Books with author Joan Lowery Nixon

On a walk in the woods, Sean and Brian find a scary footprintSean Quinn does not like the sound of spending a weekend in a neighborhood named Grizzly Hill. Although his friend Alan assures him the development has been bear-free for a century, Sean is not convinced. The woods are thick and dark, and there’s an old grizzly den not far from Alan’s house. And when Brian discovers a strange footprint on a forest path, Sean starts to wish he had stayed at home with Mrs. Peabody, the babysitter. She’s not any fun, but at least she’s not a bear! Brian decides the print is too small to be a full-grown grizzly, but it could be a cub. Against Sean’s wishes, they follow the tracks into the forest. If there are bears in the woods, Brian wants to know. And if the animal is something even stranger, he can’t wait to find out!

When the circus comes to town, a clown and his monkey get into troubleKid detectives Brian and Sean Quinn are on their way home when they see a clown causing a commotion outside the mall. The Star-Spangled Circus has just rolled into town, and Crackers the clown and his faithful monkey are there to promote it. But just as Sean is about to get a good look at the monkey, it escapes its collar and runs off, leading a frantic chase through the mall. and while the primate runs wild, someone uses the distraction to rob the stores. To the Quinn kids, it looks like this clown is pretty serious—about crime. But that night, the clown’s son asks Brian and Sean to help him prove that his father wasn’t even at the mall, and that the stores were robbed by an imposter. To get to the bottom of this big-top mystery, the Casebusters will learn that under their makeup, not all clowns are smiling.

Twelve-year-old Nancy Geddy is concerned that the regulations of the Stamp Act will cause her friend Tom to lose his job as an apprentice at her family's foundry. Meanwhile, the illness of Nancy's critical and complaining stepmother, Elizabeth, may prevent the young girl from attending her grandmother's Christmas ball. Will Nancy be able to accept Elizabeth as her new mother?

While working on a local TV news show, Brian gets the scoop of a lifetimeBrian Quinn signed up for journalism class expecting an easy A. But as he quickly finds out, there’s nothing simple about reporting the news. Brian is nervous when his teacher asks him to appear on That’s News 2 Me—a local news program run by children—but he goes along with it, hoping for a chance to hang out with Estella, the class’s star student. But when he starts reporting his story, this kid reporter stumbles on a very grown-up crime. A burglar has been raiding Redoaks, breaking into houses and making off with expensive electronic equipment. And when Brian tries to report on the High-Tech Burglar, his producer tells him to stay away from the story. But when a clue to the burglar’s identity falls into his lap, Brian is faced with a tough decision. Should he disobey the producer and break the news to the world, or let a criminal go free?

The Casebusters investigate accidents at an abandoned theater—where a ghost is the chief suspect!Ever since the new mall opened on the other side of Redoaks, the area around the historic Culbertson Theater has been abandoned. But when a local developer wants to bulldoze the area and turn it into a shopping center, someone inside the theater decides to take matters into his own hands—hands that may be alive or dead. After a sandbag falls on a building inspector’s shoulder—the latest in a string of suspicious accidents—kid detectives Brian and Sean Quinn decide to investigate. Sean’s friend Sam suspects it is the work of the ghost of Horatio Hamilton, an actor who died in the theater decades before, but Miss Beezly—the strange old woman who runs the theater—says that Horatio’s ghost is too polite for such misbehavior. Someone is pulling these dangerous pranks, and Brian and Sean better find out fast—in case the next sandbag falls on a detective!

Russian immigrant Rebekah Levinsky hopes desperately that her dream will come true in America. On the difficult ocean journey to the "land of opportunity" she meets two other girls--Kristin Swensen from Sweden and Rose Carney from Ireland. The three quickly become friends as they share their visions of the future and endure life on the overcrowded ship.Once they reach Ellis Island the girls must separate and Rebekah and her family settle in New York on the Lower East Side. Instead of finding streets paved with gold, they slave seven days a week in a sweatshop. Will Rebekah find the courage to conquer the odds and find happiness in the United States of America.

For fans of Gillian Flynn, Caroline Cooney, and R.L. Stine comes Spirit Seeker from four-time Edgar Allen Poe Young Adult Mystery Award winner Joan Lowery Nixon. Holly Campbell’s life has suddenly become a newspaper-headline nightmare. The parents of her friend Cody Garnett have just been found in their home, brutally murdered, and Cody is the main suspect. Holly’s father is the police detective in charge of the investigation, and even he thinks the evidence points right at Cody. Holly knows it’s up to her to prove what she believes it the truth: Cody is innocent. Against her father’s wishes, secretly crossing the barrier of police tape and television reporters that surrounds the Garnetts’ house, she begins her own investigation. Computer files, an odd neighbor, and a mysterious psychic—each might have the evidence Holly needs to help Cody. Or they could all be red herrings that will waste Holly’s precious time. A teenager seeking justice and her interactions with the spirit world make this spine-tingling new novel from the only four-time winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Award a surefire winner for mystery fans. “Tightly plotted.” –School Library Journal “Enriched with family troubles, guilty secrets, and a whiff of the supernatural, this page-turner will please.” –Kirkus Reviews “Readers will enjoy.” –Booklist

For fans of Gillian Flynn, Caroline Cooney, and R.L. Stine comes Secret, Silent Screams from four-time Edgar Allen Poe Young Adult Mystery Award winner Joan Lowery Nixon. Is Barry’s death the latest tragedy in a string of suicides at Farrington Park High School? Or is it murder? Marti is sure her friend Barry didn’t take his own life, but no one will believe her except Police Officer Prescott. But opening an investigation takes time, and Marti is determined to find her friend’s killer soon. Because even now he could be planning his next crime… “Enthralling suspense…satisfying[,]…[and an] intricate plot.” –Publishers Weekly