A Girl Called Justice: The Ghost in the Garden by Elly Griffiths

 

First Lines: September 1937. "It seems strange to think we'll be third years," said Stella. "Yes," said Justice. "I thought I'd get expelled long before this."

 

Justice Jones and her friends are third-year students now at boarding school, and there's a new girl in their group. Leticia has never been to school before, and although she doesn't care for rules, the teachers don't seem to mind! She decides that Justice is going to be her particular friend, much to the dismay of Justice's closest chums, Stella and Dorothy.

 

The girls in Justice's school group sneak out to the barn one night for a midnight feast and see a ghost in the garden. Then one of the girls disappears and ransom notes appear, torn from the pages of a crime novel. Now Justice has to find the missing girl and learn the identity of her kidnapper.

 

~

 

Although written for children between the ages of nine and eleven, I enjoy reading Elly Griffiths' Justice Jones series, too. I really get the feel for life in an English boarding school in the 1930s, and the mysteries are fun to solve. 

 

I'm reminded of Harry Potter whenever one of the job positions at the boarding school is mentioned, and Justice finds even more hidden rooms in the huge old mansion. I can't resist hidden rooms... 

 

It's a good thing that Justice has good reasoning skills because they're put to the test with her friends. The new girl, Leticia, monopolizes Justice, and Stella and Dorothy become quite upset. Justice finds it's not easy trying to keep everyone happy. 

 

I'm looking forward to the next book, one, to see if the teachers continue trying to knock some of the independence out of this young sleuth, and, two, to see how one of the characters deals with her good news. If you're a fan of Elly Griffiths' adult mysteries, don't be surprised if you enjoy this series for younger readers, too. Indulge your inner child!

A Girl Called Justice: The Ghost in the Garden by Elly Griffiths

ISBN:  ‎ 9781786541338

Quercus Children's Books © 2021

Paperback, 200 pages

 

KidLit, #3 Justice Jones mystery

Rating: B

Source: Purchased from Amazon. 

A Girl Called Justice: The Smugglers' Secret by Elly Griffiths

 

First Lines: January 1937. The dark shape of Highbury House was getting closer and closer.

 

It's spring term at the Highbury House boarding school for young girls, and second-year students like Justice Jones are expected to perform good deeds in the village each week. Justice is assigned to blind World War I veteran Mr. Arthur. She finds herself enjoying spending time in Smuggler's Lodge talking with Mr. Arthur and reading the newspapers to him. The food the housekeeper gives her is much superior to the dreck served at Highbury House, too, and Justice couldn't be happier when he asks her to help him solve a mystery.

But when Mr. Arthur dies unexpectedly, Justice finds herself with questions she needs to answer. Why wasn't Mr. Arthur given a proper military funeral? Why doesn't the new Matron at Highbury House know much about first aid? And what secrets does Smuggler's Lodge really hold?

~

When I discovered that one of my favorite authors, Elly Griffiths, was writing a series of mysteries for nine to twelve-year-olds featuring a young sleuth named Justice Jones, a girl who's attending a boarding school on the Romney Marshes of England's south coast, I decided those nine to twelve-year-olds were not going to have all the fun. I quickly discovered that this children's series is every bit as good as the series Griffiths writes for adults. 

The setting of the Romney Marshes reminds me of a favorite childhood Disney program starring Patrick McGoohan, Dr. Syn Alias the Scarecrow, and the landscape and its history of smuggling are perfect for this series. Justice Jones' father is a criminal lawyer, and her recently deceased mother wrote crime novels. With that sort of parentage, it's no wonder that this young girl has a mind like a steel trap. The boarding school with its Tudor Era cellars beneath a Victorian mansion is perfect for all sorts of late-night wanderings as Justice has midnight feasts with her classmates or tiptoes up to her friend Dorothy the maid's room in the attics.

Having the second-year girls perform good deeds each week in the local village is a perfect way to lead Justice straight into a mystery-- although there's already one in Highbury House itself. When our intrepid young sleuth learns that Mr. Arthur lives in Smuggler's Lodge, a former lighthouse that's supposedly haunted, she dismisses the idea immediately. After all, "in her experience, saying that a place is haunted is often a ruse to stop people going there."

