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Griff Carver, Hallway Patrol (age 9-12)
by Jim Krieg
humor ... mystery ... school
Publisher comments: Twelve-year-old Griff Carver knows a thing or two about fighting crime. Because Griff's not just any kid - he's a kid with a badge. And if you are a criminal, he's your worst nightmare. Griff might be the new kid on the Rampart Jr. High Patrol squad, but he's no rookie. And he'll do whatever it takes to clean up the mean hallways of his middle school - even if it lands him in hot water. But when Griff links cool kid Marcus "The Smile" Volger to a counterfeit hall pass ring, can he and his friends close the case? Or will Griff let down the force - and lose his badge - for good?
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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.
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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.
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DEF
The Ghost of Fossil Glen (age 9-12)
by Cynthia C. DeFelice
letters/journal ... mystery ... friendship ... spooky
Allie Nichols knows she's being pursued by a ghost. But her friend Karen calls her a liar and doesn't want to hear stuff like that. It is Allie's old pal Dub who listens eagerly as Allie tells him about a voice that guides her safely down a steep cliff side, the face in her mind's eye of a girl who begs ``Help me,'' and a terrible nightmare in which that girl falls to her death. Who is the girl? Is she the ghost? And what does the ghost want from Allie? As Allie discovers that her role is to avenge a murder, she also learns something about friendship, false and true, in this gripping ghost story and murder mystery.
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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.
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BRO
Shakespeare's Secret (age 9-12)
by Elise Broach
the arts ... mystery
Publisher comments: When Hero starts sixth grade at a new school, she's less concerned about the literary origins of her Shakespearean name than about the teasing she's sure to suffer because of it. So she has the same name as a girl in a book by a dusty old author. Hero is simply not interested in the connections. But that's just the thing; suddenly connections are cropping up all over, and odd characters and uncertain pasts are exactly what do fascinate Hero. There's a mysterious diamond hidden in her new house, a curious woman next door who seems to know an awful lot about it, and then, well, then there's Shakespeare. Not to mention Danny Cordova, only the most popular boy in school. Is it all in keeping with her namesake's origin-just much ado about nothing? Hero, being Hero, is determined to figure it out. In this fast-paced novel, Elise Broach weaves an intriguing literary mystery full of historical insights and discoveries.
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BRO
Masterpiece (age 9-12)
by Elise Broach
the arts ... mystery ... friendship
Publisher comments: Marvin lives with his family under the kitchen sink in the Pompadays apartment. He is very much a beetle. James Pompaday lives with his family in New York City. He is very much an eleven-year-old boy. After James gets a pen-and-ink set for his birthday, Marvin surprises him by creating an elaborate miniature drawing. James gets all the credit for the picture and before these unlikely friends know it they are caught up in a staged art heist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that could help recover a famous drawing by Albrecht Durer. But James can't go through with the plan without Marvin's help. And thats where things get really complicated (and interesting!).
American Girl History Mysteries (age 9-12)
historical ... mystery
Each mystery takes you to an exciting moment in American history.
title: Shadows in the Glasshouse by Megan McDonald F MCD
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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.
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The Calder Game (age 9-12)
by Blue Balliett
the arts ... mystery
Publisher comments: When Calder Pillay travels with his father to a remote village in England, he finds a mix of mazes and mystery . . . including an unexpected Alexander Calder sculpture in the town square. Calder is strangely drawn to the sculpture, while other people have less-than-friendly feelings towards it. Both the boy and the sculpture seem to be out of place . . . and then, on the same night, they disappear! Calder's friends Petra and Tommy must fly out to help his father find him. But this mystery has more twists and turns than a Calder mobile . . . with more at stake than first meets the eye.
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: 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
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HAH
Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story (age 9-12)
by Mary Downing Hahn
family ... mystery ... spooky
Heather is such a whiny little brat. Always getting Michael and me into trouble. But since our mother married her father, we're stuck with her...our "poor stepsister" who lost her real mother in a mysterious fire. But now something terrible has happened. Heather has found a new friend, out in the graveyard behind our home: a girl named Helen who died with her family in a mysterious fire over a hundred years ago. Now her ghost returns to lure children into the pond...to drown! I don't want to believe in ghosts, but I've followed Heather into the graveyard and watch her talk to Helen. And I'm terrified. Not for myself, but for Heather...
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WAL
Trapped in Death Cave (age 9-12)
by Bill Wallace
adventure ... mystery
Everybody thinks Gary's grampa died in a fishing accident. But from a note Grampa left, Gary suspects he was murdered. The note tells of a million dollars in gold hidden in a cave and an old Indian curse promising that anyone who touches it will die! Gary and his friend Brian are sure that if they find the gold, they will also find Grampa's killer. But treasure hunting can be deadly. Now they are stuck in a dark cavern full of tangled skeletons, restless Indian spirits, and a murderer out for their blood! Will Brian and Gary ever get out of Death Cave alive?
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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.
