List

2021 Edgar Award Nominee for Best Juvenile Mystery and the perfect Easter basket addition!

From award-winning author Taryn Souders comes a charming, southern middle grade mystery perfect for fans of Stranger Things and the Masterminds series.

The whole town is talking about what's buried beneath the playground...

Windy Bottom, Georgia is usually a peaceful place. Coop helps his mom at her café and bookstore, hangs out with his grandpa, bikes around with his friends Justice and Liberty, and is determined to live up to his dad's legacy. Windy Bottom is full of all kinds of interesting people, but no one has ever caused a problem. Until now.

And somehow, Gramps is taking all the blame! It seems like there are a lot of secrets that were buried in their small town after all...

Will Coop and his friends get to the bottom of the mystery and clear Gramps's name before it's too late?

You will love Coop and his adventures if you are looking for:

• Mystery books for kids 9-12
• Heartfelt and quirky stories for young readers
• Kids detective books
• 5th grade mystery books

When an advert appears in the newspaper for children to take part in a secret mission, children everywhere sit a series of odd tests. In the end, just Reynie, Kate, Sticky and Constance succeed. They have three things in common: they are honest, talented and orphans. They must go undercover and work as a team to save themselves, but also the world.

Enola Holmes, much younger sister of detective Sherlock Holmes, must travel to London in disguise to unravel the disappearance of her missing mother.

New York Times Bestseller * National Book Award Nominee * Winner of the Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery

It's wintertime at Greenglass House. The creaky smuggler's inn is always quiet during this season, and twelve-year-old Milo, the innkeepers' adopted son, plans to spend his holidays relaxing.

But on the first icy night of vacation, out of nowhere, the guest bell rings. Then rings again. And again...

Soon Milo's home is bursting with odd, secretive guests, each one bearing a strange story that is somehow connected to the rambling old house. As objects go missing and tempers flare, Milo and Meddy, the cook's daughter, must decipher clues and untangle the web of deepening mysteries to discover the truth about Greenglass House--and themselves.

Gravity Falls meets Five Nights at Freddy's in this thrilling lightly gothic YA graphic novel, for those who love a dash of camp and a dollop of darkness.

It’s just a bedtime story….right?

Parents in Pensmouth tell their children a devious bedtime tale—their beloved town is riddled with flesh-takers, monsters who snatch unruly kids off the street if they don’t go to sleep on time.

Vivian Vance, amateur teen detective, heard that story as a kid and never believed it.

When Vivian takes on a case in the Pillars, a downtrodden and long-ignored community beneath the highway, she stumbles on a dark secret about her town's history and finds herself face-to-face with those horrifying monsters. Saved from certain death by a group of kids from the Pillars, Vivian decides her next job will be exposing the flesh-takers to the world--at any cost. 

But her biggest opportunity quickly becomes her worst nightmare. Her pride puts Pensmouth and her new-found friends in mortal danger. In order to right her mistakes, she must stand up to the creatures that offer all her heart desires before she loses the only people left who matters.

A budding genius gets recruited by the FBI to find stolen art in this first book in the hilarious middle grade mystery series that has “elements of Alex Rider, James Bond, and Sherlock Holmes” (School Library Journal) from New York Times bestselling, Edgar Award­–winning James Ponti.

Twelve-year-old Florian Bates has just moved to Washington, DC, the latest of places he’s lived for his dad’s job a security specialist and his mom’s an art conservator—now with the National Gallery of Art. Florian keeps busy developing his technique TOAST (Theory of All Small Things) that focuses on details to solve life’s little mysteries such as where to sit on the on the first day of school or which Chinese restaurant has the best eggrolls.

His observational skills haven’t earned him many friends in the past, but his neighbor Margaret turns out to be a kindred spirit and an excellent student of TOAST. While testing their talents in the National Gallery, they uncover a valuable lead about a piece of stolen art! After calling in their tip, Florian and Margaret catch the attention of the FBI…and a notorious crime syndicate known as EEL.

Now, Florian is the only kid on the FBI Director’s speed dial and several international criminals’ most wanted lists, and he and Margaret might be in way over their heads. Can these amateur sleuths foil an art theft and forgery ring by looking at the small things, or will they find the devil is in the details?

Based on the extraordinary true story of America's first female detective, Kate Warne, this fast-paced adventure is full of feats of daring and danger, bold action, and newfound courage.

When orphaned eleven-year-old Nell Warne arrives in Chicago, she is shocked to find that her long-lost aunt is a detective working for the famous Pinkerton's National Detective agency! With nation-changing events simmering in the background as Abraham Lincoln heads for the White House, Aunt Kate is working on the biggest case of her life, and Nell quickly makes herself indispensable by cracking codes, wearing disguises, and spying on nefarious criminals. But can she also solve the case of what really happened on the night her best friend disappeared?

