Mischief and Misfortune Abound in this Delightful Caper

Riley Mack and the Other Known Trouble Makers

written by Chris Grabenstein
Harper CollinsPublishers, New York 2012
ISBN:  978-0-06-202620-0
305 pages
Ages 8+









When I first read this book I really enjoyed it, but sometimes it was a bit hard to keep up with all of the action so I decided to start from the beginning and read the book aloud.  WoW what a difference it made.  It felt like I was right there in the middle of their riveting adventures.  It was so exciting, I couldn't put the book down.  I ended up reading the entire book in one day.

Riley Mack and his friends love a good mystery and are called upon to investigate several wild clues including hair from a missing show dog, the puzzling behavior of the local bank manager, and a stolen ipod showing up at the local flea market.  

The team have their work cut out for them to unravel each clue, Then, on top of everything else, Riley's mom is accused of stealing money from the bank where she works.  Will Riley and his friends succeed in solving the mysteries?  

Read the book or listen to the new audio book and see if you can help solve the puzzle.


Learn More About It!

• What are Puppy Mills and why are they a bad thing?

Will Mike Mulligan and Mary Ann Finish the Cellar in Time?

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel 

Story and Pictures by Virginia Lee Burton

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1939

ISBN:  0395 1696 15 

48 Pages 

Ages 4-7

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Teens Face Challenge in Solving Museum Heist!

Pieces and Players

written by Blue Balliett

illustrated by Bret Helquist

Scholastic Press, New York, 2015

ISBN:  978-0-545-29990-9

306 pages

Ages 10 +

The creek of a broken window and the wail of wind moving through the corridors startle a night guard of the Farmer Museum in Chicago. As the guard sets off checking each hallway, his scalp tingles and the hair raises on both arms. Is it the ghost that haunts the old building or just some badly neglected repairs needed on the museum. Suddenly, he rounds the corner to the Dutch Room and what he sees next sets off a formidable investigation for three local teens.

Calder, Petra, and Tommy are famous for solving strange mysteries in the Chicago area but a few years have passed since their last investigation and things have changed. The insecurities and discomforts of adolescence have invaded. Miss Hussy, a favorite school teacher, and Mrs. Sharpe, an eccentric old lady, ask the three teenage sleuths, once again, to examine the particulars of this robbery of thirteen valuable art pieces from the Farmer Museum. There's only problem. Mrs. Sharpe wants two other teens to help out. Early Pearl comes from the other side of Chicago and has a knack for solving word problems. Zoomy Chamberlain, classified as legally blind, notices things that others take for granted. Has Mrs. Sharpe lost her confidence in Calder, Petra, and Tommy? Will the new kids interfere with the strong bond between the original three friends?

Each teen has their own self doubts to deal with. Can they trust each others' judgment, or better yet, can they trust the adults around them? The group of five begin their search for the truth of what really happened by acquainting themselves with the missing art. Each encounters a strange, almost haunting link between certain missing pieces. Is the art trying to reach out to the teens and tell them where they're hidden. Who is Eagle Devlin and why are strange people in black jackets following the five teens?

I found Pieces and Players to be a more challenging book than Ms. Balliett's earlier five books. It is interesting that she has decided to combine all five protagonists from the earlier books in an adventure that is more difficult than each has experienced. Ms. Balliett plays on the teens' difficulties of adolescence, but shares some inspiring thoughts, by way of haunting quotations from a book, “The Truth About My Art,” authored by Sarah Chase Farmer, the late founder of the Farmer Museum.

With much delight, Ms. Balliett includes puzzles for the reader to decipher once again using pentominoes, silly nursery rhymes, prime numbers, and coded messages. New discoveries of unusual art sculptures are revealed as the teens travel through out the Chicago area.

A Fight to Defend Our School

We The Children 

by Andrew Clements

Benjamin Pratt and The Keepers Of The School Series: Book 1 

Illustrated by Adam Stower

Atheneum Books For Young Readers / Simon and Schuster, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4169-3886-6
124 PAGES

Ages 7-10

"Stick out your hand!" Mr. Keane, the school's head custodian, shoves a coin into Benjamin Pratt's hand and then whispers to Benjamin with his last breath, "the fight is yours too!"  Why did the old man do this? What did he mean?  Benjamin Pratt's harbor side school is about to be torn down and replaced with an amusement park. Fantastic! Or is it? Why is the new janitor lurking in the shadows? Too many questions to figure out by himself so Benjamin recruits the "brains" of the school - a girl - Jill Acton, and together they try to get to the bottom of this mystery about the coin, the school, and the strange new janitor.

Andrew Clements has done it again!  This new series, Benjamin Pratt and the Keepers of the School promises to be exciting, intense and fun all rolled into one!    The action is fast paced!  He keeps the reader involved in the story by sharing contagious clues (just as you figure one out you are anxiously looking for the next), and the characters could be your best friends. Mr. Clements leaves the reader perched for the next book in the series.  

World War II Comes to Illinois

On the Wings of Heroes 

by Richard Peck

Thorndike Press / Thompson Gale, 2007

ISBN: 978-0-7862-9703-0

167 pages

Ages 9 - 14

Davy Bowman remembers, "Nobody was a stranger before the war." 

