If You Like...Secret Passages

I have always been fascinated by the idea of secret rooms and passages. The thought of discovering and exploring a mysterious hidden room sounds so exciting! If secret spaces also interest you, try out these books!

The Mystery of Locked Rooms

By Lindsay Currie

Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks Young Readers, 2024. Fiction. 247 pages.

Sarah and her two best friends love escape rooms, setting solving records under their team name, The Deltas. But Sarah's family financial crisis has reached the tipping point and they may be forced to move away. Desperate to stay together, when the rumor of a treasure hidden in an abandoned funhouse reaches the group, the trio decides solving the puzzles to find the treasure is their only option. But as the secret passages and locked rooms start to become more dangerous, The Deltas begin to wonder if they've taken on a bigger challenge than they can handle.

Boy Underground

By Isabelle Marinov

Leicester, UK: Clock Tower Publishing, 2024. Fiction. 319 pages.

Hugo loves maps and the dark, but he is struggling to fit in with his peers because of his autism. When he discovers that there are secret tunnels underneath Paris beyond the famed catacombs, and that the groups of tunnel explorers are accepting of everyone, he is determined to explore the tunnels himself and find a legendary lost treasure.

The Castle of Tangled Magic
By Sophie Anderson

New York: Scholastic Press, 2022. Fiction. 291 pages.

Olia's home is the Castle Mila, a mysterious palace with constantly shifting and disappearing rooms, and hidden passages. The castle only allows Olia to access all of its secrets. However, when a violent magical storm threatens to destroy her beloved home, Olia must go on a journey to save her family's castle.

Candle Island

By Lauren Wolk

New York: Dutton Children's Books, 2025. Fiction. 342 pages.

When Lucretia and her mother move to a tiny island after her father's death, Lucretia struggles to find a place in the small town. She decides to spend her summer painting, exploring, and caring for an injured osprey chick, but Candle Island has secrets, like the hidden room in her new house, that Lucretia might get too caught up in discovering.

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Painting for Peace in Ferguson

Painting for Peace in Ferguson By Carol Swartout Klein Treehouse Publishing Group, 2015. Nonfiction. When the city of Ferguson was overrun with so much hate and despair that homes and businesses had to be boarded up to protect property, citizens of the community decided to bring a message of hope by painting the boarded windows. Klein’s rhyming text supports the photographs of the hundreds of artists and volunteers and their artwork as they bring the messages of peace, hope, love, and that by being united they can make a difference. A great book to show children how a community rallied to make a positive change and that even a small gesture can make a huge difference. A great discussion opener on how we should treat each other.

Dragon Run

Dragon Run by Patrick Matthews Scholastic, 2013. 336 pgs. Fantasy Al Pilgrommor is excited for Testing Day, when he will receive his rank, a tattooed number on the back of his neck, and a path forward to his future occupation and life. He feels confident because his parents were fours on a scale of seven, but he is worried for his friend Wisp who doesn't have much of a chance of scoring above a two at best. But when Al is scored a zero, he not only has no prospects, he may lose his life as the dreaded Cullers are unleashed to kill him and his family to purify the land's bloodlines. Al's world is ruled by dragons--the lords and supposed creators of humankind--so he thinks that even if he survives, he will have to make his living as a beggar or thief. But when Al sticks up for his Earther friend in front of Magister Ludi, he is drawn into the struggle of a secret organization hoping to destroy the Cullers, and perhaps the dragons them...

From Story Time: Summer Week 5

Stories in the Park Mousterpiece: A Mouse-Sized Guide to Modern Art By Jane Breskin Zalben New York: Roaring Brook Press, 2012. Picture Book. Janson the mouse, who lives in a museum, becomes an acclaimed artist by copying the styles of paintings she sees there. Includes notes about the artists and works featured. --Editor Stories in the Park Gray Written by Laura Dockrill Illustrated by Lauren Child Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2024. Picture Book. Some days you may feel sunshine yellow or orange-balloon bright. Other days you're gray, or even night-sky black-like a dark scribble on a page, a storm in the clouds, or a puddle in the road. Gray is when you don't feel like yourself, or like you don't belong. But however you feel, there are big hugs (red) and loving lullabies (blue) waiting, and even the grayest sidewalk is a canvas for you to fill with the colors you choose. A tender narration from British spoken-word poet Laura Dockrill and subtle, spare artwork from fo...

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