Featured Reads

A “witty thriller” (The New York Times) for middle-grade readers about how the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre, how the robbery made the portrait the most famous artwork in the world—and how the painting by Leonardo da Vinci should never have existed at all.

On a hot August day in Paris, just over a century ago, a desperate guard burst into the office of the director of the Louvre and shouted, La Joconde, c’est partie! The Mona Lisa, she’s gone!

No one knew who was behind the heist. Was it an international gang of thieves? Was it an art-hungry American millionaire? Was it the young Spanish painter Pablo Picasso, who was about to remake the very art of painting?

Travel back to an extraordinary period of revolutionary change: turn-of-the-century Paris. Walk its backstreets. Meet the infamous thieves—and detectives—of the era. And then slip back further in time and follow Leonardo da Vinci, painter of the Mona Lisa, through his dazzling, wondrously weird life. Discover the secret at the heart of the Mona Lisa—the most famous painting in the world should never have existed at all.

Here is a middle-grade nonfiction, with black-and-white illustrations by Brett Helquist throughout, written at the pace of a thriller, shot through with stories of crime and celebrity, genius and beauty.

Revisit the enchanting world of Tea Dragons with an all-new companion story to the two-time Eisner Award-winning graphic novel The Tea Dragon Society! Rinn has grown up with the Tea Dragons that inhabit their village, but stumbling across a real dragon turns out to be a different matter entirely! Aedhan is a young dragon who was appointed to protect the village, but fell asleep in the forest eighty years ago. With the aid of Rinn's adventuring uncle Erik and his partner Hesekiel, they investigate the mystery of his enchanted sleep ... but Rinn's real challenge is to help Aedhan come to terms with feeling that he cannot get back the time he has lost. Critically acclaimed graphic novelist Katie O'Neill delivers another charming, gentle fantasy story about finding your purpose, and the community that helps you along the way.

Dark secrets and unnatural magic abound when a twelve-year-old girl ventures into a bog full of monsters to break a mysterious curse.

Nothing about Kess Pedrock’s life is normal. Not her home (she lives in her family’s Unnatural History Museum), not her interests (hunting for megafauna fossils and skeletons), and not her best friend (a talking demon’s head in a jar named Shrunken Jim).

But things get even stranger than usual when Kess meets Lilou Starling, the new girl in town. Lilou comes to Kess for help breaking a mysterious curse—and the only clue she has leads straight into the center of Eelgrass Bog.

Everyone knows the bog is full of witches, demons, and possibly worse, but Kess and Lilou are determined not to let that stop them. As they investigate the mystery and uncover long-buried secrets, Kess begins to realize that the curse might hit closer to home than she’d ever expected, and she’ll have to summon all her courage to find a way to break it before it’s too late

A true crime thriller -- the first book for teens to tell the nearly unknown tale of the brazen attempt to steal Abraham Lincoln's body!

The action begins in October of 1875, as Secret Service agents raid the Fulton, Illinois, workshop of master counterfeiter Ben Boyd. Soon after Boyd is hauled off to prison, members of his counterfeiting ring gather in the back room of a smoky Chicago saloon to discuss how to spring their ringleader. Their plan: grab Lincoln's body from its Springfield tomb, stash it in the sand dunes near Lake Michigan, and demand, as a ransom, the release of Ben Boyd --and $200,000 in cash. From here, the action alternates between the conspirators, the Secret Service agents on their trail, and the undercover agent moving back and forth between the two groups. Along the way readers get glimpses into the inner workings of counterfeiting, grave robbing, detective work, and the early days of the Secret Service. The plot moves toward a wild climax as robbers and lawmen converge at Lincoln's tomb on election night: November 7, 1876.

Shaker Street residents are finding holes all over their yards. Are animals to blame? Are aliens?! Michael, Liv, and Leo - the Mysterious Makers of Shaker Street - decide to investigate what's behind all the destroyed landscapes. After gathering some clues, the makers put their creativity and building know-how to work with a homemade metal detector. Will the makers' latest projects lead them to a space ship or a sinister neighbor? A glossary and reader questions provide support to the young reader, and when the story's over, readers can become a makers themselves by recreating the gadgets with instructions included at the end of the book.

The sixth installment of New York Times bestselling author Mike Lupica's Zach and Zoe Mysteries--a sports-themed chapter book mystery series perfect for fans of Cam Jansen!

There's nothing eight-year-old twins Zach and Zoe Walker love more than playing sports and solving mysteries. And when those two worlds collide . . . well, it doesn't get any better than that. In this sixth mystery, Zach and Zoe . . .

Once again, bestselling author Mike Lupica charms his youngest readers yet with a sports-loving detective duo who can swing for the fences and catch the culprit in one fell swoop. With a recipe equal parts sports and mystery, the Zach and Zoe Mysteries break fresh ground for an author who has been called the greatest sportswriter for kids.

The Biltmore in New York City is full of mysteries, and Elodie LaRue, a novice detective, plans to piece together the clues and solve the case of the missing jewels.

Left behind by her globe-trotting detective parents once again, Elodie decides to prove she's worthy of joining them on a case by setting up her own detective agency at her renowned Upper West Side home, The Biltmore.