 

Adults as well as children will be kept entertained by Justice's investigations as she treks between Smuggler's Lodge and Highbury House to answer all the questions she writes down in her journal every night. Who killed Mr. Arthur, and why? Why didn't he have a military funeral? Why doesn't the new Matron at school know much about first aid? And will she ever get a real speaking role in one of the school plays?

 

Although it makes me supremely happy that I was never sent to a 1930s English boarding school, Elly Griffiths' Justice Jones series is just plain fun, no matter your age. I highly recommend it.

 

 

A Girl Called Justice: The Smugglers' Secret by Elly Griffiths

ISBN: 9781786540577

Quercus © 2020

Paperback, 220 pages

 

KidLit, #2 Justice Jones mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Amazon UK.

Into the Lion's Den by Linda Fairstein

First Line: "I'm trapped!" Liza said.

Devlin Quick is attending summer school and has a new friend, Liza from Argentina. When at the New York Public Library, Liza is certain that she saw someone steal a page from a rare book. Devlin-- twelve-year-old daughter of the first woman police commissioner in New York City-- wants the man brought to justice, even if it means enlisting the help of another friend, Booker, and racing around the city collecting evidence. She's more than persistent enough to get the job done.

This book, written for the eight to twelve age bracket, is a fun read for adults, too. I enjoyed the tours of the New York Public Library and One Police Plaza, and I learned quite a bit about the rare map trade as well.

Although the characters in Into the Lion's Den all seem a bit too good to be true, I had to remind myself that I wasn't reading my usual fare. Devlin is smart and resourceful-- a born detective-- and her grandmother Louella "Lu" Atwell is my favorite adult. 

This is a fun, fast-paced, intriguing read for children, and it makes a nice change of pace for adults, too. How about some quality reading time together?
 

Into the Lion's Den by Linda Fairstein

ISBN: 9780399186431

Dial Books © 2016

Hardcover, 320 pages

KidLit, #1 Devlin Quick mystery

Rating: A
Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen.

The Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan

Title: The Storm in the Barn
Author/Illustrator: Matt Phelan
ISBN: 9780763636180
Publisher: Candlewick Press, 2009
Hardcover, 208 pages
Genre: KidLit, Graphic Novel
Rating: B+
Source: Paperback Swap

First Line: The dust can have it.

I have been fascinated with the Dust Bowl era in America since reading Timothy Egan's marvelous book, The Worst Hard Time. As a result, I find myself keeping an eye peeled for likely fiction and non-fiction written about the period.  When The Storm in the Barn appeared on one of my daily emails from Paperback Swap, I snapped it up without checking into it very much. I'm glad I didn't check the facts; otherwise, I wouldn't have requested this graphic novel.

The time is 1937 in a Kansas that's slowly being blown away in the unceasing winds. Jack Clark is eleven. Now that he's big enough to do chores around the farm, there isn't any farm left. His father thought of packing up and leaving, but their old vehicle won't start. Mr. Clark has a worthless farm, a worthless vehicle, a wife who's worn down from work and worry, a daughter who has dust pneumonia and likes to read the Wizard of Oz books-- and Jack, a scrawny, dreamy boy whom the town bullies love.

Jack is so dreamy that the doctor tells his parents that he has dust dementia, so when Jack sees a frightening, shadowy figure in a barn, he doesn't tell anyone about it. What's the use? No one's going to believe him anyway. But when push comes to shove, he's a little boy who wants desperately to help his family, and he decides to confront that big, scary shadow in the barn. You see... he's figured out what it is.

There is so little text in The Storm in the Barn that some readers may yearn for more. My own yearning lasted only the first few pages because I was completely drawn into Phelan's atmospheric drawings. The dust is ever-present, blurring the lines of the familiar and turning everyday things into hidden bogey men and coating the world in a thick layer of hopelessness. Through the dust, young Jack's burning desire to make a difference to his family shines like a beacon.

Phelan paints a worthy visual companion to other Dust Bowl literature, and I'm glad that his book is the first graphic novel I've read.

Buy from Amazon.

Buy from The Book Depository.

Buy from an Indie Bookseller.

