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Here are our favorite peculiar stories for precocious children. These titles can all be found in the Juvenile section of the library, unless otherwise noted.
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Coop Knows the Scoop
by Souders, Taryn
Thirteen-year-olds Cooper Goodman and Justice and Liberty Gordon investigate the eccentric residents of Windy Bottom, Georgia, after the remains of Coop's long-missing grandmother are uncovered and his Gramps is the prime suspect.
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A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall
by Warga, Jasmine
When he encounters a floating girl who resembles the girl in a painting stolen from the museum, Rami becomes determined to solve the mystery and teams up with a classmate and a turtle named Agatha to look for the clues all around them.
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The 13-Story Treehouse
by Griffiths, Andy
Follows the efforts of Andy and Terry to meet a latest book deadline despite numerous distractions in their sophisticated tree house home, including flying cats, giant bananas, and sea monsters pretending to be mermaids.
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Spell & Spindle
by Schusterman, Michelle
Eleven-year-old Chance accidentally helps Penny, a lonely marionette who cannot remember who she is or where she came from, discover the truth of her past.
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Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians
by Sanderson, Brandon
Foster child Alcatraz Smedry receives a bag of sand which is stolen by the evil Librarians who are trying to take over the world. Alcatraz is introduced to his grandfather and his own talent, and told that he must use it to save civilization.
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The Lost Library
by Rebecca Stead
When a mysterious Little Free Library guarded by a large orange cat appears overnight, eleven-year-old Evan plucks two weathered books from its shelves, never suspecting that his life is about to change.
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The Puppets of Spelhorst
by Kate DiCamillo
Shut up in a trunk by a taciturn old sea captain with a secret, five friends--a king, a wolf, a girl, a boy, and an owl--bicker, boast, and comfort one another in the dark. Individually, they dream of song and light, freedom and flight, purpose and glory, but they all agree they are part of a larger story, bound each to each by chance, bonded by the heart's mysteries. When at last their shared fate arrives, landing them on a mantel in a blue room in the home of two little girls, the truth is more astonishing than any of them could have imagined.
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Floors
by Patrick Carman
Ten-year-old Leo's future and the fate of the extraordinary Whippet Hotel where his father is the maintenance man are at stake when a series of cryptic boxes leads Leo to hidden floors, strange puzzles, and unexpected alliances.
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Looking Up
by Stephan Pastis
As the neighborhood she's always known disappears around her, making room for fancy condos and coffee shops, Saint enlists the help of the boy who lives across the street to save what's left of their hometown from the wrecking ball.
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The Song of the Swan
by Karah Sutton
Olga, an orphan and thief, seeks to steal a valuable jewel from a secluded castle, but as she uncovers dark secrets and enigmatic enchantments, she finds herself torn between her ambitions, loyalty to her partner Pavel, and the truth behind the enchanted swans.
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The Girl Who Speaks Bear
by Sophie Anderson
Longing to know who she really is after being discovered in a bear cave as a baby, 12-year-old Yanka begins a remarkable transformation that forces her to leave a loving foster home in search of a place where she truly belongs.
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All the Colors of Magic
by Valija Zinck
Distinguished from her peers for her gray hair, rainy birthdays and ability to predict what her mother is going to say, young Penelope wakes up one day with sparkling red hair before learning that her long-absent father is actually a wizard.
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The Infinite Lives of Maisie Day
by Christopher Edge
A 10-year-old science enthusiast awakens in another reality and must work with the laws of the universe while trusting in the love of her family in order to set things right.
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Twist
by Sarah Cannon
Three gifted kids, including an aspiring horror writer, a fantasy illustrator and a girl who has a gift for managing trouble, accidentally create a doorway between one of their stories and the real world, unleashing violent, once-imaginary creatures on their town.
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The Mysterious Benedict Society
by Trenton Lee Stewart
As the only four children to pass the series of tests provided, Reynie, Kate, Sticky, and Constance are asked to go on a secret mission as undercover agents at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened and quickly realize they will have to use their collective wit to get their important task complete.
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Savvy
by Ingrid Law
Recounts the adventures of Mibs Beaumont, whose thirteenth birthday has revealed her "savvy"--a magical power unique to each member of her family--just as her father is injured in a terrible accident.
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Worse Than Weird
by Jody J. Little
Hoping to win enough money for summer coding camp, seventh grader, Mac embarks on a citywide food cart scavenger hunt before discovering how her weird parents may not be the worst thing compared to the circumstances of those around her.
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Secret Coders
by Gene Luen Yang
Attending an elite school where enterprising students are challenged to solve a variety of clues and puzzles using computer programming, Hopper and her friend, Eni, resolve to crack the school founder's most elusive mystery together. Please note, this book can be found in the Juvenile Graphic Novel section of the library.
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The Unadoptables
by Hana Tooke
Spending all their young lives at the Little Tulip orphanage, five clever kids plot a daring escape from a conscripting sea captain before the search for one orphan’s mysterious origins leads them through back roads, alleys and canals to an old windmill housing an abandoned puppet theater.
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The Smartest Kid in the Universe
by Chris Grabenstein
A series debut by the best-selling author of Escape From Mr. Lemoncello’s Library finds 12-year-old Jake rendered a child genius by the accidental ingestion of experimental information pills, before using his newfound smarts to save his middle school from being shut down.
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