It’s a murder mystery on the moon in this humorous and suspenseful space adventure from the author of Belly Up and Spy School that The New York Times Book Review called “a delightful and brilliantly constructed middle grade thriller.”

Like his fellow lunarnauts—otherwise known as Moonies—living on Moon Base Alpha, twelve-year-old Dashiell Gibson is famous the world over for being one of the first humans to live on the moon.

And he’s bored out of his mind. Kids aren’t allowed on the lunar surface, meaning they’re trapped inside the tiny moon base with next to nothing to occupy their time—and the only other kid Dash’s age spends all his time hooked into virtual reality games.

Then Moon Base Alpha’s top scientist turns up dead. Dash senses there’s foul play afoot, but no one believes him. Everyone agrees Dr. Holtz went onto the lunar surface without his helmet properly affixed, simple as that. But Dr. Holtz was on the verge of an important new discovery, Dash finds out, and it’s a secret that could change everything for the Moonies—a secret someone just might kill to keep...

A New York Times-Bestseller!

“Full of heart and replete with challenging ciphers for readers to decode, Bertman’s debut is literary cousin to classic puzzlers like The Westing Game.” ―Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Fans of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library will appreciate the abundant literary allusions, and readers will hope for more adventures.” ―Shelf Awareness, starred review 

For twelve-year-old Emily, the best thing about moving to San Francisco is that it's the home city of her literary idol: Garrison Griswold, book publisher and creator of the online sensation Book Scavenger (a game where books are hidden in cities all over the country and clues to find them are revealed through puzzles). Upon her arrival, however, Emily learns that Griswold has been attacked and is now in a coma, and no one knows anything about the epic new game he had been poised to launch. Then Emily and her new friend James discover an odd book, which they come to believe is from Griswold himself, and might contain the only copy of his mysterious new game.

Racing against time, Emily and James rush from clue to clue, desperate to figure out the secret at the heart of Griswold's new game—before those who attacked Griswold come after them too.

The Book Scavenger Series:
Book Scavenger (Book 1)
The Unbreakable Code (Book 2)
The Alcatraz Escape (Book 3)

Newbery honor winner, New York Times bestseller, Edgar Award Finalist, and E.B. White Read-Aloud Honor book.

A hilarious Southern debut with the kind of characters you meet once in a lifetime

Rising sixth grader Miss Moses LoBeau lives in the small town of Tupelo Landing, NC, where everyone's business is fair game and no secret is sacred. She washed ashore in a hurricane eleven years ago, and she's been making waves ever since. Although Mo hopes someday to find her "upstream mother," she's found a home with the Colonel--a café owner with a forgotten past of his own--and Miss Lana, the fabulous café hostess. She will protect those she loves with every bit of her strong will and tough attitude. So when a lawman comes to town asking about a murder, Mo and her best friend, Dale Earnhardt Johnson III, set out to uncover the truth in hopes of saving the only family Mo has ever known.

Full of wisdom, humor, and grit, this timeless yarn will melt the heart of even the sternest Yankee.

Two friends form a detective agency—and must solve their first murder case—in this “sharp-witted debut” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) that is the first adventure in a brand-new middle grade mystery series set at a 1930s boarding school.

Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are best friends at Deepdean School for Girls, and they both have a penchant for solving mysteries. In fact, outspoken Daisy is a self-described Sherlock Holmes, and she appoints wallflower Hazel as her own personal Watson when they form their own (secret!) detective agency. The only problem? They have nothing to investigate.

But that changes once Hazel discovers the body of their science teacher, Miss Bell—and the body subsequently disappears. She and Daisy are certain a murder must have taken place, and they can think of more than one person with a motive.

Determined to get to the bottom of the crime—and to prove that it happened—before the killer strikes again, Hazel and Daisy must hunt for evidence, spy on their suspects, and use all the cunning, scheming, and intuition they can muster. But will they succeed? And can their friendship stand the test?

Previously published as Murder Most Unladylike in the UK.

The instant New York Times bestseller from the author of the Newbery Medal book When You Reach Me: a story about spies, games, and friendship. Seventh grader Georges moves into a Brooklyn apartment building and meets Safer, a twelve-year-old self-appointed spy. Georges becomes Safer's first spy recruit. His assignment? Tracking the mysterious Mr. X, who lives in the apartment upstairs. But as Safer becomes more demanding, Georges starts to wonder: what is a lie, and what is a game? How far is too far to go for your only friend? Like the dazzling When You Reach Me, Liar & Spy will keep readers guessing until the end.

