Seymour Sleuth is the world's greatest detective. His latest case--The Missing Stone Chicken. This petrified foul belonged to the ancient Egyptian pharaoh, King Karfu. Seymour keeps a casebook that captures every step. He interviews suspects, examines clues and puts thepieces together to find out whodunit? However, there is a secret code as well as King Karfu's LostTreasure that wait to be discovered by sharp-eyed readers. Author/illustrator Cushman's latest picture book about this intrepid detective exemplifies cleverness, entertainment and imagination all rolled into one.
    Patricia Fittante; Children's Librarian, Escanaba Public Library.
    24 years of experience as a school and public librariain

Hale, Bruce.  THE BIG NAP.  New York: Harcourt, Inc. 2001. 119p.
    0-15-202521-9; hb., $14.00   Gr.  3-5    FIC

    Chet Grecko, Private Eye.  That's the name.  Wanna see the badge?  Lucky for  the students at Emerson Hicky Elementary that Detective Chet is on the job or all the young folk might be turned into zombies.  With the help of Natalie, a bird, and Waldo, an unidentified furball; Chet meets and defeats a rascally weasel.  Hale is heavy into puns and double meanings which may go over the heads of some of the young readers, but the amusing animals, so aptly created in black-and-white drawings and scattered throughout, will amuse and enthuse.  The big question is--Can Chet save the school?  Or will he and Natalie be the next in line at the chalkboard?  Sheesh.....(quote Chet)...you'll never know unless you read it!
    Patricia J. Fittante; Children’s Librarian, Escanaba Public Library, Escanaba, MI
    25 years of experience working with children in school and public libraries

Holm, Jennifer L.  THE CREEK.  New York:  HarperCollins Publisher, Inc., 2003.  232p.
    0-06-000133-X hb.  $15.99   Gr. 7-10   YA

    Holm, Author of several historical novels about girls entering puberty, tries her hand with a contemporary novel, adding trappings of a creepy thriller that pushes the story well beyond the child-plays-detective theme found in most youth mysteries.  Penny, almost 13, is content to spend her summer handing out with the boys on her block.  But this year, their games are charged by rumors about Caleb Devlin, a legend on Mockingbird Lane, who terrorized an entire town before he got sent away.  When pets begin vanishing in the neighborhood, it seems obvious to most residents that Caleb is behind the disappearances.  Penny's dreams are haunted by visions of this young man who both fascinates and repels her.  As she and her friends investigate, they have numerous close scrapes that go beyond the safety of a juvenile mystery novel.  All the threads do not come together to weave a believable tale.  Penny's sexual awakening and her reaction to death leave readers with doubts about her character development in the story  It left this reader unsettled.
    Lynette Suckow, Peter White Public Library, Marquette, MI

Hornik, Laurie Miller. THE SECRETS OF MS. SNICKLE'S CLASS. Illus. by Debbie Tilley. 
    New York: Clarion, 2001. 135p.   0-628-03435-8; hb., $15.00  Gr. 3-5      FIC

    What kid, in lieu of tests in a classroom, wouldn't like to substitute them with pizza-topping spelling contests and class trips to find runaway desks?  Most would.  In Ms. Snickle's bizarre classroom, this off-the-wall teacher has a unique way of teaching; no tests or homework.  However, she does insist on one principle.  "No telling secrets!"   Ms. Snickles recognizes the importance of secrets and keeping them, and announces "Secrets are precious and sometimes a bit fragile, so be careful!"  The biggest secret of all is that of Ms. Snickle.  After school is dismissed, she pushes a button and the schoolroom turns into her apartment, complete with her cat, Lacey.  The class busybody, makes it her mission in life to learn the secrets of all her classmates and tells all!  However; when she learns Ms. Snickles' secret, she soon discovers that secrets are definitely made to be kept.  This wildly imaginative and humorous novel, absurd though it may be, will bring snorts and Snickles!
    Patricia J. Fittante; Children’s Librarian, Escanaba Public Library, Escanaba, MI
    25 years of experience working with children in school and public libraries

Labatt, Mary A.  A WEEKEND AT THE GRAND HOTEL.  Tonawanda, NY:
    Kids Can  Press, 2001.  104p.  1-555074-883-1; hb., $12.95   Gr. 2-5     FIC

    Although Samantha, a sheepdog, looks like a walking mop, she has the aspirations of being the best dog detective this side of the Mason Dixon Line.  The only thing holding the cantankerous canine back is her unsatisfying menu of dog food.  As the reader soon discovers, Sam much prefers apple pie with shrimp, whipped cream on a bacon burger, or a butter tart topped with sardines.  Sniffing is her game so when her dog-sitter/next door neighbor, Jennie cons her parents into taking Sam along on a vacation to the Grand Hotel the fun begins.  The suitcases were not even unpacked yet when Sam begins her snooping which in turn plants the protagonist right in the middle of an exciting mystery.  Sam is able to communicate with Jennie by putting thoughts into her head, so mystery buffs who have always wanted to talk to the animals will love the craziness of Sam as well as the surprise ending.  Arf. Woof. Yip!  (In dog language that means “You must read it to find out!”
    Pat Fittante; Children’s Librarian, Escanaba Public Library, Escanaba, MI
    27 years of experience as a teacher and librarian