When a pair of sapphire and diamond earrings mysteriously disappear from Mrs. Vanderhoff's apartment, Elodie is asked to solve the case. Elodie begins her investigation the way any good detective would, looking for clues and potential suspects. With twists, turns, and suspects galore, will Elodie be able to prove she has what it takes to solve a crime? Or will the LaRue Detective Agency fail on its first case? As Elodie, her dog Carnegie, and new friend Oscar (a self-proclaimed parkour master) delve deeper into the mystery, they encounter a quirky cast of characters, an array of clues, and a little bit of fun.

Colored vignettes by award-winning artist, Peggy Collins, are scattered throughout the story, bringing additional humor to the cast of quirky characters.

From the award-winning author of The Umbrella House, Colleen Nelson brings another New York apartment building to life in Mystery at the Biltmore. Written with charm and wit, Mystery at The Biltmore is Only Murders in the Building meets Harriet the Spy.

Willow Feathers McBeaver, aka Detective Duck, is a crime-solving (and very precocious) little duck. She and her animal pals live on beautiful Dogwood Pond, which is adjacent to Lazy Days, a human campground in New England. A pristine spot with clear water, abundant wildlife, and shady willow trees, Dogwood Pond is encountering puzzling problems--mysteries that arise from human-caused disruptions in nature such as water pollution, garbage, warming climate, and human encroachment.

Fortunately, Detective Duck is on the job, solving these puzzling mysteries before they get out of hand and destroy their habitat! Armed with her ever-present satchel for collecting clues, her logical mind, and endless curiosity, she boldly goes where no pond creature has before, determined to unravel the mysteries and solve any environmental problem that besets her beloved Dogwood Pond!

On an island crawling with crime, everyone's a suspect. Luckily, its resident sloth can solve crimes in her sleep (and often does!). Meet Paz, the world's first sloth sleuth. She may be slow . . . but she's always one step ahead of the bad guys. This hilarious graphic novel mystery is perfect for fans of The Bad Guys and Investigators.

Pssst . . . hey, you! Welcome to Winklefuss. Don't get too comfortable--this tropical paradise is crawling with criminals. Luckily, Paz, the world's smartest sloth detective, lives here, too! She can solve the toughest crimes in her sleep (and often does).

A mysterious illness is striking the customers of Cookie's Diner. Could it be something they ate (Spoiler alert: It is.)

As she investigates, Paz fills her fanny pack with clues. But who's the culprit Is it Mayor McSqueak, who was caught breaking into the diner Is it Lacie Flamingo, fired after messing up orders Is it Louie the Shark, who works for the toughest crime boss this side of the Bermuda Triangle (a fish in a bag) Well, kid, you'll just have to read the book to find out!

Can an undercover nerd become a superstar secret agent? Maybe not, but it'll be fun to watch him try 

Ben Ripley may only be in middle school, but he's already pegged his dream job: C.I.A. or bust. Unfortunately for him, his personality doesn't exactly scream "secret agent." In fact, Ben is so awkward, he can barely get to school and back without a mishap. Because of his innate nerdiness, Ben is not surprised when he is recruited for a magnet school with a focus on science--but he's entirely shocked to discover that the school is actually a front for a junior C.I.A. academy. Could the C.I.A. really want him?

Actually, no. There's been a case of mistaken identity--but that doesn't stop Ben from trying to morph into a supercool undercover agent, the kind that always gets the girl. And through a series of hilarious misadventures, Ben realizes he might actually be a halfway decent spy...if he can survive all the attempts being made on his life

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)

History, mystery, and science collide in a new series for middle-grade readers, perfect for fans of The Mysterious Benedict Society and Lemony Snicket!

Jordan Stratford imagines an alternate 1826, where Ada Lovelace (the world's first computer programmer) and Mary Shelley (author of Frankenstein) meet as girls and form a secret detective agency!

Lady Ada Byron, age eleven, is a genius. Isolated, awkward and a bit rude--but a genius. Mary Godwin, age fourteen, is a romantic. Adventurous, astute, and kind, Mary is to become Ada's first true friend. And together, the girls conspire to form the Wollstonecraft Detective Agency--a secret constabulary for the apprehension of clever criminals. Their first case involves a stolen heirloom, a false confession, and an array of fishy suspects. But it's no match for the deductive powers and bold hearts of Ada and Mary.

Mystery fans will love this tween girl riff on Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. History buffs will be delighted to see all the real figures who play a role in this story and appreciate the extensive backmatter that helps separate truth from fiction. Parents and educators hoping to promote the STEM fields for girls will be thrilled to have a series where two girls use math, science, and creative analytical thinking to solve crimes. But most especially--emerging readers will love this series filled with humor, action, intrigue and wonderful artwork from Kelly Murphy.

Possessed dogs, missing livestock, cloaked figures . . . CJ Delaney's summer vacation just got really weird.

When a boring old skatepark opening becomes the scene of a something truly strange, CJ Delaney can’t believe her luck. This is just the kind of big story she’s dreamed of breaking for the town's local paper. 

With best friend Parker in tow, CJ is determined to get to the bottom of everything and save the town from evil. Isn’t this what summer vacation is for? But when all answers point to someone close, CJ stands not only to lose her byline but the scariest thing of all—the people and pet she loves.

With a strong, snappy voice and a warm sense of humor, The Supernatural Files of CJ Delaney is a fast-paced middle grade mystery (with just the right amount of hair-raising thrills) that begs to be read cover-to-cover in one sitting. This debut from Carol Williams shines with love for its characters, college-town setting, and belief in the power of the written word.