Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books: New Middle Grade Children's Book Picks - March 2015 - US Post One

Blue Balliett -  Pieces and Players - Published by Scholastic Press (31 Mar. 2015)

THE PIECES
Thirteen extremely valuable pieces of art have been stolen from one of the most secretive museums in the world. A Vermeer has vanished. A Manet is missing. And nobody has any idea where they and the other eleven artworks might be . . . or who might have stolen them. 

THE PLAYERS
Calder, Petra, and Tommy are no strangers to heists and puzzles. Now they've been matched with two new sleuths -- Zoomy, a very small boy with very thick glasses, and Early, a girl who treasures words . . . and has a word or two to say about the missing treasure.

The kids have been drawn in by the very mysterious Mrs. Sharpe, who may be playing her own kind of game with the clues. And it's not just Mrs. Sharpe who's acting suspiciously -- there's a ghost who mingles with the guards in the museum, a cat who acts like a spy, and bystanders in black jackets who keep popping up.

With pieces and players, you have all the ingredients for a fantastic mystery from the amazing Blue Balliett.

Irene Adler - The Mystery of the Scarlet Rose - Published by Capstone Young Readers (March 1, 2015)
Sherlock Holmes, Arsene Lupin, and Irene Adler meet up in London only to find a strange chess problem in the Times signed by ""The Black Friar."" It's written in an unknown code which Sherlock is eager to solve. The next day, the city is rocked by the news of a rich merchant found murdered. On the merchant's desk was scarlet rose: the same flower used as the calling card for a brazen criminal group that haunted the streets of London twenty years ago. Could the Scarlet Rose Gang be back?

J.A. White - The Thickety: The Whispering Trees - Published by Katherine Tegen Books (March 10, 2015)

For fans of Neil Gaiman, The Whispering Trees, book two in the Thickety series by J. A. White. It is the story of a good witch, a bad witch, and a forest demon, trapped together in a world that is both enchanting and dangerous.

After Kara Westfall's village turns on her for practicing witchcraft, she and her brother, Taff, flee to the one place they know they won't be followed: the Thickety. Only this time the Forest Demon, Sordyr, is intent on keeping them there. Sordyr is not the Thickety's only danger: unknown magic lurks behind every twist and shadow of the path.

And then they discover Mary Kettle, an infamous witch with a horrifying past. She offers to lead them out of the Thickety while teaching Kara how to cast spells without a grimoire. The children are hesitant to trust her . . . but this could be their only chance to escape.

Or the first step down a dark and wicked path.

Pierdomenico Baccalario - Map of the Passages (Enchanted Emporium) Published by Capstone Young Readers (March 1, 2015)

The evil Semueld Askell, concealed by the Cloak of Mirrors, sneaks into Finley's room to steal the key to the Enchanted Emporium. He discovers that the key must be given willingly, and Finley's not about to abandon his role as Defender of the Emporium. Semueld is desperate to get his hands on the magical objects housed within, so he forces Finley to make a terrible choice: give him the key, or Semueld will make sure Aiby Lily is lost forever. Faced with this impossible choice, Finley will have to use every trick in the book (as well as some magical objects) to bring back his best friend.