Sammy Keyes and the Runaway Elf

By Wendelin Van Draanen

“The hottest sleuth to appear in children’s books since Nancy Drew” (The Boston Globe) is back! Don’t miss the fourth book in the series that’s been described as “a combination of Carl Hiaasen’s Flush and Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books” (School Library Journal) and hailed as “nonstop whodunits” (Kirkus Reviews)!
 
The Christmas parade gets furry in a hurry when three pranksters dressed as wise men toss some cats onto Sammy’s float. Dogs shoot off in all directions, and the prize Pomeranian Sammy’s supposed to be watching disappears. Turns out the darn fuzzball’s been kidnapped. The owner is demanding that Sammy find her doggone dog . . . and she’s a woman who knows how to get what she wants.
 
But Sammy’s a pretty tough cookie herself. Dognappers, blackmailers, and wise men be warned!
 
Praise for the Sammy Keyes series:
 
“If Kinsey Millhone ever hires a junior partner, Sammy Keyes will be the first candidate on the list. She’s feisty, fearless, and funny. A top-notch investigator!” —New York Times bestselling author Sue Grafton
 
“The sleuth delights from start to finish. Keep your binoculars trained on Sammy Keyes.” —Publishers Weekly
 
“The most winning junior detective ever in teen lit. (Take that, Nancy Drew!)” —Midwest Children’s Book Review

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Jan 16, 2009
• ISBN: 9780307545190

Wendelin Van Draanen

Wendelin Van Draanen has written more than thirty novels for young readers and teens. She is the author of the 18-book Edgar-winning Sammy Keyes series—often called “The new Nancy Drew”—and wrote Flipped, which was named a Top 100 Children’s Novel for the 21st Century by School Library Journal and became a Warner Brothers feature film, with Rob Reiner directing. A classroom teacher for fifteen years, Wendelin resides in California where she can be spotted riding shopping carts across parking lots. She and her husband, Mark Parsons, have two sons and enjoy the three R’s: Reading, Running, and Rock’n’Roll.

Reviews for Sammy Keyes and the Runaway Elf

[mutantpudding · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Ok but not my favorite. got surprisingly dark and serious at times. Continual use of the g slur very jarring.

[liga1996 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

such a fun book i love it i would diffinetly read it again. i often crave reading another but i already read the whol series and im trying to read different books

[kejinglu · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Sammy is about to realize that not all people like being nice and good when Christmas comes around the corner. She has to worry about finding a Pomeranian dog for Mrs. Landvogt, the most known evil "crocodile" in town. Meanwhile, Heather Acosta is not giving up teasing and testing Sammy and her patience, but boy, does Sammy have one for her. While the tables are turning, and Sammy is busy looking after a persistent little girl named Elyssa, Sammy also worries for her dying neighbor, Mrs. Graybill. Sometimes, Christmas' can be that complicated! Read the hilarious and smart Sammy as she goes in after the mystery of who stole Mrs. Crocodile's pet doggy.

[mc04 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This is a good book about a dog who was stolen after a christmas parade and the owner is blackmailing Sammy into finding her dog for her.