Child Friendship

Donald J. Sobol’s pint-sized amateur detective has been a hit with young readers for over three decades. For 25 cents a day—plus expenses—Encyclopedia Brown will solve any case, big or small for the kids in his neighborhood. He also secretly works with his police chief father to crack the toughest investigations and keep the streets of Idaville safe. Here are 10 more beguiling mysteries that will have listeners scratching their heads.

My friend Robby has a disability called ADHD. But that doesn’t matter to us. We play basketball, tell jokes, go canoeing, and help each other with our homework. I’m glad Robby is my friend!

Felix Rannells and Benji Porter were never supposed to be field-trip partners. Felix is a rule follower. Benji is a rule bender. They're not friends. And they don't have anything to talk about. Until...they find a wallet. A wallet that belongs to tech billionaire Laura Friendly. They're totally going to return it - but not before Benji "borrows" 20 dollars to buy hot dogs. Because 20 dollars is like a penny to a billionaire, right?

In this powerful middle-grade novel from the acclaimed author of Things You Can't Say, a young girl navigates the social growing pains of middle school and struggles to find her place while her older brother fights to overcome opioid addiction. When Emma starts sixth grade, things finally begin to change. She may still be in the shadow of her older brother, Austin, the popular high school quarterback, but she's made artsy new friends who get her way more than her bookish best friend, Becca. But things are changing for Austin, too.

Everything Aaron has worked so hard to build in Quill has crumbled. Fallen from the height of power and influence and left for dead in a foreign place, Aaron has lost everything, and now he must humbly beg for food from those who saved his life. In Artimé, Alex chooses his people over his brother and abandons his search for Aaron, closing the door on that relationship forever. The Artimeans need his focus now more than ever as they face the terrifying power of a new enemy who has taken control of Quill.

As Alex grows more confident in his role as the mage of Artimé, he expands his skills and brings his first creature to life - with results that are both painful and wonderful. A team from Artimé heads out to rescue Sky and Crow’s mother from underwater Pirate Island and discovers there are more creatures than they ever imagined in the ocean surrounding the islands - and not all of them are friendly.

Emma convinces Izzie to join a soccer team, but Izzie doesn’t like it, and wants to quit. Emma is determined to show Izzie just how fun soccer can be, especially if you are playing with your best friend!

Little Turtle and his friend, Little Mouse, are watching the sunset and the traveling circus leave town while on the riverbank. Little Mouse wants to share his big secret with Little Turtle. What will Little Turtle say to Little Mouse about his own dream after hearing Little Mouse's secret? Will they still be friends?

Dead if he loses - damned if he wins. The time has finally come for Darren to face his arch enemy, Steve Leopard, and fight for control of the night. One of them will die. The other will become the Lord of the Shadows …and destroy the world.

Ten-year-old Addie Asante of Columbus, Ohio, is sick of being the middle sister. Her big sister, Sophie, can do whatever she wants, and her little sister, Camille, is totally spoiled. When Addie receives a mysterious box in the mail containing a magical bracelet--and a note from a girl in New York named Becca--she's intrigued. Addie makes a wish on the bracelet to no longer be in the middle and suddenly--POOF--she's literally transformed into her big sister!

Jackson and his family have fallen on hard times. There's no more money for rent, and not much for food, either. His parents, his little sister, and their dog may have to live in their minivan. Again. Crenshaw is a cat. He's large, he's outspoken, and he's imaginary. He has come back into Jackson's life to help him. But is an imaginary friend enough to save this family from losing everything?

In the final book of the Wizard for Hire trilogy, Ozzy and his friend (and Rin’s daughter), Sigi, are in danger. They are still being hunted by Ray, the power-mad villain who will stop at nothing to find the formula to the mind-controlling discipline serum - one that Ozzy’s parents created and injected into him. Knowing the dangers that lie ahead, Rin introduces Ozzy to four more friends who also claim magical, wizard-like abilities. Again, Ozzy has no reason to believe that magic exists or that Rin’s eccentric friends can help.

Speed and self-confidence, that’s Astrid’s motto. Nicknamed “the little thunderbolt,” she loves to spend her days racing down the hillside on her sled, singing loudly as she goes, and visiting Gunnvald, her grumpy, septuagenarian best friend and godfather, who makes hot chocolate from real chocolate bars. She just wishes there were other children to share her hair-raising adventures with. But Astrid’s world is about to be turned upside down by two startling arrivals to the village of Glimmerdal: first a new family, then a mysterious, towering woman who everyone seems to know.

Ever since Cass almost drowned (okay, she did drown, but she doesn't like to think about it), she can pull back the Veil that separates the living from the dead...and enter the world of spirits. Her best friend is even a ghost. So things are already pretty strange. But they're about to get much stranger. When Cass's parents start hosting a TV show about the world's most haunted places, the family heads off to Edinburgh, Scotland. Here, graveyards, castles, and secret passageways teem with restless phantoms. And then Cass meets a girl who shares her "gift"....

Nikki and her bandmates are looking forward to an awesome summer on tour as the opening act for the world famous Bad Boyz! Nikki is a little worried when her frenemy, MacKenzie Hollister, weasels her way into a social media intern position with the tour. But she has a total meltdown when she learns that MacKenzie is her new roommate! Will Nikki survive her dream tour as it quickly goes from awesome to awful?!

The fate of Artimé is at stake - and an unlikely alliance could redeem it - in book three in the New York Times best-selling Unwanteds series. The magical world of Artimé is gone. The Unwanteds have no food, no water, and no hope. And everyone is looking to Alex Stowe for answers. Overwhelmed and feeling totally helpless, Alex knows it’s up to him to find a way to restore Artimé, rescue his captive friends, and free Megan from her voice-stealing necklace of thorns - three impossible tasks.

I've just had a lousy year, and this is the story of that lousy year. The beginning of it, that is. Just the beginning, actually. Twelve-year-old Lizzy Bekell is autistic. She lives with her mother and attends a special school. Her nickname is Dizzy, which aptly describes the dreamy abstraction that overcomes her when she is faced with situations she finds unpleasant or uncomfortable. She is often teased and bullied. Everything changes, however, when she meets Margaret, a troubled and lonely girl with a mysterious past.

The Cul-de-Sac Kids is a lighthearted chapter-book series for young listeners written by the talented Beverly Lewis. Each book centers on the often-humorous escapades of these endearing neighborhood friends as they learn together the value of friendship and faith. An enjoyable book for both parents and kids! Volume One includes The Double Dabble Surprise, The Chicken Pox Panic, The Crazy Christmas Angel Mystery, No Grown-Ups Allowed, Frog Power, and The Mystery of Case D. Luc.

One fateful day Lucy is invited to study at the prestigious Overworld Academy. The academy offers her the opportunity to learn all of the secrets of the Overworld - and it's an opportunity she can't miss. She's sad to leave behind her friends, Henry and Max, but it's time for her to have an adventure on her own. At Overworld Academy she meets two new friends, Jane and Phoebe. Jane is an expert fighter, and Phoebe is a talented alchemist. With Lucy's own knack for treasure hunting, the trio makes an incredible team.

A catastrophic tornado struck Joplin, Missouri, in 2011. It was part of a larger tornado outbreak in the spring of that year and reached a maximum width of nearly one mile during its path through the southern part of the city, killing 158 people, and injuring over 1,000. It caused damages amounting to $2.8 billion, making it the costliest single tornado in US history. Lauren will bring her signature intensity to this distinctly American natural disaster, placing a young boy in the middle of one of the deadliest tornadoes to strike the United States since 1947.