The Mystery of the Yellow Hands (The Baker Street Mysteries)
by Jake Thoene, Luke Thoene

2.5 out of 5 stars

Sherlock Holmes hires Danny, Peachy, and Duff as the Baker Street Brigade to help track down a gang of kidnappers. The boys can’t seem to find any clues, but they keep looking around the docks and warehouses on the banks of the Thames. They befriend a policeman’s daughter, Clair Avery, and when she is also kidnapped, the boys are more desperate than ever to solve the case.

A Recipe for Robbery: Mystery at the Biltmore #3
by Colleen Nelson

4 out of 5 stars

Elodie runs a detective business in her apartment building, and she gets called in to help when a famous recipe is stolen. The chef is desperate to get the recipes back in time for the opening of their new bakery. Elodie is joined by her dog, Carnegie, and her neighbor, Oscar, who loves tumbling and acrobatics. Most adults don’t take a child detective seriously, but Elodie is determined to prove herself. She follows the clues and regards everyone as a suspect, but all the neighbors are so nice. None of them would steal the recipes… would they?

The Family Under the Bridge
by Natalie Savage Carlson, Garth Williams (Illustrator)

4 out of 5 stars

Armand is happy to live the free life of a hobo in Paris. He has no ties, takes odd jobs and begs for a few coins to buy food, and he sleeps under a bridge. But when a homeless mother with three young children takes up a corner of his bridge, Armand is worried that he will get tangled up in their problems. The children start to call him “grandpa”, and before long Armand is entertaining the children and teaching them to sing for coins on street corners while their mother is working during the day. The children are sure that Father Christmas will give them a house for their Christmas present, so Armand decides to find some way to get the family a true home.

Thomas and the Dragon Queen
by Shutta Crum (Goodreads Author), Lee Wildish (Illustrator)

3 out of 5 stars

Thomas dreams of someday becoming a knight, and when he is sent on a quest to rescue the princess from a dragon, he thinks he has finally found his chance to prove his knightly courage and worth. But everything seems to go wrong along the way. Thomas is the youngest and smallest of all the king’s squires. He doesn’t have a huge warhorse, or a mighty sword, or shining armor. But he does have courtesy and resourcefulness that will prove to be more useful than any sword.

Lost Evangeline
by Kate DiCamillo (Goodreads Author), Sophie Blackall  (Illustrator)

4.5 out of 5 stars

A shoemaker finds a tiny baby hidden in a shoe, and the little girl grows up to be as small as a mouse. He names her Evangeline after a beautiful ship, and the two dream of going to sea someday. The shoemaker’s wife thinks Evangeline’s small size is a sign of bewitchment, and resents her husband’s love for his adopted daughter. She sells Evangeline for a sack of money, but Evangeline escapes and searches for her father. Along the way, Evangeline gets help from a reluctant cat and a scared boy, but she finds the courage and resilience to inspire them to join her in her adventures.

The Hotel Balzaar
by Kate DiCamillo (Goodreads Author), Júlia Sardà (Illustrator)

4.5 out of 5 stars

Marta longs for her father’s return after the war. Her mother works as a maid in the hotel, and Marta spends her days wandering around the hotel being quiet as a mouse. When a mysterious Countess with a parrot arrives at the hotel, she promises to tell Marta seven stories, but the stories are not quite what Marta expected. They seem to have no proper ending and no meaning. But Marta keeps listening, hoping that somehow the stories will point the way to her missing father.