Books with author Linda Bailey

The fifth book in the best-selling Stevie Diamond Mystery series, What's a Daring Detective Like Me Doing in the Doghouse? stars a pair of true-to-life kids who solve mysteries on their own. Stevie and Jessie find a lost dog in Vancouver and accidentally dye it green. To their horror, they discover that the dog belongs to the visiting American president -- and that it has been stolen! Can they undo the dye job and catch the thief all in one short week? As the plot thickens with a host of suspicious characters, mystery fans are guaranteed a fast-paced, funny and compelling adventure that will keep them guessing to the end.

Even an experienced detective like Stevie Diamond can miss clues. All her life, a gigantic mystery was right there in her own family and she'd missed it, until now! How Can a Brilliant Detective Shine in the Dark? is a page-turning mix of mystery and comedy sure to capture the imaginations and tickle the funny bones of young readers everywhere. A Stevie Diamond Mystery.

If you happen to have a dinosaur, lying around your living room, and you don't know what to do with it ... why don't you use it as a can opener? It will make a terrific nutcracker too! There are oodles of uses for a dinosaur -- from a fine umbrella to an excellent kite and a dandy pillow, not to mention a reliable burglar alarm and the perfect excuse to forget your homework. This delightfully absurd exploration of the domestic uses of dinosaurs -- and the things dinos just aren't good for at all -- is guaranteed to tickle funny bones and spark imaginations. If you read carefully, you'll learn how to make your dinosaur last a very long time.

As this delightful picture book opens, Fox is bored of his usual meal of plain old toad, so he turns to a cookbook of toad recipes for inspiration. Having caught a sackful of small, young toads as recommended, Fox is deciding on a recipe when he is startled by the appearance of the mother of these small ?toadlets,? who is horrified to discover that Fox is planning to eat her babies. ?Stop!? she commands him, to no avail. Mamma Toad frantically tries everything in her power to save her offspring, even offering herself for Fox to eat. But nothing works. Until she suggests preparing her own delicious ?secret? recipe for Fox instead¬ --- Toad-in-the-Hole. (The secret? No toads!) Linda Bailey's story will thoroughly entertain pre-readers, as it hits the right notes of droll humor spiced with just enough suspense. The lively artwork by Colin Jack keeps the energy level high, and the scenes of the toadlets wreaking havoc on fox's kitchen while he is distracted --- rolling in honey, pelting canned peas at each other, parachuting off the cabinet using bread slices --- provide a funny visual subplot to the story that will keep youngsters involved. This book would provide a wonderful starting point for conversations about how sometimes the person who seems the strongest isn't the winner in the end, which could tie into a character education lesson on perseverance. It might also launch a discussion about trying new foods, after which the included recipe could be prepared as a classroom activity.