Emily Lime, Librarian Detective: The Pencil Case

It’s the start of a brand new term at St Rita’s School for Spirited Girls, and that means big changes all round – starting with the school’s brand new headteacher, Miss Woolley, who seems to be severely underestimating just what a riotous bunch the St Rita’s pupils are. And when Emily Lime – the fabulously sarcastic, totally tactless school assistant librarian – discovers Miss Woolley’s revolutionary plan to do away with library cards, she’s fuming.

But after a school trip to an art gallery results in a prized painting vanishing off the premises, it’s up to Emily Lime and her hapless cohorts Daphne and George (the only boy at St Rita’s) to find out whodunnit – and just why there are cows all over the playing field.

Fast-paced, witty, and absolutely bonkers, the second in Dave Shelton’s series has all of the jolly-hockeysticks 1950s nostalgia of the first book, with even more colourful characters and a genuinely surprising reveal. Emily Lime is a brilliantly cantankerous character, and her withering putdowns are hilarious. The snappy dialogue and black ink illustrations make this a perfect one to read aloud – and we insist you do the funny voices.