The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing

Caution: Read Three Times Lucky before diving into The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing.

All anyone can talk about lately in the small town of Tupelo Landing, North Carolina, is the auction of the old–supposedly haunted–inn. Mo LoBeau, co-founder of the Desperado Detective Agency, doesn’t go looking to take on a haunted inn as one of her cases, but things have a way of falling into her lap, especially when Miss Lana and Grandmother Miss Lacy Thornton sort of accidentally purchase the inn in question.

Pretty soon, Mo and Dale are doing their best to solve the big mystery of the Tupelo Inn…while getting a bona fide supernatural source for their big history report. Sure, it gets scary at times, but these Mo and Dale–along with a new and unexpected ally–are on the case, and they’re determined to find out what this ghost’s story is.

As often happens, especially when it comes to matters involving Mo LoBeau, things get complicated quickly. Someone–or something–is trying to keep Mo and company out of the inn. What could anyone else possibly want with an old, broken down inn? Besides a ghost, what other secrets could this old place be hiding?

Mo and Dale are getting closer and closer to discovering the truth about the Tupelo Inn and its ghostly inhabitant, but what else will they discover along the way? Some people may not encounter an actual ghost, but they may be haunted by their pasts just the same. Can Mo and Dale solve more than one mystery surrounding this inn…before it’s too late?

Help Mo and Dale unravel the mystery of the Tupelo Inn when you read The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing by Sheila Turnage!

 

Three Times Lucky

Eleven years ago, Moses “Mo” LoBeau washed ashore in Tupelo’s Landing, North Carolina. This child, who was washed away from her Upstream Mother in a hurricane, was rescued by the memory-impaired, cantankerous Colonel and Miss Lana, and the three of them made a life for themselves in this small coastal town.

Now, eleven years later, Mo is a rising sixth grader who works part-time in the restaurant run by the Colonel and Miss Lana. (Her specialty seems to be peanut butter on Wonder Bread.) She spends most of her spare time researching who and where her Upstream Mother might be, and she enjoys hanging out with her best friend, Dale Earnhardt Johnson III. (The “III” is for the iconic #3 car of his namesake.)

This summer, however, things are being stirred up in Tupelo’s Landing, and Mo takes it upon herself to figure out what’s going on. One of the restaurant’s customers has been killed, a cop is asking questions about Mo’s beloved Colonel, and strange things are afoot in the town Mo calls home. What else is a precocious girl to do? Mo and Dale open up their own detective agency–Desperado Detectives–and begin investigating the crime.

What these junior detectives find, though, may just change everything they know about the people they’re closest to. What secrets are hiding in Tupelo’s Landing? And how can Mo and Dale discover the truth when the police can’t?

As Mo and Dale come closer and closer to solving the biggest mystery to hit Tupelo’s Landing since Mo herself washed ashore, they’ll learn just what family and friendship really mean. When waters get rough, it becomes clear who’ll be there for them, and even Mo might be surprised by who has her back. Join Mo LoBeau on her journey to the truth when you read Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage, a nominee for the 2013-14 South Carolina Children’s Book Award!

Freaky Fast Frankie Joe

Frankie Joe Huckaby is a twelve-year-old who’s about to face some major changes. His mom is in jail for the next ten months, so Frankie Joe is being forced to leave his home at the Lone Star Trailer Park in Laredo, Texas, to move all the way to Illinois to live with a dad he hardly knows, a step-mom he’s never met, and four half-brothers he didn’t know he had.

Frankie Joe is less than thrilled with the move, and it soon becomes apparent that his new brothers may not be all that excited about it either. One of them, in particular, seems to make it his mission to make Frankie Joe more miserable than he already is. (It seems that school wasn’t exactly a priority for Frankie Joe’s mom, and he’s got A LOT of catching up to do.) Well, mission accomplished. If he didn’t want to return to Texas before, he certainly does now. All he has to do is make a plan to get there…

Frankie Joe knows that he’ll need money to make the 1,400 mile journey back to Texas, so he comes up with a way to earn a little cash. He starts a delivery business for many of the people in Clearview, Illinois. He delivers pizzas, skin care products, groceries…whatever he needs to earn a few bucks, enough to get what he needs to make it back home to his mom.

But what if Frankie Joe is better off in Illinois? His grades are improving, he’s taking on responsibility, he’s making friends, and he’s providing an important service in this little town. Even though he’s determined to make it back to his mom, is that really the best thing for him? Sure, Frankie Joe misses his mom and his friends in Laredo, but is going back to them what he should do? And what will happen when the decision is taken out of Frankie Joe’s hands? What will become of Freaky Fast Frankie Joe? Read this 2013-14 South Carolina Children’s Book Award nominee by Lutricia Clifton to find out!