In the weeks leading up to Gilbreth, New York's annual AutumnFest, twelve-year-old woodcraft legacy Minna Treat is struggling with looming deadlines, an uncle trying to hide very bad news, and a secret personal quest. When she discovers mysterious bottle messages under one of the village's 300-year-old bridges, she can't help but wonder who's leaving them, what they mean, and, most importantly...could the messages be for her? Along with her best friend and a mystery-loving newcomer full of suspicious theories, Minna is determined to discover whether the bottles are miraculously leading her toward the long-lost answers she's been looking for or whether they are drawing her into a disaster of historic proportions...
Eleven-year-old Benjamin Putter has a lump in his throat, and he's certain it's a golf ball. He knows it sounds crazy, but everything's been topsy-turvy since his father died last month. And he doesn't know how to fix it. Then, one day, something starts tugging at Ben, telling him to hurry to Augusta, Georgia-home of the most famous golf course in the world. Ben might be going a little crazy, but escaping Hilltop, Alabama, sounds like a darn good idea. (And just maybe it will make that lump go away.) As he makes his way to Augusta, Ben partners up with a mysterious runaway named Noni, and they embark on a journey full of strange and wonderful surprises-and possibly magic-at every turn.
Sweet, shy Tabitha Crum, the neglected only child of two parents straight out of a Roald Dahl book, doesn't have a friend in the world - except for her pet mouse, Pemberley, whom she loves dearly. But on the day she receives one of six invitations to the country estate of wealthy Countess Camilla DeMoss, her life changes forever. Upon the children's arrival at the sprawling, possibly haunted mansion, it turns out the countess has a very big secret - one that will change their lives forever. Then the children begin disappearing, one by one. So Tabitha takes a cue from her favorite detective novels and, with Pemberley by her side, attempts to solve the case and rescue the other children...who just might be her first real friends.
Tom Sawyer's and Huckleberry Finn's adventures are legendary, but what about the story you haven't heard? In 1860, eleven-year-old Becky Thatcher is the new girl in town, determined to have adventures like she promised her brother Jon before he died. Before long, she joins the boys at school in a bet to steal from the Widow Douglas, and Becky convinces her new best friend, Amy Lawrence, to join her. But the theft doesn't go as planned, and Widow Douglas ends up being unfairly accused of grave robbing as a result. So Becky concocts a plan to clear the Widow's name. If she pulls it off, she might just get her Mama to notice her again. That is, if that tattletale Tom Sawyer will quit following her around.
Starred review. "Narrator Tavia Gilbert does a phenomenal job. She portrays each character with a different voice, giving the impression that the novel is read by an entire cast of narrators instead of just one person. This fast-paced story is perfect for historical fiction and adventure fans." - School Library Journal (audio review)