Praise for Liar & Spy
   • A Junior Library Guild Selection
   • A New York Times Bestseller
   • An Indie Bestseller
   • Kirkus Reviews starred review
   • Publishers Weekly starred review
   • The Horn Book starred review
   • School Library Journal starred review
   • The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books starred review
   • Autumn 2012 Kids’ Indie Next List
   • Nominated for the Best Fiction for Young Adults 2013
   • Kirkus Reviews Best of Children’s Books 2012 List
   • Publishers Weekly Best of Children’s Fiction 2012
   • School Library Journal Best of Children’s Fiction 2012 List
   • The Horn Book’s Best of 2012 List
   • Barnes & Noble Best Books of 2012 for Kids List
   • Amazon’s Best of the Year, Middle Grade (#3)
   • A New York Times Book Review Notable Children’s Book of 2012
   • Holiday gift guides: Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, LA Times
   • NPR Outstanding “Backseat” Reads for Ages 9-14, NPR’s Backseat Book Club
   • One of The Atlantic Wire’s 25 favorite middle grade and young adult book covers of 2012
   • The Wall Street Journal’s Best Children’s Books of 2012
   • The Chicago Public Library Best of the Best 2012
   • The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books 2012 Blue Ribbons List

At the Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls, you will definitely learn your lesson. A dark, timeless, and heartfelt novel for fans of Coraline and The Mysterious Benedict Society.

Victoria hates nonsense. There is no need for it when your life is perfect. The only smudge on her pristine life is her best friend Lawrence. He is a disaster—lazy and dreamy, shirt always untucked, obsessed with his silly piano. Victoria often wonders why she ever bothered being his friend. (Lawrence does too.)

But then Lawrence goes missing. And he’s not the only one. Victoria soon discovers that The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls is not what it appears to be. Kids go in but come out…different. Or they don’t come out at all.

If anyone can sort this out, it’s Victoria—even if it means getting a little messy.

A perfect murder
A faceless witness
A lone courtroom champion knows the whole truth . . . and he’s only thirteen years old
Meet Theodore Boone

In the small city of Strattenburg, there are many lawyers, and though he’s only thirteen years old, Theo Boone thinks he’s one of them. Theo knows every judge, policeman, court clerk—and a lot about the law. He dreams of being a great trial lawyer, of a life in the courtroom.

But Theo finds himself in court much sooner than expected. Because he knows so much—maybe too much—he is suddenly dragged into the middle of a sensational murder trial. A cold-blooded killer is about to go free, and only Theo knows the truth.

The stakes are high, but Theo won’t stop until justice is served.

Brimming with the intrigue and suspense that made John Grisham a #1 international bestseller and the undisputed master of the legal thriller, Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer will keep readers guessing and pages turning.

Can you find your way out of what James Patterson calls the “coolest library in the world”? Join gamer-fan Kyle Keeley as he competes in the escape game of a lifetime!
 
From the coauthor of I Funny and Max Einstein—and with 100+ weeks on the the New York Times Times bestseller list—the LEMONCELLO books are laugh-out-loud, puzzle-packed, MUST-READS for classrooms and homes across America. 
 
When Kyle Keeley learns that the world's world’s most famous game maker, Luigi Lemoncello, has designed the town’s new library and is having an invitation-only lock-in on opening night, Kyle is determined to be there! But the tricky part isn’t getting into the library—it’s getting out. Because when morning comes, the doors stay locked. Kyle and the other kids must catch every clue and solve every puzzle to find the hidden escape route!
 
Enjoy bonus content in the back—extra puzzles, an author Q & A, and more! And don’t miss the puzzle-packed sequels: Mr. Lemoncello’s Library Olympics, Mr. Lemoncello’s Great Library Race, Mr. Lemoncello's All-Star Breakout Game, and Mr. Lemoncello and the Titanium Ticket!

44 STATE AWARD LISTS AND COUNTING
100+ WEEKS ON THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LIST
* “A worthy successor to the original madman puzzle-master himself, Willy Wonka.” —Booklist, starred review

As a sophomore at a secret spy school and the daughter of a former CIA operative, Cammie is sheltered from "normal teenage life" until she meets a local boy while on a class surveillance mission.

Hildy Biddle wants something monumental to happen so she can finally prove herself to be more than a high school journalist. The problem? Her town?s biggest story stars a ghost, which is not an easy interview. But while the local paper is playing up people?s fears with shocking headlines of creepy happenings, Hildy is determined to discover what?s really going on. Unfortunately, her desire to uncover the truth is starting to cause a stir. With rumors swirling and tensions high, can Hildy push past all the hype and find out the real truth?