Archives de catégorie : Children’s Books

THE ELLERY QUEEN JR. MYSTERY STORIES d’Ellery Queen Jr.

Two brave young sleuths connected to one of the greatest detectives of all time tackle their own cases in these eleven whodunits.

THE ELLERY QUEEN JR. MYSTERY STORIES
by Ellery Queen
Open Road Media, 1941-1966; 2015
(via JABberwocky)

For mystery fans, the name Ellery Queen brings to mind the sophisticated amateur sleuth who helped solve some of New York City’s most confounding cases. But he wasn’t the only one in his household with an eye for crime solving.
Here are eleven puzzling mysteries, nine solved by Djuna, the Queen family’s quick-witted assistant, with the help of his trusty Scottie, Champ; and two solved by Gulliver Queen—the chip-off-the-old-block nephew to the legendary detective himself.

Book 1: THE BLACK DOG MYSTERY (1941/2015)

A gang of young sleuths and a trusty terrier put their noses to a bank robbers’ trail.
Ellery Queen’s young apprentice, Djuna, is preparing for an afternoon of fishing when a stranger leans out of his car window and asks for directions to Canada. A few minutes later, Djuna watches as the man’s friends come running out of the local bank and into the getaway car, guns blazing, before taking off for the Canadian border.
It is a mystery that could baffle even Djuna’s famous boss, but with the help of a ferocious black Scottie named Champ and a few crime-solving friends, he will find the culprits. It will be the greatest adventure of his life.
Ellery Queen is one of the world’s finest detectives, but his adventures are nothing compared to the Ellery Queen Jr. Mystery Stories. Join Queen’s apprentice, Djuna, and his trusty Scottie, Champ, on adventures filled with danger, suspense, and thrills.

Other books in the series:

2. The Golden Eagle Mystery
3. The Green Turtle Mystery
4. The Red Chipmunk Mystery
5. The Brown Fox Mystery
6. The White Elephant Mystery
7. The Yellow Cat Mystery
8. The Blue Herring Mystery
9. The Mystery of the Merry Magician
10. The Mystery of the Vanished Victim
11. The Purple Bird Mystery

Mystery writer and American detective extraordinaire, Ellery Queen is the creation and nom de plume of mystery writers Frederic Dannay and Manfred B. Lee. Writing for over 40 years, the character of Ellery Queen became one of the most famous of America’s fictional detectives. Adapted for television, radio, and film, the Ellery Queen stories reached incredible heights of popularity worldwide and spawned the monthly Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, which is still going strong today.

NOT DEAD ENOUGH de Tyffany Neiheiser

A thriller in the vein of Pretty Little Liars that deftly balances a heart-pounding mystery with an emotional, empowering story about confronting the complicated aftermath of an abusive relationship.

NOT DEAD ENOUGH
by Tyffany Neiheiser
Philomel, Spring 2024
(via JABberwocky)

Jerry always told Charlotte that he’d never let her go. Now, four months after his death, Charlotte worries this wasn’t just a threat that Jerry made when he was angry.
As she puts up the facade of the grieving girlfriend at school, Charlotte secretly struggles with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, fearful of being labeled as “crazy,” especially since no one knew that Jerry was abusive.
Just as Charlotte tentatively begins a new romance with a cute guy from class, she starts receiving mysterious text messages from someone claiming to be Jerry. Someone claiming that, like him, they will never let her go.
As the texts get more sinister, they are accompanied by increasingly violent attacks on Charlotte. Charlotte realizes that whether it’s a stalker from school or Jerry haunting her from beyond the grave, someone wants her dead.
And if she wants to stay alive, she will have to speak up about her abuse before it’s too late.

Tyffany Neiheiser writes speculative YA thrillers and short stories. She is passionate about mental health and self-acceptance, so those themes tend to find their way into her stories. She has a Master’s Degree in Mental Health Counseling, and she has worked as a counselor for people with both mental health and substance abuse challenges. She has also spent three years as a crisis counselor helping people struggling with suicidal or homicidal ideation. Her internship was with a hospice, providing grief counseling to people who were dying and people who experienced a loss. These experiences have shaped her stories. Her favorite things in life are her dogs, her cats, reading, writing, and hiking.

SECRET OF MCKINLEY MANSION de K.F. Breene

In the vein of Stephanie Perkins’ There’s Someone Inside Your House, a teenage girl with supernatural abilities must help her friends survive the night in a haunted mansion filled with malevolent spirits.

