From the creator of Splat! comes more playful, irreverent, kid-empowering fun--with a rhyming twist. In this buoyant rhyming romp, words have gone mysteriously missing: Who stole Marlow's happy smile, and replaced it with a crocodile? Who swiped Dingle's sneeze--aaaaachooo!--and left a stinky cheese? The thief took Tumble's orange, and switched it with a . . . with a . . . Hey, does anything rhyme with orange? No? Aha! Could this be the rhyming robber's undoing? Guided by bright, clever artwork, kids are empowered to put the final clues together for themselves to solve this silly rhyme crime, then guess at the name-nabber's next sneaky move. Splendid, satisfying, inspiring. "Rhyming wordplay. . . [and] even more hysterical laughter." --Kirkus "The creator of Splat! offers more page-turn-based tomfoolery" --Booklist

When Mother Goose is missing and The Big Bad Wolf is the main suspect, the President of the United States sends his top special agent to Storyland to help solve the mystery. Can a host of characters from well-known nursery rhymes and fairy tales help the special agent and the local sheriff get to the bottom of things?

Once upon a time, a thief committed a crime. Everything he stole was replaced with a RHYME! Hammy's brand new hat was swapped for a cat! Arney's comfy chair was switched for a bear! Will the rhyme thief ever be brought to justice? Can YOU solve the mysterious ending? Packed with the silliest of rhymes and wordplay, this original, hilarious, and interactive tale will have the youngest children in fits of giggles! The newest picture book from award-winning artist Jon Burgerman, perfect for fans of Kes Gray and Jim Field.

Filled with over 200 lawless limericks and punny poems along with some quirky cartoons, all with a mystery twist. Don't miss the particularly peculiar chapters on Lizzie Borden and Sherlock Holmes. Includes a special bonus feature - the short story "The Case of the Stainless Spinster."

Discover Amethyst's Wand Shop Mysteries, an urban fantasy murder mystery series with a quirky witch, a serious detective, a slow burn romantic sub-plot, and plenty of murders to solve. When a serial killer emerges, it's a race against the clock to catch him before he claims his next victim. When Amy and Ambrose are called to the scene of a murder victim who bears a striking resemblance to an existing case, they find themselves having to work with another station in an attempt to solve the crime. But the more they uncover, the clearer it becomes that they're dealing with a serial killer with a particular set of motivations. When it becomes clear that there's a chance to save his latest victim, they end up in a race against the clock to save her. Can they do it before it's too late? - Rhymes and Crimes is book seven of Amethyst's Wand Shop Mysteries, an urban fantasy murder mystery series featuring a quirky witch, a serious detective, a slow burn m/f romantic subplot and a standalone crime. If you love quirky main characters, the murder of the week format, light-hearted back-and-forth, magic, and murder mystery, start the Amethyst's Wand Shop Mysteries series today! Search terms for Amethyst's Wand Shop Mysteries: urban fantasy, fantasy, contemporary fantasy, real world fantasy, murder mystery, cozy mystery, cosy mystery, light-hearted, quirky witch, witches, mages, magic, magical realism, police procedural, magic police, friends to lovers, slow burn romance, established couple, necromancer, police consultant, detective

A telling look at crime through rhymes

An updated and enlarged edition of an annotated collection originally published more than 20 years ago, Bloody Versicles serves as two books in one: an anthology of ribald, moralistic, sad, yet amusing and entertaining verse relating to specific crimes; and a small encyclopedia of select criminals and their wrongdoings.Some of the "crhymes," such as "Lizzie Borden took an axe...," are famous, but most are familiar only to students of particular cases. They have been selected from sources in the United States, England and Scotland, Australia, and France and are representative of all major categories of offenses, with murder inspiring the largest section.

Welcome to the seedy underbelly of nursery crime. From the New York Times bestselling author of the Thursday Next series comes a rollicking novel—“as if the Marx brothers were let loose in the children’s section of a strange bookstore” (USA Today). “A wonderfully readable riot . . . cleverly plotted, magically overstuffed yet amazingly digestible . . . [for] anyone who wants the thrill of a good crime novel larded with highly literate humor.”—The Wall Street Journal Meet Inspector Jack Spratt, family man and head of Reading’s Nursery Crime division. He’s investigating the murder of ovoid D-class nursery celebrity Humpty Dumpty, ex-convict and lover of women, found shattered to death beneath a wall in a shabby area of town. Yes, the big egg is down, and all those brittle pieces sitting in the morgue point to foul play. Spratt and his new partner, Sergeant Mary Mary, search through Humpty’s sordid past in hopes of finding the key to his death. Before long, Jack and Mary find themselves immersed in a bizarre case that reaches into the highest echelons of Reading society and business.

The instant New York Times bestseller featured on NPR's Weekend Edition with Scott Simon! B. J. Novak (bestselling author of The Book With No Pictures) described this groundbreaking poetry collection as "Smart and sweet, wild and wicked, brilliantly funny--it's everything a book for kids should be." Lauded by critics as a worthy heir to such greats as Silverstein, Seuss, Nash and Lear, Harris's hilarious debut molds wit and wordplay, nonsense and oxymoron, and visual and verbal sleight-of-hand in masterful ways that make you look at the world in a whole new wonderfully upside-down way. With enthusiastic endorsements from bestselling luminaries such as Lemony Snicket, Judith Viorst, Andrea Beaty, and many others, this entirely unique collection offers a surprise around every corner. Adding to the fun: Lane Smith, bestselling creator of beloved hits like It's a Book and The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, has spectacularly illustrated this extraordinary collection with nearly one hundred pieces of appropriately absurd art. It's a mischievous match made in heaven! "Ridiculous, nonsensical, peculiar, outrageous, possibly deranged--and utterly, totally, absolutely delicious. Read it! Immediately!" --Judith Viorst, bestselling author of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Welcome to the world of Cockney rhyming slang, where what is said means something completely different than how it sounds. Originally, it was a coded language created by criminals for deceiving undercover police officers during Victorian times. Common phrases like septic tank, holy water, brown bread, tomfoolery and mince pies don’t mean what you think they mean. Others, like Barnaby Rudge, gypsy’s kiss, smash and grab, butcher’s hook, kick and prance and bubble and squeak paint a picture. There are stories to be written about these phrases and in Trouble & Strife, the coded and colorful phrases of Cockney rhyming slang became the inspiration for eleven killer crimes stories from writers on both sides of the pond. A few choice words include: Babbling Brook is a talkative inmate at the state penitentiary. A hairdresser has to pay his dues for a crime that took place at Barnet Fair. And you never want to meet a Lady from Bristol. You don’t have to understand rhyming slang to enjoy this book. You just have to enjoy a damn good story. To see what the authors have come up with you'll have to turn the page and have a butcher’s. Edited by Simon Wood with stories by Steve Brewer, Susanna Calkins, Colin Campbell, Angel Luis Colón, Robert Dugoni, Paul Finch, Catriona McPherson, Travis Richardson, Johnny Shaw, Jay Stringer, and Sam Wiebe.