“From one direction came the scents of salt water, washed-up kelp, and dead crabs. From the other, fresh bread, crackling fires, herb gardens, and even a few rosebushes. The town smelled good. As if it could be home.”
A thief has entered the charming but run-down Urchin Beach. This seaside town isn’t the sort of place where bad things happen. It’s the kind of community where neighbors all know each other’s names. The sort of place where a kid is marked for stealing an eraser in elementary school.
The thief is lured to Urchin Beach’s most cherished item—their lucky dragonfly staff. The staff is taken from the arms of its protector, Glenda the Sasquatch statue, which creates mistrust and general crankiness amongst the beach’s residents.
“There’s no magic more fragile than trust.”
Amelia MacGuffin isn’t a master detective, but she is a bright 11-year-old girl with a book, a bunch of siblings, and a few unlikely friends. From the moment she learns of the crime, Amelia is on the case. She inspects red herrings, creates an investigation wall, interrogates subjects, and sneaks into off-limits locations all in this page-turning mystery.
If there’s no lucky staff to swing, will the tourists come to support the town? Perhaps more importantly, who will middle-school-Amelia be if she doesn’t succeed?
“Most of all, she imagined having an identity.”
Brockenbrough creates a complex, caring, and expansive world of characters in To Catch a Thief. Anxious readers can relate to Amelia’s second-guessing and careful calculations; creative readers can draw inspiration from one of Colin’s inventions; and boisterous readers can share their opinions (along with a cartwheel) with Bridget. Although this is a plot-driven mystery, colorful imagery and thoughtful prose allow for artful pitstops along the way. Spending time in Urchin Beach, your school might blossom by exploring lessons of understanding, environmentalism, financial literacy, STEM, career planning, and art. This mystery will engage your readers and is a pleasure to read-aloud.
To Catch a Thief is a book about growing up, taking care of our planet, finding common ground with intimidating strangers and navigating differences with family. It’s a story about sharing sidewalks with siblings, buckets with new neighbors, and cocoa in lucky mugs. Will the thief be brought to justice? Read Martha Brockenbrough’s mystery together to find out!
“Maybe love can’t put food on the table. Maybe it can’t fix a leaky roof. But it’s the fuel that keeps you trying to make sure everyone has everything they need.”