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Edgar and Ellen Series (age 9-12)
by Charles Ogden
humor ... mystery
The sinister twins Edgar and Ellen live alone (their parents disappeared years ago, and who can blame them?) in the quaint, little town of Nod's Limbs, in a grim, gray house overlooking the cemetery and the junkyard. They spend their days avoiding Heimertz, the mysterious accordion-playing caretaker; pestering Pet, a hairy, one-eyed creature of indeterminate species and gender; and wreaking havoc on the hapless citizens of Nod's Limbs.
title: Rare Beasts
title: Tourist Trap
title: Under Town
title: High Wire
title: Nod's Limbs
title: Pet's Revenge
title: Edgar and Ellen Mischief Manual: An Expert's Guide to Planning Perpetrating and Plausibly Denying All Pranks Great and Small But Mostly Great
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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: Witch Weed
title: Witch's Sister
title: The Witch Returns
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FRE
Who Stole Halloween? (age 9-12)
by Martha Freeman
traditions ... animals ... mystery ... spooky
Eleven-year-old sleuths Alex and Yasmeen are on the trail of a serial catnapper. Halloween is the first cat to go missing. One by one more cats from the neighborhood disappear. It's rumored that a ghost is responsible. Will he strike again? It's up to Alex and Yasmeen to find out before Halloween is gone forever!
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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
title: The Everafter War
title: The Inside Story
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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.
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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.
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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.
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ROB
The Minden Curse (age 9-12)
by Willo Davis Roberts
mystery
When Danny goes to a small village to live with his aunt and grandfather, it soon becomes apparent that he and his dog are afflicted with the minden curse. Whenever catastrophes occur, they're sure to be involved.
sequel: More Minden Curses
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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.
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COV
The Ghost in the Big Brass Bed (age 9-12)
by Bruce Coville
mystery ... spooky
When sixth grader Nina Tanleven starts working at an antiques shop, she never expects to stumble onto a mystery ... or into danger. But that's exactly what happens when she and her best friend, Chris, go to pick up an antique wardrobe at old Miss Watson's. From the moment the girls set foot in the run-down mansion, they sense that it's haunted ... even before they discover the tower room with its big brass bed and grieving little girl ghost!
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COL
Half-moon Investigations (age 9-12)
by Eoin Colfer
action ... brilliant protagonist ... mystery
Catalog: Twelve-year-old Fletcher Moon, the youngest qualified private detective in the world, receives a diploma and gold-plated detective's shield after completing an Internet course, and sets out to solve petty crimes at school, but he forced to go on the run when, while investigating the town's biggest crime family, his badge is stolen and he is framed for several crimes he did not commit.
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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.
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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.
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BAL
The Wright 3 (age 9-12)
by Blue Balliett
math/science/technology ... the arts ... mystery
Spring semester at the Lab School in Hyde Park finds Petra and Calder drawn into another mystery when unexplainable accidents and ghostly happenings throw a spotlight on Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House, and it's up to the two junior sleuths to piece together the clues. Stir in the return of Calder's friend Tommy (which creates a tense triangle), H.G. Wells's The Invisible Man, 3D pentominoes, and the hunt for a coded message left behind by Wright, and the kids become tangled in a dangerous web in which life and art intermingle with death, deception, and surprise.
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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.
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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?
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LAW
The Roman Mystery Series (age 9-12)
by Caroline Lawrence
mystery ... historical
In the first of this series, Thieves of Ostia, the dogs on Flavia's street have started dying mysteriously, and she is determined to find out why. Her investigation leads her to three extraordinary people: Jonathan, her new neighbor; Nubia, an African slave; and Lupus, a mute beggar boy. The four embark on a search for the killer--and that's when the excitement begins.
title: The Secrets of Vesuvius
title: The Pirates of Pompeii
title: The Assassins of Rome
title: The Dolphins of Laurentum
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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!
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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.
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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 Old Stagecoach
title: The Clue of the Dancing Puppet
title: The Clue of the Leaning Chimney
title: The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes
title: The Haunted Bridge
title: The Haunted Showboat
title: The Hidden Staircase
title: The Moonstone Castle Mystery
title: The Mystery at Lilac Inn
title: Mystery at the Ski Jump
title: The Mystery of the Fire Dragon
title: Mystery of the Moss-Covered Mansion
title: The Phantom of Pine Hill
title: The Secret of Red Gate Farm
title: the Secret of Shadow Ranch
title: The Secret of the Golden Pavilion
title: The Secret of the Old Clock
title: The Sky Phantom
title: The Thirteenth Pearl
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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 Clue of the Screeching Owl
title: The House on the Cliff
title: The Mysterious Caravan
title: Mystery at Devil's Paw
title: Mystery of the Desert Giant
title: The Secret of Pirates' Hill
title: The Secret of Skull Mountain
title: The Secret of the Old Mill
title: The Secret Panel
title: The Secret Warning
title: The Shattered Helmet
title: The Shore Road Mystery
title: The Sign of the Crooked Arrow
title: The Sting of the Scorpion
title: The Tower Treasure
title: The Wailing Siren Mystery
title: The Missing Chums
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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

Ohlone Elementary School, Sat Aug 25 11:55:33 2012
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