the sisters arrive, they begin to unravel a mystery that leads to their ancestors' magical beginnings. Sabrina and Daphne learn they are descendants of the Brothers Grimm, who were actually detectives of the magical phenomenon perpetrated by the Everafters, a parallel race of magical beings. They soon discover it is the Grimm family's legacy to keep the Everafters in line and the two sisters are the sole heirs to this challenge! title: The Fairy-Tale Detectives title: The Unusual Suspects title: The Problem Child title: Once Upon a Crime title: Magic and Other Misdemeanors title: Tales From the Hood |
NAY |
Night Cry
(age 9-12) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor growing up ... family ... mystery Often left alone on their five-acre Mississippi farm by her traveling-salesman father, Ellen learns, through a terrifying experience, to distinguish between real and false fears. |
ROB |
Megan's Island
(age 9-12) by Willo Davis Roberts family ... mystery First eleven-year-old Megan is astonished when her mother insists on taking her and her younger brother up to the lake cottage a week before school is out; then they find mysterious strangers following them. |
ROB |
Scared Stiff
(age 9-12) by Willo Davis Roberts family ... mystery When their mother disappears, two brothers go to stay with a great uncle in a mobile home park next to an abandoned amusement park and begin a search which puts them in danger. |
IBB |
The Star of Kazan
(age 9-12) by Eva Ibbotson mystery ... identity Set in pre-World War I Vienna, a young servant girl Annika learns that she is actually an aristocrat whose true home is an ancient castle. There, Annika discovers that all is not as it seems in the lives of her newfound family. |
SNY |
The Trespassers
(age 9-12) by Zilpha Keatley Snyder adventure ... mystery ... spooky It all starts the summer after Neely finishes fifth grade. She is trying to entertain her little brother, Grub, when they accidentally find a way to sneak into Halcyon House, a magnificent mansion that has been deserted for years. Inside they discover a wonderful surprise, a playroom full of fabulous old-fashioned toys. Despite the spookiness of the house and the rumors about a ghost that haunts it, and despite the fact that they don't belong there, the playroom becomes their secret hideaway. |
SNY |
Gib Rides Home
(age 9-12) by Zilpha Keatley Snyder identity ... mystery ... historical ... family Gib Whittaker's life at Lovell House Orphanage in the early 1900s is pretty bleak. But along with hours of chores, bad food, and paddlings, the boys do get some schooling, and reading and writing are better than scrubbing floors. Still, Gib's fondest dream is to have a real family. So when Georgie Olson is adopted, Gib can't help being jealous, even when he finds out that the "adoption" really means being farmed out to work as unpaid labor until the age of 18. When Gib himself is farmed out, he arrives at the home he has always dreamed of. But he's soon aware of barely concealed tensions and secrets kept hidden from him. |
JAC |
Castaways of the Flying Dutchman
(age 9-12) by Brian Jacques voyages/journeys ... mystery The Flying Dutchman! The legend of the wind-tattered ghost ship and its mad sea captain, cursed to sail the seas forever, has been passed down throughout the centuries. But what of the young boy and his dog who were trapped aboard that ship? What became of them? In this, one of Jacques' most original adventures, the castaway boy and dog set off on an eternal journey of their own, braving icy wind and waves to arrive at strange shores, and explore new places and times. The unlikely Chapelvale village is their first destination, a Victorian town under siege. If Ben and his dog, Ned, can help the townspeople figure out the clues and riddles-hidden beneath floorboards and deep inside wells-perhaps they can save Chapelvale and its people as well. |
BEL |
The Treasure of Alpheus Winterborn
(age 9-12) by John Bellairs adventure ... mystery After stumbling upon a clue in the public library, Anthony searches for the treasure long rumored to have been hidden by a wealthy, eccentric citizen of their small town. |
WRI |
The Dollhouse Murders
(age 9-12) by Betty Ren Wright spooky ... family ... mystery Catalog: A dollhouse filled with a ghostly light in the middle of the night and dolls that have moved from where she last left them lead Amy and her retarded sister to unravel the mystery surrounding grisly murders that took place years ago. |
SNY |
Janie's Private Eyes
(age 9-12) by Zilpha Keatley Snyder mystery Intent on investigating a rash of dog disappearances, eight-year-old Janie forms a detective agency and involves her friends and unwilling family in tracing clues and suspects. |
SNY |
The Headless Cupid