Levy, Elizabeth.  A MAMMOTH MIX-UP.  Illus. by George Ulrich.  Brian and Pea Brain
    Mystery Series.  New York:  Harper, 1995.  87p.  $12.95  0-06-024814-9; hb.,   $12.95
    0-06-0248157; lib.bd., $12.80   0-06-442043-4;  pb., $3.95    94-47960   Gr. 2-4    FIC

     This mystery with a villain and a brother-sister relationship that enhance the plot is the third in the series.  The children discredit a false scientist as they learn about the wooly mammoth for their science fair entry at the science museum.  Black and white sketches add to the action. Recommended for ages 7-10.   Pair this book with Aliki's WILD AND WOOLY MAMMOTHS. (HarperCollins, 1995).
     Virginia Foreman, retired teacher,  lifelong reader of books about paleontology
     25 years experience as a reading and English teacher

Saunders, Susan.  THE CHILLING TALE OF CRESCENT POND, Book 8.  Illus. by 
    Jane Manning.  Black Cat Club series.  New York:  Harper Trophy, 1998.  81p. 
    0-06-442072-8,  pb., $3.95. Demco/Turtleback Books,   0606132058.  Gr. 1-5    FIC

    In this series, a group of friends have formed the Black Cat Club to find the ghosts that seem to be plentiful in their town.  Similar to the popular Goosebumps series, pre-teens should find these stories readable and exciting.  In this chapter book a mysterious force is haunting Crescent Pond which has recently been opened for skating 100 years after Alice Foster fell through the ice and subsequently died from pneumonia.  Alice's ghost, pesky but helpful, takes several of the club members back in time to discover who is haunting the pond and why.  Will they be able to prevent a looming disaster in the present?
    Carolyn Anderson, retired elementary teacher;
    Member of the L’Anse (MI) Public Library Advisory Board

Vande Velde, Vivian.  THERE’S A DEAD PERSON FOLLOWING MY SISTER AROUND. 
    San Diego, Harcourt Brace, 1999.  143p.   0-15-202100-0; hb., $16.00.     Gr. 5-9   FIC

    Eleven-year-old Ted suddenly finds that the house he’s living in is haunted.  He finds that his little sister Vicki has an invisible friend, Marella, who is afraid of a bad lady who comes through the walls of her bedroom.  Ted starts to have nightmares about going through a house with corpses in each room and finally finding himself in a room filling with water.  Ted, of course, starts to research the history of the house that was built before the Civil War.  This is a fun read with good character development, lots of twists and turns, great humor and an intriguing ending.  It’s about family relationships, the Underground Railroad, courage and even revenge.  This is a good addition to any middle school library.
    Barbara Berry; retired school library-media specialist
    33 years experience working with students, especially middle school students.

Warner, Gertrude Chandler.  THE MYSTERY ON BLIZZARD MOUNTAIN.  Boxcar
    children mysteries series  Morton Grove, IL:  Albert Whitman, 2001.  121p.  0-8075-5493-6;
    lib.bdg.,  $13.95    0-8075-5494-4; pb., $3.95   2001-045672    Gr. 2-5  FIC

    The Alden children, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny, climb Blizzard Mountain with Maris, a park ranger who is marking a new trail.  The elements of mystery on their trip are a dead battery, dirt dumped in the cabin, Stagecoach George’s ghost, a hidden treasure, having someone steal part of their food and Henry’s boots, disappearing tracks, and mysterious noises.  There are two suspects.  Carola didn’t want anyone building new trails and Bobcat who went back to get more food and didn’t return.   The culprit is someone connected to a recent museum break-in.  Clues are liberally sprinkled throughout, worn hiking boots, a piece of a purple velvet cape, an undercover detective.
    In the first chapter, readers learn that the children are the original “Boxcar Children,” Book umber 86 tales place after they have been found by their grandfather.  The series was first written by Chandler who died in 1979.  The books aren’t great literature but provide beginning readers with easy and fun practice.
    Mary Ann Paulin; Director, Superiorland Preview Center, Marquette, MI
    32 years of experience as a school library/media specialist

Yolen, Jane and Martin H. Greenberg, eds.  THE HAUNTED HOUSE:  A COLLECTION
    OF ORIGINAL STORIES.  Illus. by Doron Ben-Ami.  New York:  HarperCollins, 1995. 
    88p.    0-06-024468-2; lib.bdg., $14.89   0-06-024467-4; hb., $13.95    0-06-440646-6;
    pb., $3.95   94-25136   Gr. 3-6     SC   or     FIC

     If you have never believed in ghosts you might want to visit the "Haunted House."  It is a clever format that was instrumented by Yolen and Greenberg when they created this collection of seven spooky stories--each one written by a different author and each story taking place in one of seven different rooms of a haunted house.  You are invited to come in to a house that creaks and groans---where there may be lights that blink off and on, or where things disappear.  It all starts in the cellar and traverses the house room by room (each author writes a story set in a different room) and it all ends in an attic Train Room.  Ben-Ami adds to the fun with realistic shadowy illustrations that compliment the text.  The chapters are short---but long enough to keep the shivers coming.  These two authors have assembled a creepy collection of stories that will leave the reader wondering just what that noise really was---in the next room!
    Patricia Fittantte, Children's Librarian,  Escanaba Public Library
    23 years of experience as a teacher and librarian

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