Wind in the Willows meets Enola Holmes in this exciting, young middle grade mystery series from Newbery Honor-winning author Margi Preus and with art from Junyi WuMystery: Something that is difficult or impossible to understand.With a curious mind and a vast vocabulary (thanks to her wallpaper–pages of a discarded human dictionary), tiny Minerva Shrew would love nothing more than to solve the Big Mysteries of Life and the Universe.Instead, in The Case of the Pilfered Pearls, she’s called upon to help her cousin Tenacity solve a mystery in the most dangerous of places: a human house. When a string of pearls goes missing, the human owner is sure a “dreadful rodent” has pilfered them–and now the lives of all Minerva’s friends are at risk! Will Minerva find the true culprit before the exterminators arrive?With wit and warmth, Margi Preus creates a charming woodland world filled with creatures both whimsical and nefarious (neh-FARE-ee-us: wicked or criminal), along with suspense, intrigue, and, thanks to Minerva’s metabolism, plenty of snacks.Don’t miss this first volume in the fun Shrew Detectives series. It’s perfect for readers of Kate DiCamillo’s The Tale of Despereaux and has been welcomed with four stars.
Margi Preus is a New York Times bestselling author of several books for young readers, including the Newbery Honor book Heart of A Samurai. Her most recent books include Shadow on the Mountain, and the picture book Celebritrees: Historic and Famous Trees of the World, illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon. Ms. Preus lives in Duluth, Minnesota. www.margiepreus.com
Junyi Wu is a freelance illustrator and designer and a graduate of ArtCenter College of Design. Her passions include pies, puns, and puzzles. She is based in Orange County, California.