(age 9-12) by Zilpha Keatley Snyder spooky ... mystery ... magic ... friendship When the four Stanley children meet Amanda, their new stepsister, they're amazed to learn that she studied witchcraft. They're stunned to see her dressed in a strange costume, carrying a pet crow, and surrounded by a pile of books about the supernatural. It's not long before Amanda promises to give witchcraft lessons to David, Janie, and the twins. But that's when strange things start happening in their old house. David suspects Amanda of causing mischief, until they learn that the house really was haunted a long time ago. Legend has it that a ghost cut the head off a wooden cupid on the stairway. Has the ghost returned to strike again? sequel: The Famous Stanley Kidnapping Case |
BAL |
Chasing Vermeer
(age 9-12) by Blue Balliett the arts ... mystery When a book of unexplainable occurances brings Petra Andalee and Calder Pillay together, strange things start to happen: seemingly unrelated events connect, an eccentric old woman seeks their company, and an invaluable Vermeer painting disappears. Before they know it, the two find themselves at the center of an international art scandal. As Petra and Calder are drawn clue by clue into a mysterious labyrinth they must draw on their powers of intuition, their skills at problem solving, and their knowledge of Vermeer. Can they decipher a crime that has left even the FBI baffled? |
KON |
From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
(age 9-12) by E. L. Konigsburg realistic ... the arts ... mystery ... adventure Claudia knew that she could never pull off the old-fashioned kind of running away...so she decided not to run FROM somewhere, but TO somewhere. And so, after some careful planning, she and her younger brother, Jamie, escaped right into a mystery that made headlines! |
BEL |
The House With a Clock in Its Walls
(age 9-12) by John Bellairs spooky ... magic ... mystery A boy goes to live with his magician uncle in a mansion that has a clock hidden in the walls which is ticking off the minutes until doomsday. sequel: The Figure in the Shadows sequel: The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring |
KEE |
Nancy Drew Series (age 9-12) by Carolyn Keene mystery In each book, teenage detective Nancy Drew solves a new mystery with determination and sharp wit. title: The Bungalow Mystery title: The Clue in the Crossword Cipher title: The Clue in the Crumbling Wall title: The Clue in the Diary title: The Clue in the Jewel Box title: The Clue in the Old Album title: The Clue of the Broken Locket title: The Clue of the Dancing Puppet title: The Clue of the Tapping Heels title: The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes title: The Haunted Bridge title: The Hidden Staircase title: The Hidden Window Mystery title: The Message in the Hollow Oak title: The Moonstone Castle Mystery title: The Mystery at Lilac Inn title: Mystery of Crocodile Island title: The Mystery of the 99 Steps title: Mystery of the Brass-Bound Trunk title: The Mystery of the Fire Dragon title: Mystery of the Glowing Eye title: Mystery of the Ivory Charm title: Mystery of the Moss-Covered Mansion title: Mystery of the Tolling Bell title: Password to Larkspur Lane title: The Quest of the Missing Map title: The Secret in the Old Attic title: The Secret of Red Gate Farm title: the Secret of Shadow Ranch title: The Secret of the Forgotten City title: The Secret of the Old Clock title: The Sign of the Twisted Candles title: The Sky Phantom title: The Spider Sapphire Mystery title: The Strange Message in the Parchment title: The Thirteenth Pearl title: The Whispering Statue |
DIX |
The Hardy Boys Series (age 9-12) by Frank Dixon mystery In each book Frank and Joe Hardy, boy detectives, investigate a new mystery. title: The Arctic Patrol Mystery title: The Clue of the Hissing Serpent title: The Clue of the Screeching Owl title: The Firebird Rocket title: The Ghost at Skeleton Rock title: The Great Airport Mystery title: The Haunted Fort title: The House on the Cliff title: The Jungle Pyramid title: The Masked Monkey title: The Mysterious Caravan title: Mystery at Devil's Paw title: The Mystery of the Aztec Warrior title: The Mystery of the Chinese Junk title: Mystery of the Desert Giant title: The Mystery of the Spiral Bridge title: The Secret Agent on Flight 101 title: The Secret of the Old Mill title: The Sting of the Scorpion title: The Tower Treasure title: The Viking Symbol Mystery title: The Witchmaster's Key title: Mystery of the Whale Tattoo title: The Missing Chums title: The Mystery of Cabin Island |
COL |
Artemis Fowl Series (age 9-12) by Eoin Colfer math/science/technology ... mystery ... adventure ... science fiction ... brilliant protagonist ... adventure ... action ... fantasy Artemis Fowl, a charming but villainous twelve-year-old, takes on the dangerous world of the Fairy People in this unforgettable story. Full of unexpected twists and turns, Artemis Fowl opens up a riveting world of fantasy and mystery where anything, literally, is possible. title: Artemis Fowl title: The Artemis Fowl Files |