Vanishing Violin / Michael D. Bell 329 p.

The Red Blazer Girls are back with their second mystery.  Margaret, a super violinist, is offered a fab violin if she can solve the puzzles and clues.  Sister Bernadette hires the girls to find out who is sprucing up their high school.  And the RBG have to solve the crime of the stolen violin.  The violin disappears while under lock and key and security alarms.  Only a button is left at the scene.  Only later do the the RBG's discover that the two cases are related.  And of course they have to keep up their schooling and friendships and play a trick on a classmate.  Pre-teens will have fun with the interesting puzzles.

Belly Up/Stuart Gibbs/294 pages

2012-2013 Mark Twain Nominee

I had high hopes for this book, the description and first few pages made it sound over the top hilarious.  However, after the first chapter it settled into a basic children's mystery story, never again to become laugh out loud funny.  All in all, though, it was a quite acceptable read.  Worthy of being nominated for the Mark Twain, but I agree with the children of Missouri that is was not a winner.  I love the cover and the map of FunJungle on the endpapers.  It was enough to get me to read the whole book.

Teddy's parents work for FunJungle, a zoo based on the concept of theme parks rather than the average zoo.  While this sounds like fun and the dream of every kid his age, he's actually very bored because he is the only kid there.  FunJungle is 30 miles on the middle of the Texas Hill Country with only the residents of the zoo living in the vicinity.  This leads to Teddy getting into mischief.  He also stumbles upon a mystery where it seems all the adults around don't seem too worried.  Henry the Hippo, FunJungle's mascot has died.  While Teddy was not overly fond of Henry, no one was a particular fan of Henry's, he still thinks that someone should have to pay for murdering the hippo. With the help of Summer, the daughter of the owner of FunJungle, Henry sets about discovering who and why they are covering up Henry's murder.

Three Times Lucky/Sheila Turnage/312 pages

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.

Three Times Lucky was a great quick read.  It was named one of the Newbery Honor books for 2013 and was a contestant in the 2013 SLJ Battle of the Books.

Ring of Rocamadour / Michael D. Beil/ 299 pages

This is the first title in the Red Blazer Girls series which has been touted as a contemporary Nancy Drew.  Three best friends (Rebecca the artist, Sophie the dramatic, and Margaret the smart one...see why I like the books so much.  Usually Margarets are dogs called Maggie.) are all 7th graders at St. Veronicas in Manhattan.  They embark upon solving a 20 year old mystery with clues that require use of math, literary references, and religion.  Suspense is added when they discover someone else is also trying to solve the puzzle and find the valuable Ring of Rocamadour.  Friendship, family situations, and fledgling romance add to the plot.  Listened to this one narrated by Tai Ricci and it was very enjoyable.  There are a basic swear words sprinkled in.  Recommended for grades 5-8.

The Lost Files of Nancy Drew / 32 pages

The Lost Files of Nancy Drew is a book that is told from the viewpoint of Nancy Drew, like a journal. It has excerpts from her diary, clues from several of her mysteries, and tips on being a detective. This is one of those books with the extra flaps to look under, things to pull out and look at, and the like. It was interesting,and concluded with a section on Nancy Drew through the decades and how her style changed, and also some information about who wrote the books. This would be really great for a collector of Nancy Drew mysteries or anyone who enjoyed reading the books as a child.

The Great Cake Mystery / Alexander McCall Smith / 73 pages

In this children's book, the author shares a story from the childhood of one of his most famous characters, Precious Ramotswe from the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency.  The book is written in McCall Smith's very graceful language.  Honestly, his books just make you feel good about everything because they have good and true characters.  This would be a fantastic read aloud for a 2nd or 3rd grade classroom, a lunch and munch at the library or family reading.  A book discussion guide and curriculum links are included at the back of the book.  The exquisite black and red woodcuts that liberally illustrate the story are wonderful and add greatly to the experience of sharing this book.  Includes a glossary and pronunciation guide for most of the Botswanna names.  Highly recommended!

One False Note / Gordon Korman / 174 pages

Second book in the 39 Clues series. Each book in the series is written by a different author but uses all of the same characters and plotline. Each of the authors in the series knows how to write books that will hook readers. One False Note uses information about Mozart and his sister to help solve a clue. There's plenty of action, despicable characters and sibling rivalry. I can see why these books are never on the shelf at the library!

The Potato Chip Puzzles/Eric Berlin/244 pgs.

Thanks Laura P. for this month's challenge--I can't remember the last children's book I've read. That being said, I really liked this book. I chose one involving a mystery, which this was, but had the added bonus of puzzles for the reader to solve throughout the book. The plot of the book is centered around a $50,000 prize for the team of students first to solve 6 puzzles created by Dmitri Simon (the Potato Chip tycoon). A very entertaining read.

The Name of This Book is Secret/ by Pseudonymous Bosch/ 360 pages

I'm a little behind in getting started with this series, but it was recommended to me by a teen volunteer recently, so I checked it out. The series itself will eventually have 5 books (one for each of the 5 senses). The 4th book just came out this past year.

The first in the series is a mysterious tale involving two main characters: Max-Ernest and Cassandra as they stumble into information about a magician, two evil-doers, and a kidnapped classmate. The characters are both misfits at school and they both have families considered different for one reason or another. Their quirks are sometimes humorous and sometimes obnoxious, but it is nice to see their friendship develop throughout the story.

Overall, I would recommend this book to kids who like The Mysterious Benedict Society or Lemony Snicket. I didn't find it as engaging or amusing as those 2 series, but I think its similarities would make it a hit with those audiences.