This post is part of a weekly series of synopses of children’s books, written by First Book staff members.

Peanut, by Heidi Kilgras, illustrated by Mike Reed. Peanut, a little dog, sniffs everything! But his sniffing comes in handy when a baby gets lost in the grocery store and Peanut has to help find it. Grades K-2.


Encyclopedia Brown Boy Detective, by Donald J. Sobol. Encylopedia Brown sets up shop and takes on new clients to solve mysteries around town. He helps his Police Chief father in addition to outsmarting the mean boys from school. Solve the mystery right along with Encyclopedia Brown. Grades 3-4.


Hoot, by Carl Hiaasen. Roy just moved to Florida and he hates it. He misses the wide-open spaces of Montana and spends every day getting picked on by the school bully. But one day on the bus he looks out of the window and notices a strange boy, running faster than anyone he’s ever seen before. He decides to find out who the running boy is, but once he does he finds himself caught up in a fight bigger than he could have imagined, and important enough to risk getting in trouble. Grades 5-6.