The Book Case
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
A hilarious illustrated book about a crime-solving heroine who enters a boarding school filled with very peculiar girls, from Bransford Boase Award-winner Dave Shelton.Daphne is off to an exclusive girls' boarding school, where she'll be given a brand-new start after her expulsion. But St. Rita's school for girls is not your ordinary school. And these are certainly not ordinary girls. As it turns out, nothing is quite what you'd expect at St. Rita's. But then she meets Emily Lime, a crime-solving genius, who's looking for a new library assistant. And the book smart Daphne is just the girl for the job. Mystery and intrigue are about to strike St. Rita's and Emily Lime is going to need all the help she can get...
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this post-WWII-era British romp, Daphne earns a scholarship to the boarding school "St. Rita's School for Spirited Girls, Est. 1873." Upon arrival, Daphne meets George, the only boy in school, and signs on as the "assistant assistant librarian" to enigmatic student assistant librarian Emily Lime, to work in the school's stunning beautiful library, which contains only a few books after a recent fire. Amid the "rum crowd" of rough girls, these three form an unlikely detective trio and set off to solve a series of mysterious break-ins, thefts, and the whereabouts of a missing student. Shelton (A Boy and a Bear in a Boat) crafts an energetic setting in this ramshackle school, with driveway craters caused by a chemistry experiment gone awry and windows shattered by a motorcycling Latin teacher. Lean character development and an ultimately flat mystery may limit readership, but fans of broad humor (nostalgic black-and-white illustrations underscore the slapstick comedy) and classic mysteries peopled with quirky characters may well be pleased. Ages 8 12.