Benjamin Pratt & the Keepers of the School: We the Children by Andrew Clements

Title: Benjamin Pratt & the Keepers of the School: We the Children
Author: Andrew Clements
ISBN: 9781416993797, Atheneum, 2010
Genre: KidLit, Mystery
Rating: B+
Source: Advanced Reader's Copy from Publisher

First Line: As the ship's bell clanged through the school's hallway for the third time, Ben ran his tongue back and forth across the porcelain caps that covered his front teeth, a nervous habit.

Ben Pratt's parents are going through a divorce, so the last thing he needs is the school janitor acting weird and insisting that, not only is Ben the only one who can save the school, but he needs to keep a strange gold coin and trust no one. Ben would just chalk Mr. Keane's behavior up to being old, but the next thing Ben knows Mr. Keane is dead and there's a very strange replacement janitor hanging around. The school, founded by a sea captain in the eighteenth century, is slated for the wrecking ball; the land to be used for a new amusement park. Mr. Keane's death makes Ben wonder if there really is something going on, and he soon enlists the help of his friend, Jill Acton.

This skinny little volume moves very quickly. I love piecing together clues on coins and maps and blueprints, and the book truly comes to life when Ben goes sailing. Perhaps I'm used to the meaty satisfaction of a volume about Harry Potter, but We the Children was just too short. Ben and Jill are interesting characters, and the storyline is engaging. Unless each volume is published one right after the other-- quickly-- I can see both young and old readers losing interest in what is a very intriguing story. I hope that doesn't happen.

Addie Clawson, Appalachian Mail Carrier by Julia Taylor Ebel

Title: Addie Clawson, Appalachian Mail Carrier
Author: Julia Taylor Ebel
Artist: Sherry Jensen
ISBN: 1887905677, Parkway Publishers, 2003
Genre: KidLit, Women's History, Biography
Rating: A

First Line: When Addie Clawson took the job of rural mail carrier, folks said it just wasn't right-- a woman doing a man's job.

Addie Clawson got her job in 1936 after earning one of the top three scores on the Civil Service exam, and it was only temporary through the good weather, you understand, because she was a woman. A woman wouldn't be able to handle the floods and snows of the mountains of North Carolina. Addie wore pants and made tongues wag as she drove her Model A Ford along the dirt roads and rode her horse through the really bad patches. She learned to bring along a shovel because she never knew when she'd have to dig herself out of the mud or clear out the snow down to the mailboxes. (Yes, I did mean down.)

Although this book is meant for young children, the text, the art, and the old photographs had me alternately smiling, laughing, or willing myself not to shed a tear. The only thing wrong with this book is the fact that it's too short! Addie Clawson was the type of woman about whom it's a Pure D joy to read. She was smart, she was feisty, she knew the meaning of hard work, she was brave, and she had a heart that would've put a bar of 24 karat gold to shame. (I also have the suspicion that she enjoyed making those strait-laced women's tongues wag, too.)

Addie Clawson worked that temporary job for the next thirty years because no one could do it better. It wouldn't surprise me at all to learn that more than a few of the rural residents of Watauga County shed tears on the day this exemplary woman retired.

I would have.

Merry Ever After

Title: Merry Ever After
Author & Illustrator: Joe Lasker
ISBN: 0670472573, The Viking Press, 1976
Genre: KidLit, Social History
Rating: A

First Line: Anne was only ten years old when her father told her she would marry Gilbert, who was eleven.

This beautifully illustrated children's book is written by Joe Lasker, who also happens to be the illustrator. It is the story of two young European couples: Anne and Gilbert and Margaret and Simon, and how it came about that they married way back in the fifteenth century.

Anne was ten when her wealthy merchant father began looking for a suitable husband for her. With his wealth, he wanted to aim high. Eleven-year-old Gilbert's father was a nobleman who'd spent much of his fortune on equipping himself and his soldiers for war. The two fathers met and eventually came to terms over the dowry. Anne and Gilbert would be married when Anne turned fifteen.

Fourteen-year-old Margaret was a blacksmith's daughter. Simon, a year older, was already a plowman working with his father out in the fields. They all lived in the same small village, and although they had much less dowry to work with, both fathers made sure they were satisfied on all counts before their children were betrothed. Lasker then describes both marriages and their subsequent celebrations.

In his introduction, Lasker stated that, although there are differences between Medieval marriages and the ones of today, there are also many similarities because many wedding traditions date from that time. He uses simple, straightforward language to tell the story of the two young couples.

