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Titles in Order of Publication:
 Book #1: THE FIVE LOST AUNTS OF HARRIET BEAN
Alexander McCall Smith
illustrated by Laura Rankin
Bloomsbury USA Children's Books
ISBN-10: 159990053X
ISBN-13: 9781599900537
Ages 7-9
96 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Harriet Bean's father happens to mention that she has several peculiar aunts, but they're all missing. Of course, Harriet's father is a bit peculiar himself. He is an inventor, but he mostly invents useless objects.
Harriet finally pries the story of her five amazing aunts from her father. She hears about her strong, pig-lifting Aunt Veronica; her bossy Aunt Majolica; her musical Aunt Harmonica (who can also throw her voice); and twin aunts Japonica and Thessalonika, who can read minds.
Just as Harriet yearns to meet her fabulous aunts, she discovers they're lost. Her father's family was split up when misfortune befell them, and he completely lost track of his sisters.
Harriet's father shows her a painting of the siblings. Because their father couldn't afford to keep paying the painter, the heads are blank. That's when Harriet resolves to find the aunts and have the portrait finished.
Harriet writes to the only address her father has for her aunts. The letter is to Aunt Veronica, but the woman who replies lives in Aunt Veronica's old house. She doesn't know her whereabouts, but believes Aunt Veronica works in a circus. Coincidentally, a circus comes to town and Harriet persuades her father to take her.
Guess who the circus strong woman turns out to be? Yes, it's Aunt Veronica herself --- who must save Harriet's father from being sat upon by an elephant. Her father allows Harriet to stay with his sister in order to search for the rest of the aunts. She adores bunking in the cozy circus trailer, which has the most amazing "engine" anyone has ever seen. Aunt Veronica suspects she knows where Aunt Harmonica works. So off they go in their trailer, headed for adventure.
What is not to love in this adorable book? We have a cast of quirky characters in the midst of enjoyable adventures, which remind me (and I mean this in the most complimentary way) of the Mary Poppins books. Highly recommended.
 Book #2: HARRIET BEAN AND THE LEAGUE OF CHEATS
Alexander McCall Smith
illustrated by Laura Rankin
Bloomsbury USA Children's Books
ISBN-10: 1599900548
ISBN-13: 9781599900544
Ages 7-9
80 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Harriet's detective aunts, Aunt Japonica and Aunt Thessalonika, ask her to help them solve a case. Mr. Fetlock, a famous racehorse trainer, has not won a race in more than three months. The horses act strangely: the fast ones are slow, one horse sits during a race, and another bucks his rider off.
The aunts disguise Harriet as a jockey in order to get to the bottom of the mystery. Harriet is worried she might actually end up riding a --- gulp! --- enormous racehorse. She is also unhappy about staying in the tiny stable room next to the horse Black Lightning. Her feelings of unease remain as she meets jockeys Ed, Fred and Ted.
Harriet is supposed to groom Black Lightning, but she is terrified and hides under the horse's water trough. From her hiding place, she watches someone approach the horse and paint a liquid onto his hooves. She doesn't see the person's face; the voice could be any of the jockeys. Imagine her amazement when she discovers the horse has been glued to the ground. But who did the gluing? And why?
Even more puzzling, Black Lightning appears to be totally fine the next morning as everyone heads off to the racetrack. The race does not go well for Mr. Fetlock's horses, including Black Lightning, who is exhausted and slow.
In a daring night caper, Harriet traps the cheating jockey, who tells her something astounding. He was forced to interfere with Mr. Fetlock's horses by the ominous League of Cheats, led by the dreadful Charlie Heat. Harriet is determined to put an end to that pack of scoundrels! But in order to do so, she must ride Black Lightning at the next race...directly into danger.
Horse lovers and Harriet Bean fans will enjoy this adventure by the plucky girl detective. My one tiny regret is that Harriet's wonderful and odd aunts don't play much of a role. I miss them. However, HARRIET BEAN AND THE LEAGUE OF CHEATS will have readers clamoring for more.
 Book #3: THE COWGIRL AUNT OF HARRIET BEAN
Alexander McCall Smith
illustrated by Laura Rankin
Bloomsbury USA Children's Books
Hardcover: 1582349770
Paperback: 9781599900551
Ages 7-9
80 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Harriet always loves getting letters from her five aunts, but she's wild with excitement when Aunt Thessalonika and Aunt Japonica write to invite her to travel to America with them. Her capers with the aunts always amaze Harriet, and the flight to America is no exception. The airline stewardess is none other than Aunt Thessalonika (that mistress of disguises). This makes Harriet wonder, when she glimpses the airline pilot, if her aunt might not actually be flying the plane!
Harriet adores New York City, but she's intrigued when the aunts tell her they must go west. What is the mysterious purpose of their visit? Hang on to your cowgirl hat! Harriet discovers that she actually has a sixth aunt --- Aunt Formica, the youngest of the sisters. Aunt Formica lives in the west. She's a bona fide cowgirl who ropes cattle, rides horses and cooks over a campfire. However, something in Aunt Formica's life has gone wrong. Thus, the detective aunts and Harriet have arrived to help.
At the end of a long train ride, Harriet and her aunts arrive in Skeleton Gulch, which appears deserted. They head up to Aunt Formica's home. Her new aunt is everything Harriet imagined her to be.
Aunt Formica confides her problem. She has rustlers --- cattle thieves. Harriet knows that her Aunt Japonica and Aunt Thessalonika can take care of any old thief. But the rustlers have just begun, and soon they've taken more cattle. The detectives follow prints leading to the hills.
When Harriet explores around their camping site, she hears an ominous sound, warning her of slithering danger. It's the thing Harriet fears most in the world. But it's far from the last danger Harriet faces on this trip.
The many fans of the Harriet Bean series will be delighted with this new adventure's fresh setting and one more quirky aunt to add to Harriet's ever-expanding family. Pure enjoyment for young series lovers everywhere!
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