New Releases by Dori Hillestad Butler

To rebuild their broken family, a pair of audacious tween cousins must confront the long-buried secrets that destroyed it in this upper middle grade novel told from dual perspectives. Twelve-year-olds Alice and Bee are practically strangers when their grandparents’ anniversary party reunites their estranged families and ignites their own fast friendship. But their reunion doesn’t last long—Bee’s mother and grandfather are dead set on keeping the liberal Seattle faction of the family away from the conservative Minnesota crew. “It’s complicated,” the grown ups tell them over and over (and over!) again. Bee and Alice grow closer despite their geographical distance, determined to keep their friendship going—and to uncover the big family secret. What happened all those years ago, and why did it tear their family apart? Just when they''ve started to make progress, the COVID pandemic strikes. Bee and Alice watch as the world shuts down and their loved ones grow further divided along their fractured lines. Somehow, it’s up to the twelve-year-olds to clean up the mess that the grown ups have made. This powerful, timely story cuts deep, touching on recent historic events and intimate family details alike. With an age-appropriate approach, Rabbit Rabbit tackles religion, sexuality, bodily autonomy, and other juicy stuff you''re not supposed to talk about at Thanksgiving. Readers will fall headfirst for Alice and Bee as the unforgettable tweens make space for their friendship and shifting identities while standing up to their far-from-perfect family, with all the love and grace they can muster.

King & Kayla are back on the case in this laugh-out-loud mystery from the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Award-winning series. Kayla needs to return her library books, but she can''t find one of them. King knows that if they don''t return all the books, they can''t check out more—and that means no new stories. Analytical Kayla retraces her steps, with the assistance of their friend Jillian. Sensitive King smells a library book. Could it be lost in Dad''s chair? Nope, that''s a different book. In fact, it''s a book that belongs to Jillian''s little brother Adam. Can King and Kayla put the pieces together and find the lost library book? With simple, straightforward language and great verbal and visual humor, the King & Kayla series is perfect for newly independent readers. King and Kayla model excellent problem-solving skills, including working as a team, gathering facts, making lists, and evaluating evidence.

From Edgar Award Winner Dori Hillestad Butler comes The Treasure Troop, a chapter book mystery series! Join Marly, Sai, and Isla, three code-cracking kids on the hunt for an old neighbor''s hidden treasure. In the fourth and final book of this code-busting series, Marly, Sai, and Isla are back on the hunt. After their shocking discoveries on Summer Island, the Treasure Troop has one final set of clues to follow before reaching the end of their search. And now our trio must solve the toughest mystery of all: what really happened to Mr. Summerling?

From Edgar Award Winner Dori Hillestad Butler comes a new chapter book mystery series, The Treasure Troop! Join Marly, Sai, and Isla, three code-cracking kids on the hunt for an old neighbor''s hidden treasure. In the third book of this code-busting series, Marly, Sai, and Isla are back on the hunt! Mr. Summerling has left them a brand-new set of clues to follow, including tickets to the mysterious Summer Island. So with tickets in hand, our trio sets off to their late neighbor''s island. Can they finally discover what lies at the end of this treasure hunt?

From Edgar Award Winner Dori Hillestad Butler comes a new chapter book mystery series, The Treasure Troop! Join Marly, Isla, and Sai, three code-cracking kids on the hunt for an old neighbor''s hidden treasure. Marly always knew Mr. Summerling as her friendly neighbor living in the big, old house next-door. Sure, he walked around with a metal detector and talked about being a "treasure hunter," but she didn''t think much of it. But when news of Mr. Summerling''s death arrives at her doorstep, Marly is brought into a treasure hunt of her own. In Mr. Summerling''s will, he''s left a treasure for Marly and her two classmates, Isla and Sai. The catch? They have to solve a series of riddles, puzzles, and clues to find its location. And not only that, they have to work together on it -- which Marly is not looking forward to. But with no other choice, she, Isla, and Sai set off on the hunt. Can the three kids come together to crack the code? And even if they do solve the clues... what could Mr. Summerling possibly have left them?

The first in a new series featuring King, a lovable dog who helps his girl Kayla solve the mystery of who sent letters, written in code, to Kayla and her friend, Mason. Full color.

Edgar Award Winner Dori Hillestad Butler gives us the tenth—and final!—title in her not-too-scary chapter book mystery series, The Haunted Library, in the form of a super special! It''s almost Halloween, and Kaz and Claire are off to Seattle to visit Claire''s cousins. They explore the local library...and find a ghost living there! The ghost''s family has been missing, so Kaz and Claire decide to investigate. When they discover ghostly activity in the city''s subterranean passages, they put their detective skills to work. Kaz and Claire are on the case!

King & Kayla are back on the case in this laugh-out-loud mystery from the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Award-winning series. Kayla made peanut butter treats for Thor, Jillian''s new puppy. But now the treats are missing, and King is under suspicion. Analytical Kayla notices that King''s breath doesn''t smell like peanut butter, so he didn''t eat them. Sensitive King detects the presence of an intruder in their house. Is it Jillian''s little brother Adam? Or someone else? Who took the missing dog treats? With simple, straightforward language and great verbal and visual humor, the King & Kayla series is perfect for newly independent readers. King and Kayla model excellent problem-solving skills, including working as a team, gathering facts, making lists, and evaluating evidence.

Here is the eighth title in Edgar Award Winner Dori Hillestad Butler''s not-too-scary chapter book mystery series, The Haunted Library. Kaz are Claire are called on for another case! A family thinks their house is haunted, making it difficult for them to sell it. Will Kaz and Claire be able to figure out what''s going on, and find more of Kaz''s family members along the way?

When strange noises are heard in the tree house where their club meets, Claire and Kaz wonder if a rival club is causing problems in order to scare them away, or if they are coming from the ghosts of one of Kaz''s departed ancestors.

Kaz and Claire are back for a timely mystery in this adorable series by Edgar Award winner Dori Hillestad Butler! Kaz and Claire are called in for another ghostly mystery, and this ghost is always right on time. When Claire''s friend tells the young detectives about his five o''clock ghost, Kaz wonders if it could be his own missing brother, Little John. Kaz and Claire search the house up and down, but they can''t find any trace of Little John--or any other ghost. Yet when five o''clock comes along, the strange occurrences come back again...

A brand-new young chapter book series from Edgar Award winner Dori Hillestad Butler! After successfully solving the mystery of the ghost in the library, Kaz and Claire land the first case for their detective agency—a haunted attic in a neighbor’s home! With a little help from Grannie, Kaz and Claire discover that what appeared to be something spooky has a much simpler explanation.

"My name is King. I am a dog. I am also a detective."



King has a very big mystery to solve. His family is missing, and he's been put in the P-O-U-N-D. Why doesn't his beloved human (Kayla) come to get him? When King is adopted by Connor and his mom, things get more confusing. The new family calls him Buddy!



And just as Connor and Buddy start to get acquainted, Connor disappears! Buddy (aka King) has big problems to solve, but with some help from his friend Mouse (a very large dog) and the mysterious cat with no name, he shows what a smart, brave dog can do.



Mystery fans and dog lovers will be swept up in Dori Hillestad Butler's funny, satisfying story... and left eager for Buddy's next adventure.

Buddy has settled with his adopted family, but he''s never given up on finding his beloved human, Kayla, and his first family. One night he sees men taking things out of Kayla''s old house and loading them into a van. What''s up? Though his friend Mouse advises against it, in the middle of the night Buddy decides to make a daring move, leaving everything he knows behind. Dori Butler''s third case in The Buddy Files will entertain and satisfy the many fans of this brave, funny, and loyal dog.