What makes this book so special, however, are the marvelous illustrations. They are vivid and detailed. The longer I looked at each one, the more I found to savor. (Usually there was more than one bit of sly artistic humor to chuckle over as well!) This is a book in which all ages can easily find something to enjoy.

[Source: My personal library.]

How to Be a Pirate by Cressida Cowell

Title: How to Be a Pirate
Author: Cressida Cowell
ISBN: 0-316-01577-6, Little, Brown and Company, 2005
Genre: Juvenile Fiction, #2 in the series
Rating: A

First Line: Thor was seriously annoyed.

Now, I really know that pirates were a scurvy lot, not to be trusted. I really, really do know this. But something deep inside me has always wanted to sharpen my cutlass and hoist the Jolly Roger. A friend and I even co-wrote a story in which we were pirates, and the name of our ship was the PMS Hellborn Strumpet. (That has a ring to it, doesn't it?) Knowing all this, is it any wonder that when I first heard of Cressida Cowell's series of books about Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, young Viking and Pirate-in-Training, I simply had to have one of the books to read right now? Of course not!

Hiccup is a bit on the small side and completely unmemorable. His small dragon, Toothless, is a cowardly hypochondriac. Together they attend the Pirate Training Program, learning about Spitting, Senseless Violence, Frightening Foreigners, Weaponry, Pointless Graffiti, and other important pirate tasks. Being the son of Stoick the Vast, Chief of the Hooligan tribe, great things are expected of Hiccup, but it looks as though Snotlout (Hiccup's arch enemy and the resident bully) has other intentions.

School is interrupted by Alvin the Poor-But-Honest-Farmer who claims to know where the fabulous treasure of Grimbeard the Ghastly is located. Hiccup doesn't trust the handsome, smiling stranger, but of course he's outvoted and everyone boards a ship and starts counting their share of the treasure before it's found.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Lessons about deceptive appearances and inner worth, for example, are given in a humorous, tongue-in-cheek manner that takes away any medicinal sting. The illustrations are a delight-- looking like the pencil sketches of a grade school boy, hunched over his paper with the tip of his tongue clenched between his teeth. The book can easily be a hit with both children and adults.

Will I be reading other books in this series? You bet! Dragons, Vikings, pirates, swordplay-- I wouldn't miss all this for the world!

[Source: Paperback Swap.]

REVIEW: Down Cut Shin Creek

Title: Down Cut Shin Creek: The Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky
Author(s): Kathi Appelt and Jeanne Cannella Schmitzer
ISBN: 9780060291358/Harper Collins
KidLit/History, Ages 8-12
Rating: A

First Line: They were the darkest of times, the years following the crash of the stock market in 1929.

Sometimes finding the road to a new reading passion is a little bit of a miracle. I stumbled across an excellent blog called Appalachian History, and one day I came across a post there about the pack horse librarians of Kentucky. It was if my mind was set afire. The Works Progress Administration was the largest part of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal, and the WPA was responsible for the pack horse library system of Kentucky. Cast-off books and magazines were donated and sent to book centers in the remote mountainous region of eastern Kentucky. The items were gone through, repaired, and given to young (mostly female) workers who saddled up their horses and mules and rode up into the mountains where there were no roads. Often their only trails were following stream beds.

Every two weeks, each pack horse librarian would set out with new books, magazines and pamphlets and stop by one-room schools and cabins along the route. At first, the proud, poor people who lived there were sceptical, but these librarians were people known to them, and the residents rapidly came to look forward to their visits with great enthusiasm and joy.

Down Cut Shin Creek is a marvelous book about this little known library program that came to an end in 1943 with World War II. (It wouldn't be until the late 1950s that this area once again had access to library materials.) Full of information, it is also packed with period photographs that bring the whole thing to life. I have nothing but admiration for these pack horse librarians who, for the monthly salary of $28, traveled through every imaginable sort of terrain and weather to bring the outside world to people who were starving for it.

REVIEW: The Dragonfly Secret

Title: The Dragonfly Secret, A Story of Boundless Love
Authors: Clea and John Adams
ISBN: 9781934066133/Feather Rock Books
Ages 8 to Adult
Companion Book to The Dragonfly Door
Rating: B+

First Line: On a bright summer morning, Lea played hide-and-seek in the garden with Tess, her butterfly friend.