The Illinois neighborhood rang with the sounds of children playing hide-and-seek, of neighbors sharing stories on their front porch, and of laughter from the delights of successful Halloween antics.  Davy Bowman's world is happy and safe because of his heroes, his Dad and his older brother Bill, who always seem to find time to do things with Davy.

Pearl Harbor is bombed and Davy's world changes.  His Dad becomes the local air raid warden and Bill goes off to become a B-17 bombardier, flying missions over Germany. There are air raid drills and endless scrap drives.  New kids enroll in Davy's school, "eight-to-five orphans," whose mothers work at the local war plants. Everything is rationed, but the whole community pitches in to do their part for the war effort.

Davy still has his heroes to depend upon but soon he begins to discover that in his neighborhood there are other heroes and during the next few years he learns what sacrifice and courage really means.

In "On the Wings of Heroes," Newbery Medal-winning author Richard Peck's easy-going pace and sly humor captures the sense of community in Middle America before and during World War II.  Reading it stirred up millions of memories of my own childhood neighbors and escapades and also helped me to gain a deeper understanding of what my parents and older siblings had to endure during the war.

It is an outstanding example of well written historical fiction that captures the heart and soul of families during war times, not only the wars of the past, but also the wars of the present.  I highly recommend this book as a useful tool for teachers and counselors.  I sincerely hope that grandparents and grandchildren, fathers and sons will also share this book.  It is the beginning of discussion, of understanding, and perhaps even healing.

A Sense of Hope!

Water Street
by Patricia Reilly Giff

Random House, 2006

ISBN: 0-385-90097-x

164 pages

Ages 9-12

The year is 1875 and the Brooklyn Bridge is under construction. To many, this bridge is a symbol of greatness and ingenuity. This sense of hope and aspiration echoes in the background as the book examines the lives of two Irish American families. 

Bridget Mallon, called Bird, is about to enter her last year of school and struggles to find her place in the world.  She wants to follow in her mother's footsteps as a healer but there are many difficult challenges on that path and Bird is not quite sure if she's cut out for the task.  Bird worries about her family and determines to make things better for all of them.  Her sister Annie, still unmarried, has few prospects for romance. Hughie, Bird's older brother, engages in illegal back street fighting with crippling results.  Nory and Sean, Bird's parents, strive to make ends meet to provide a good and loving home for their family.

Thomas Neary is Bird's new friend who just moved into the upstairs apartment with his father, an alcoholic, who spends most of his time at the local pub.  Thomas doesn't even know his mother and wonders if he ever will.  He spends most of his time with Bird's family and keeps a journal full of stories he has created about the people and the places that surround him.  Thomas' steadfast devotion to Bird's family encourages Bird to keep striving for better things.

Even in their world of frustration there is that ray of hope and expectation as Bird and Thomas watch the progress of the looming towers of the Brooklyn Bridge and  reflect on the possibilities of the future.

This book challenges the reader to explore the history of the time and the plight of being an immigrant in America.  Giff allows the reader to step into the heart and soul of Bird and Thomas and discover what it means to be called a friend and a family.

Rembrant Painting Disappears!

The Mystery of the Third Lucretia 

by Susan Runholt

Puffin Books, London 2009
ISBN-10:  0142413380
278 Pages

Ages 12 to 15

International intrigue, disguises, art museums, and a red light district, what do all of these have in common?  They are all part of the mystery adventure for two 14-year-old girls, Kari Sundgen and Lucas Stickney.

Kari and Lucas are best friends who are drawn together by their love of art.  One afternoon, they are strolling through the Minneapolis Institute of Art when they notice a young man standing by an easel in the Rembrandt Room painting a copy of one of Rembrandt's Lucretia paintings.  Kari leans over to look at his work, but the man snarls, "Get Away!"  Ok! No big deal. The man doesn't like to be bothered while he is painting.

A year later, the girls travel to London with Kari's mother, a journalist for a famous magazine.  Kari and Lucas decide to visit the National Gallery while they are there and who do they spot but the same guy copying a different painting of Lucretia by Rembrandt.  This time the "Gallery Guy" is wearing a disguise.  Strange! Again he is angered when someone tries to look over his shoulder.

A short time later, the international press announces the discovery of a third painting of Lucretia by Rembrandt which has been authenticated by the resident expert of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.  Who is this expert, none other than the mysterious "Gallery Guy!"

Intrigued by the thought of an art forgery, Kari and Lucas head over to Amsterdam determined to expose the scam. What begins as an intriguing quest turns into a frightfully dangerous pursuit.

I loved being plunged into the heart of the story with Kari's narration. I feel the frustration of the girls when they find that no one takes them seriously.  Curiosity and excitement builds as Kari and and Lucas again encounter the mysterious "Gallery Guy."  I hang onto every word keeping up with the fast pace of the pursuit despite the mounting fear when it takes us to the dark and dangerous world of the red light district in Amsterdam.  I love the challenge and I love the skillful way Susan Runholt leaves me with the desire to read more.

I often check out books on audio cd's from my local library and found this story in the Young Adult section.  Krista Sutton reads with excitement and energy which brings Kari's narration to life! It feels like Kari herself is right in the room sharing her story with me and I'm looking forward to reading / listening to the next mysterious adventure of Kari and Lucas.  Whether you read the hard copy or listen to the audio book, you will not want to stop until the end!