Third Place Books welcomes critically acclaimed authors of books for young readers Elana K. Arnold and Martha Brockenbrough to our Lake Forest Park store! Arnold and Brockenbrough will be discussing their latest works of imagination and mystery, Harriet Spies and To Catch a Thief. This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required in advance.
This event will include a public signing and time for audience Q&A. Sustain our author series by purchasing a copy of the featured book!
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The unforgettable star of Just Harriet returns for another mystery on Marble Island, from award-winning author Elana K. Arnold.
There are a few things you should know about Harriet Wermer:
Which is why, when one of the guests at her grandmother’s bed-and-breakfast finds that their treasured pair of binoculars has gone missing, no one believes Harriet when she said she had nothing to do with it. But this is one time Harriet isn’t lying—and she knows that if she can find the binoculars and figure out who really took them, she can prove it.
With her cat, Matzo Ball, her grandmother’s basset hound, Moneypenny, and Harriet’s new friend, Clarence, helping her out, Harriet knows she can crack the case. But when the culprit isn’t who Harriet expects, it’s up to her to decide how important the truth really is.
“To Catch a Thief is a page-turner of a mystery with a great big heart, and Amelia MacGuffin is the smart, funny kid sleuth we’ve all been waiting for. Readers will laugh and fall in love with the MacGuffin family as they follow the clues to crack this absolutely delightful case.”
—Kate Messner, New York Times bestselling author of Blackout
Urchin Beach isn’t the sort of place where bad things happen. The little seaside town is too lucky for that. But then one day, a thief steals something precious—the town’s dragonfly staff, which is the source of all its good fortune and the most important part of the upcoming Dragonfly Day Festival.
Amelia MacGuffin is no detective. She’s eleven, quiet, and unlike her four younger siblings, she has no special talents. But Amelia loves her town. Her family has lived there forever. Her parents run the Pacific General Store, and she and her best friends, Birdie and Delphine, are about to start middle school. If Amelia doesn’t find the staff, the Dragonfly Day Festival will be canceled .
The town needs that tourist money to survive. Unless she cracks the case, Amelia’s family will lose everything—including the adorable stray dog they’ve fallen in love with. She only has seven days to solve Urchin Beach’s crime of the century. It’s not a lot of time, but Amelia has her list of suspects. It might be the new kids next door. Or the grumpy mystery writer who lives in the town’s creepiest mansion. Or perhaps even someone closer to home.
Amelia wants to save the town. She wants to save the dog. She wants both, so much.
But first, she has to catch a thief.
Elana K. Arnold is the author of critically acclaimed and award winning books for and about children and teens including the the National Book Award finalist What Girls Are Made Of, Printz Honor winner Damsel, and Global Read Aloud selection A Boy Called Bat and its sequels. Many of her books are Junior Library Guild selections and have frequently appeared on “best of" book lists, including Rise: A Feminist Book Project, Kirkus Best Books of the Year, and others. Her work has been called both “devastatingly vital” and “comfortably familiar and quietly groundbreaking." Elana is on the faculty of Hamline University's MFA in creative writing and lives in Southern California with her family and menagerie of pets.
Martha Brockenbrough is the critically acclaimed author of the YA novels Into the Bloodred Woods, The Game of Love and Death, and Devine Intervention; the middle grade novel To Catch a Thief, and numerous nonfiction titles, picture books, and chapter books. She teaches at Vermont College of Fine Arts and lives in Seattle, Washington, with her husband, their two daughters, two dogs, and two cats. You can visit her online at marthabrockenbrough.com. (Photo credit: Emerald England)
Want a signed edition of the featured book, but can't make it to the event? Order through our website or over the phone, and write your request for a signature or personalization in the comments field at checkout. Please call the hosting store if you're placing your order within 24 hours of the event.
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