Hero Dog! (Hilde Cracks the Case Series #1)

by Hilde Lysiak, Matthew Lysiak, Joanne Lew-Vriethoff (Illustrator)

Overview

Real-life super-sleuth and media sensation Hilde Lysiak's reporting skills are put to the test in this fun early chapter book mystery series!

Pick a book. Grow a Reader!This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line Branches, aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow!Nine-year-old crime reporter Hilde Lysiak is starring in her very own early chapter book series — inspired by news stories Hilde wrote in real life! In this first book, there's been a break-in on Orange Street! Cupcakes have been stolen, and soon a pie goes missing, too. Hilde and her sister/photographer, Izzy, must interview witnesses and follow the clues. Can Hilde crack the case in time to post her news story online? Joanne Lew-Vriethoff's personality-filled illustrations appear on every page, bringing Hilde's adventures to life for young readers!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338141559
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	09/12/2017
Series:	Hilde Cracks the Case Series , #1
Pages:	112
Sales rank:	669,598
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.40(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	510L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 8 Years

About the Author

Hilde Lysiak is the 11-year-old publisher of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania's newspaper, the Orange Street News. The paper has 700+ paid subscribers and is read by thousands more online. Hilde's journalism efforts have been profiled by the New York Times, Columbia Journalism Review, NBC Today, and hundreds of other newspapers and television stations around the world. Hilde is cowriting the Scholastic Branches series Hilde Cracks the Case with her dad, Matthew Lysiak.
JOANNE LEW-VRIETHOFF is the acclaimed illustrator of many picture books, including Beautiful by Stacy McAnulty, named among School Library Journal's 2016 Books with a Message. She is a Mom's Choice Gold Award medal winner whose illustrations can be found in The Dancing Pancake by Eileen Spinelli and Peace, Baby! by Linda Ashman. Joanne also is the illustrator of the Hilde Cracks the Case series by Hilde Lysiak. She lives in Amsterdam with her husband and two children.
Matthew Lysiak is a nationally recognized journalist and author. He has reported for the New York Daily News, Newsweek, the New York Sun, AM New York, and the Guardian. He has also appeared as a contributor on The Today Show, MSNBC, and countless other media outlets to discuss his work. He coauthored the young adult memoir of teen scientist Jack Andraka, Breakthrough: How One Teen Innovator Is Changing the World, and was the author of Newtown: An American Tragedy. Matthew is cowriting the Branches early chapter book series Hilde Cracks the Case with his daughter, Hilde Kate Lysiak.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents1: Introduction2: Mean-agers!3: SQUAWK! SQUAWK!4: Mighty Zeus!5: Stolen Eggs6: A Crumby Trail7: The Super-Secret Source8: Zeus on the Loose!9: Kind Kat Café10: Flat Tire!11: The Chase12: GRRRRRRRUFFFF!13: Breaking News!14: Cute Enough For You? 15: Hero Dog

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Hero Dog! (Hilde Cracks the Case #1):"This mystery series is sure to win over readers diving into beginning chapter books. Like other titles in the 'Branches' line, pictures and text work together to tell the story. Fast-paced action helps maintain budding readers' attention. Pages from Hilde's notebook introduce new vocabulary and model questioning. The right amount of support and repetition is given for students transitioning into a more independent phase of reading, and many will find themselves working to solve the mystery alongside the protagonist. Teachers will appreciate using this series to teach questioning words.... VERDICT: A solid addition to most chapter book collections, especially where there are mystery fans." — School Library Journal"It's a light, quick-moving mystery, and the young author's backstory will undoubtedly inspire many aspiring writers, reporters, and sleuths." — Publisher's Weekly"Entertaining and fast-paced." — Kirkus ReviewsPraise for Branches books:"A nice stepping stone to more advanced chapter books." — Booklist

From the Publisher

09/25/2017
Part of the Branches line of early chapter books, this opening entry in the Hilde Cracks the Case series marks the fiction debut for 10-year-old Hilde Lysiak, who publishes a newspaper in her Pennsylvania hometown. Writing with her father (also a reporter), she unspools a mystery inspired by a story she covered in her real-life paper. When there’s a break-in on Orange Street and the police won’t share details, Hilde investigates, uncovering baked-goods rivalries, a ransacked chicken coop, and more; Hilde’s notes to herself appear throughout, emphasizing the importance of asking questions and paying attention when reporting. It’s a light, quick-moving mystery, and the young author’s backstory will undoubtedly inspire many aspiring writers, reporters, and sleuths. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 6–8. Author’s agent: Sharlene Martin, Martin Literary Management. Illustrator’s agent: Mela Bolinao, MB Artists. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

08/01/2017
Gr 1–3—The Annual Bake-Off Bonanza is ready to commence, but desserts are disappearing! Mrs. Hooper's cupcakes were stolen from her kitchen table, Mr. Macintosh's fresh eggs for his cheesecake were nabbed, and Mrs. Taggert's cherry crumb pie was swiped as it cooled on the windowsill. Could the thief be one of the contestants vying for first prize, a mischievous teenager, or the neighborhood dog with a sweet tooth? The case will not remain unsolved for long when Orange Street News investigator, nine-year-old Hilde, catches wind of the story. Inspired by the real Hilde Lysiak who started her own newspaper and does plenty of sleuthing herself, this mystery series is sure to win over readers diving into beginning chapter books. Like other titles in the "Branches" line, pictures and text work together to tell the story. Fast-paced action helps maintain budding readers' attention. Pages from Hilde's notebook introduce new vocabulary and model questioning. The right amount of support and repetition is given for students transitioning into a more independent phase of reading, and many will find themselves working to solve the mystery alongside the protagonist. Teachers will appreciate using this series to teach questioning words. However, those looking for a beginning chapter book series featuring a more diverse cast of characters may want to consider the "Lark Ba Detective" series. VERDICT A solid addition to most chapter book collections, especially where there are mystery fans.—Beth Parmer, New Albany Elementary Library, OH

School Library Journal

2017-06-05
The spunky, smart, but fictional Hilde who cracks a string of pastry thefts before the evening deadline is modeled after a real Hilde—the co-author—who runs her own newspaper.Each crime—a stolen cherry pie, missing lemon cupcakes, eggs taken from under the hens, a broken cookie jar, a list of bake-off contestants that has disappeared—includes a clue that perceptive Hilde, in the quest of a good story, is sure to recognize. Aided by her sister, Izzy, the staff photographer, Hilde gamely moves from one crime to the next, calming irate adults as she eventually connects the dots just in the nick of time. Lew-Vriethoff's attractive illustrations (many of which were just sketches at the time of review) are liberally sprinkled throughout the brief text, appearing on nearly every page. Hilde (and almost everyone else illustrated) is depicted as white. Her notes are included throughout; later a compilation is displayed. Unfortunately for fellow sleuths, the true perpetrator, although hinted at previously, isn't included among Hilde's list of potential thieves, making it hard to solve the crime ahead of the reporter herself. Although character development is lacking, it's the investigation that's the centerpiece of the tale, the first in a new series for emergent chapter-book readers. Although entertaining and fast-paced, there is nothing to elevate this effort above a crowded field. (Fiction. 6-8)

Kirkus Reviews