The Cayuga Island Kids series features a diverse group of big-hearted friends who work together to solve mysteries, have adventures, and organize community projects. They are fact detectives who think, brainstorm, research, and collaborate to uncover answers and puzzle out solutions. Above all, they are kind, helpful, smart, and resourceful kids who have lots of fun together.
These chapter books are perfect for 7- to 10-year-olds in 1st through 4th grade.
“Any book that begins with a map of an island is my kind of story. Enliven that setting with a diverse group of characters who are consistently kind—and bursting with curiosity—and you’ve got all the elements of a series that is alive with adventure, friendship, and mystery.”
~ James Preller, author of the Jigsaw Jones mystery series
Book 1: The Mystery of the Barking Branches and the Sunken Ship
This entertaining mystery-history adventure is based on real events surrounding one of the biggest puzzles of the Great Lakes! The Cayuga Island Kids set off on a hunt for a certain kind of tree and instead unearth a cannonball thought to be from a treasure ship built right on their island that sank in 1679 and was never recovered. As they hunt for clues and follow leads, they discover that the island they live on is home to a whole lot of history. And, it turns out, a whole lot of mystery, too. We all have history in our own backyards, just waiting to be discovered by inquisitive, adventurous, and fun-loving fact detectives!
Book 2: The Adventure of the Big Fish By the Small Creek
Moving from knowing something has to be done to getting it done takes determination, teamwork, and sometimes, looking in a new direction. In this award-winning second book in the series, the Cayuga Island Kids rescue a mallard caught in the plastic rings from six-pack of cans. Moments later, a girl on a bike carelessly tosses a plastic bottle in the creek. That’s when they decide it’s time for action. How the Cayuga Island Kids go from fishing a plastic bottle out of the creek to bringing the community together to build a recycling bin big enough to hold plenty of plastic makes for a lively adventure. Young readers will be entertained as they come to realize the importance of brainstorming ideas, teamwork, the value of community effort, recycling, and the promise of new friendships. Best of all, readers will cheer on the Cayuga Island Kids as they come to realize that, although we are each just one person, together we can make a BIG difference.
Book 3: The Case of the Messy Message and the Missing Facts
It’s fall as Book 3 of the Cayuga Island Kids chapter book series opens. Julian explores food science as he experiments with recipes for the perfect chocolate chip cookie. Being a cookie sampler takes Mac’s mind off his troubles with fractions. Yoko practices for the school play tryouts, and Maya helps Ms. Choi with the Make-and-Take-Club. Lacey, of course, is searching for the next mystery to solve. And then two of Ms. Choi’s glitter pens go missing. The clues and evidence point to a suspect, but are the Cayuga Island Kids jumping to conclusions? When a classmate jumps to conclusions and shares false information about Julian’s cookies, the kids join forces to set the facts straight. And while researching explorers for a school project, the kids uncover misinformation that blurs the truth, and makes the reasons for being a fact detective crystal clear. Sorting through clues and evidence—just like research—means making sure you have all the facts, and not just a fraction of the truth. Young readers will cheer for the Cayuga Island Kids as they embark on this adventure involving misinformation, faulty assumptions, flour bugs, glitter pens, and chocolate chip cookies.
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Melissa Maffei –
Today I am writing a review in which I got the book for free for an honest review. The Dust Bunnies is published by CrissCorss Applesauce, a City of Light Publishing imprint. The book is available in softcover ($12.95), hardcover ($16.95), and as an ebook on all available platforms.
The Dust Bunnies, by Nicki Rae, is a cute book looking into the lives of dust bunnies.
I gave this book five out of five stars on Goodreads. I adore this book. It is just a silly book, that is fun to read over and over again. I also like the artwork. It not only adds that fun quirkiness, but it also makes our dust bunnies look cute and fun. In addition, I also love the colors that the author used throughout the book. Nicki Rae uses pastel spring colors throughout the book. I found them to be calming. The other thing that I enjoyed was the search for the marbles. I love books that have a little quirk or a game. It made me go through the book several times to find them. Even after rereading this book several times, I enjoy trying to find the marbles. Finally, I just enjoyed the artwork that mainly told the story. The story is not dependant on the words, which is great for younger children, ages 4 – 6.
The only thing that I did not like was not knowing about the marble game until I read the book. As a kid, I loved it when a book presented the game at the front of the book. However, as the educator, I appreciated the concept of introducing the game at the end, to encourage children to read the book first.
Diane Torres –
I purchased two of these books for my Granddaughter’s. When I started to read it to the kids, they absolutely love it. It is well writen and cute. I highly recommend this book to all who have little ones.
Sophia –
“This book is so adorably written & illustrated. Any young children will be able to enjoy this interactive read.
Best children’s book I’ve came across in years!”
Miranda –
Gives life to dust bunnies! Such a great children’s book!
Rose –
This is such a cute book for kids. The illustrations are fun, and the unusual subject is a great idea and well told for the age group intended. I thought it was sweet and I’m almost 30 lol.
Crystal –
I loved this book, and I can’t wait to gift it to all of the little ones in my life! The illustrations were adorable and I found all of the marbles ?
Jillian Fox –
My adult self never gave thought to the life of a dust bunny, this was an adorable read!! The art is adorable, comical, whimsy and inspires imagination!