It’s spring at Merriam Park Junior High when kids’ thoughts turn to summer vacation, romance and . . . fires in the school’s rest rooms, racist graffiti on the walls, and fights off the school grounds. All add up to a canceled end of the year field trip to Como Park, Toby’s most favorite place ever.
But Toby and her pals discover that the mean-spirited vandalism goes much deeper and is much more pervasive than they thought. When an African-American jogger is attacked while running around Lake Como, Toby and her pals know this is much more serious than a canceled field trip.
Toby Martin: Park Patrol review
In this hilarious page-turner, you step into Toby’s shoes and solve the mystery along with her. Ms. Grengs sneaks in some helpful writing techniques along the way like the free writing exercise. When reading this book, I suggest reading from start to finish so that you can get to the “satisfying ending.”
—Ellie Capistrant, age 12
Roseville, Minnesota
Book three of the Toby Martin series is printing right now!
When Toby’s mom asks her to clean out the attic to make way for a remodeling project, Toby quickly discards her old Barbie dolls, her Cabbage Patch Kids,and her outgrown clothes, only to find a stash of mysterious artifacts beneath the attic floorboards: an old doll, a locket, a diary and a treasure map.
She and Freddy, her best friend and foil, embark on a treasure hunt that takes them well into St. Paul’s history and into the dangerous world of gangsters, bootlegging, and serious crime. While delving into the past, Toby and Freddy
butt heads with the present and meet a dangerous adversary, and this time it isn’t Mrs. Trattles, Toby’s hard-boiled English teacher and writing coach!
Hate mail, mean-spirited pranks, bomb scares, and some very bad poety all threaten to ruin the holiday season for Toby Martin and her foil, Freddy Galvin.
Little kid pranks escalate into serious threats when Toby, her pals, and Mrs. Trattles are specifically identified on a “hit list.” After Toby’s beloved Grandma is also targeted, Toby knows she must become Toby Martin: School Sleuth.
Can she stop the terrorist or will it be “bombs away” instead of “Deck the Halls” for Toby and her pals?
Now out in paperback.
Cover art by Judith Bergerson
www.judithbergerson.com
WATCH FOR TOBY MARTIN: IN-HOUSE INVESTIGATOR SOON TO BE RELEASED AS A PAPERBACK!
One by one neighborhood dogs disappear. One by one the ransom notes arrive.
When Toby Martin and her best pal, Freddy, discover Toby’s dog is the next
intended victim, they become first-rate detectives. Who is the pooch pilferer?
Will Toby and Freddy rescue the dogs and capture the criminal?
While Toby is investigating, she is also writing a series of mystery stories
in the Sherlock Holmes’ tradition. These stories are critiqued by the
delightfully nasty Mrs. Trattles, a hard-nosed, straight arrow English teacher
who forces Toby to improve her writing.
Cover art by Judith Bergerson
www.judithbergerson.com
Welcome to my site. Now don your deerstalker, man your magnifying glass, and
snoop to your heart’s content. Think like Toby, the Detective, and see if you
can find the answers to these questions:
What are Toby’s favorite movies?
What was unique about my second grade best friend?
Why did I laugh at my neighbor?
How many dogs do I have?
What “stuff” do I grow?
Have fun. Feel free to contact either Toby or me if you have any questions.