Lea is a young, inquisitive dragonfly who likes to play. One day in the garden, she meets a young boy who seems to know all the best places to hide. When she asks him about himself, the boy gives her a puzzle to solve. Eager to solve the puzzle and learn about the boy, Lea comes back to the garden the very next day. The little dragonfly doesn't realize that she's about to become part of something wonderful.

All of us have had little serendiptous moments in our lives that give us pause, that make us take time to ponder the deeper meanings of things. The catalyst could be something as simple as a feather floating gently to earth, or (in my case) an afternoon in the pool when a little Mexican Amberwing dragonfly decided to perch on my finger for half an hour. As the dragonfly sat there, sunlight streamed through its wings, staining my finger a rich golden amber. Granted, the dragonfly resting on my finger that day was probably there because of the cool water and sunbeams, but it was rather miraculous to me, and my mind did indeed search for deeper meaning. The Dragonfly Secret should have the same effect with both parents and children. I enjoyed this simple tale of love, and the illustrations by Barbara L. Gibson added a rich dimension to the story.

REVIEW: Bunnicula, A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery

Title: Bunnicula, A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery
Author: Deborah and James Howe
ISBN: 9781416928171/Aladdin Paperbacks
Protagonist: Harold the dog
Setting: the home of a typical American family
KidLit, Series #1
Rating: A

First Line: I shall never forget the first time I laid these now tired old eyes on our visitor.

Mr. Monroe is a college professor. Mrs. Monroe is a lawyer. They have two young sons, Pete and Toby, a family cat named Chester, and a family dog named Harold. One evening the Monroes go to the theater to see Dracula, and they find a tiny black and white baby bunny in Toby's seat. They bring it home, fix up a very nice cage for it, name it Bunnicula, and think they've just added another pet to the menagerie. But have they done more than that? A few evenings later, Chester the cat discovers Bunnicula sneaking back to his cage from the kitchen. In the morning, Mrs. Monroe finds a very strange-looking white tomato in the refrigerator. Chester becomes convinced that Bunnicula is a vampire, and he won't rest until he's saved his family.

I wish these books had been published when I was a child. I raised rabbits when I was young, and I would've loved these Bunnicula books. Steady, faithful Harold and bookish, paranoid Chester shine in this first book, which made me laugh out loud several times. Fortunately I seem to be going through my second (third?) childhood, because I'm certainly looking forward to the next book in the series!

REVIEW: The Library Card

Title: The Library Card
Author: Jerry Spinelli
ISBN: 0439856272
Protagonist(s): four children for whom a library card has a profound impact upon their lives
Setting: present-day, anywhere from urban to country
Children's Fiction, Standalone
Rating: B

First Line: Fingers trembling, eyes on the man at the cash register, Mongoose snatched the Milky Way bar and stuck it in his coat pocket.

Jamie Hill (Mongoose) has just turned twelve. He seems to have a lot of time on his hands, and he spends most of it with his best friend, Bobby Morgan (Weasel). Weasel dreams of the day he'll turn sixteen so he can quit school. His idea of a good time is shoplifting, selling the proceeds for spray paint, tagging everything that doesn't move, and dreaming of that hot Firebird he's going to have. Jamie is content to go along with everything Weasel does...until Jamie finds a library card.

Brenda has had a passionate love affair with television since she was an infant. Unfortunately for her, her school has a week-long project: The Great TV Turn-Off. Brenda is just about to drive herself and everyone around her insane...until she finds a library card in her room where the TV used to be.

Sonseray's mother died of a drug overdose. He and his uncle are calling an ancient Cadillac Eldorado home while his uncle is between jobs. Sonseray is filled with rage and takes that rage out on everyone and everything around him...until he happens to find a library card.

April's most prized possession is her NYC library card. She's not happy about her family's move from New York City to a mushroom farm out in the middle of the country...until she happens to see a bookmobile on the road past her farm.

This book was written for children from (roughly) ages 8 to 12, so the writing was a bit more simplistic than I'm used to. I thought Brenda's story was the weak one of the quartet, and the two strongest were Mongoose and Sonseray. The last two were so in need of something that would help steer them onto different paths. For a reader like me, it was wonderful that books, libraries and librarians were what helped them. This was a nice, quick read that made me remember what a special place books have had in my life.