SECRET OF MCKINLEY MANSION
by K.F. Breene
Hazy Dawn Press, March 2018
(via JABberwocky)

It was a dark and stormy night… It’s no easy job being the town nutcase. Ella knows from experience. She’s grown up in a quaint little place with people that pretend the extraordinary isn’t happening around them. That ignore the bumps in the night, and won’t talk about doors closing by themselves or items moving mysteriously.
They also won’t talk about the old woman who haunts the streets, long in her grave but for the nights when a particularly bad storm blows through. Those who do are fibbers, begging for attention.
But Ella knows it is no lie – when the lightning cracks and the rain thrashes, someone goes missing. A child, lost to the night. There is no breaking and entering. No foul play. No clue as to where they’ve gone.
Urban legend says that if the old woman stops in front of your house, you’re next.
Well Ella has been next for years. She’s resisted the urge to run out into the darkness with everything she has. Resisted that old mansion up on the hill, beckoning her. Resisted giving into people saying she’s crazy.
Until a handsome new boy with a troubled past moves across the street. Suddenly Ella isn’t the only one haunted by the old woman. Except, it’s not clear if the new boy is here to help Ella…or help the woman drag Ella up to the mansion.
You’ll want to turn on your nightlight for this one.

K.F. Breene is a Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Post, Amazon Most Sold Charts, and #1 Kindle Store bestselling author of paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and fantasy novels who has sold over three million books. When she’s not penning stories about magic and what goes bump in the night, she’s sipping wine and planning shenanigans. She currently resides with her husband, two children, and an out-of-work treadmill in northern California.

SOMEONE YOU LOVED de Robin Constantine

A deeply emotional and highly romantic tale of two teens who fall in love while grieving the one person who makes their love impossible, in the vein of You’ve Reached Sam and The Sky Is Everywhere.

SOMEONE YOU LOVED
by Robin Constantine
Balzer + Bray, June 2023
(via Context)

Sarah feels unmoored following her boyfriend’s sudden and tragic death. Their love story was cut short after just two sweet months together, and now all Sarah can think about are the moments she and Alex should be sharing. Sarah distracts herself by consoling Ash—her best friend and Alex’s sister—and by rehearsing for the school play and working at her aunt’s café. But none of this is as comforting as her nightly talks with Jake.
Jake is not ready to move on. Unable to sleep at night and “mopey”— according to his girlfriend, who doesn’t understand why he isn’t ready to jump back into partying—Jake is wracked with guilt as a witness to Alex’s death. His one source of joy is talking to Sarah. But between their growing closeness and taking over as captain of the basketball team, Jake worries he is co-opting Alex’s life.
Both can’t help but wonder if they’re betraying Alex—and Ash—by acting on the feelings they can no longer deny. Given all that stands in the way, is their relationship worth fighting for?

Robin Constantine is the author of The Promise of Amazing and The Secrets of Attraction. A born-and-raised Jersey girl who moved south so she could wear flip-flops year round, she spends her days dreaming up stories where love conquers all, eventually, but not without a lot of peril, angst, and the occasional kissing scene. 

BILLIE BLASTER AND THE ROBOT ARMY FROM OUTER SPACE de Laini Taylor et Jim Di Bartolo

An out-of-this-world new middle-grade graphic novel about a genius scientist and her evil nemesis—from New York Times bestselling author Laini Taylor and cartoonist Jim Di Bartolo.

BILLIE BLASTER AND THE ROBOT ARMY FROM OUTER SPACE
by Laini Taylor
illustrated by Jim Di Bartolo
Amulet Abrams, August 2023

Don’t you hate it when your archenemy launches your latest invention into space, accidentally creating a robot army that falls into the clutches of an evil alien emperor? Well, that’s how Billie Blaster’s day is going!
The genius child of two famous scientists, Billie is an inventor extraordinaire and the star of the annual science fair, much to the disgust of her nemesis, Tiny Hector Glum. But now their rivalry has gone too far, and the fate of the galaxy hangs in the balance. Can Billie prevent an intergalactic war that’s kind of totally her fault? With her pet goat, Lucy, a giant robot head, and a toilet weasel from a distant planet, she might just stand a chance. Join them on their perilous adventure, in a spaceship without a bathroom.

Laini Taylor is the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy and the Strange the Dreamer duology, among other books.
Jim Di Bartolo is a mixed-media illustrator, painter, visual storyteller, and writer. In his freelance career, he has illustrated novels, comic books, and role-playing games. Laini and Jim live with their daughter, Clementine, and two cats in Portland, Oregon, and have never accidentally started an intergalactic war.