The Swifts : a dictionary of scoundrels / Beth Lincoln ; with illustrations by Claire Powell.
"On the day they are born, every Swift child is brought before the sacred Family Dictionary. They are given a name, and a definition. A definition it is assumed they will grow up to match. Meet Shenanigan Swift: Little sister. Risk-taker. Mischief-maker. Shenanigan is getting ready for the big Swift Family Reunion and plotting her next great scheme: hunting for Grand-Uncle Vile's long-lost treasure. She's excited to finally meet her arriving relatives--until one of them gives Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude a deadly shove down the stairs. So what if everyone thinks she'll never be more than a troublemaker, just because of her name? Shenanigan knows she can become whatever she wants, even a detective. And she's determined to follow the twisty clues and catch the killer. Deliciously suspenseful and delightfully clever, The Swifts is a remarkable debut that is both brilliantly contemporary and instantly classic. A celebration of words and individuality, it's packed with games, wordplay, and lots and lots of mischief as Shenanigan sets out to save her family and define herself in a world where definitions are so important." -- Provided by publisher.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780593533239
- ISBN: 0593533232
- ISBN: 9780593533253
- ISBN: 0593533259
- Physical Description: 338 pages : illustrations, map ; 22 cm.
- Publisher: New York : Dutton Children's Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2023.
- Copyright: ©2023
Content descriptions
Target Audience Note: | 8-12 years 810L Lexile |
Study Program Information Note: | Accelerated Reader AR MG 6 12 518227. |
Search for related items by subject
Subject: | Families > Juvenile fiction. Magic > Juvenile fiction. Private investigators > Juvenile fiction. Fate and fatalism > Juvenile fiction. |
Genre: | Detective and mystery fiction. Fantasy fiction. Action and adventure fiction. Novels. |
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Available copies
- 36 of 38 copies available at Missouri Evergreen. (Show)
- 2 of 2 copies available at Crawford County.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 38 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Crawford County Library-Recklein Memorial-Cuba | JF LIN (Text) | 33431000663664 | J Fiction | Available | - |
Crawford County Library-Steelville | JF LIN (Text) | 33431000744670 | J Fiction | Available | - |
The Swifts: a Dictionary of Scoundrels
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Excerpt
The Swifts: a Dictionary of Scoundrels
Back in the old tights-Âand-Âdoublets days of the Swift family, every child had been named either Mary or John. It got terribly confusing at dinnertime when someone asked a John to pass the potatoes and ten hands shot out at once, and so Mary Swift XXXV had begun the tradition of naming her children using the Family Dictionary. The idea stuck, and the Swifts prospered. People often overlook a Mary or a John, but they seldom forget a person named Meretricious or Flinch. ÂShenanigan couldn't remember the day she was born, but she could picture it very well: the hospital room, the nurses, her mother, tired and smiling as ÂShenanigan's father fussed over her pillows. She pictured herself too, wrapped up like a little peanut with a shock of disobedient hair already erupting out of her head. She pictured the Dictionary--and this part was easier, because she was looking at it--Âan ancient, leather-Âbound monster of a book, bursting its bindings with pages of calfskin and parchment and paper, with entries in crisp modern fonts, wonky typewritten letters, and handÂscrawled script with long S 's that looked like F 's. The Dictionary would have been brought in, set on the bed (ÂShenanigan pictured the nurses' noses wrinkling in distaste), and opened at random by ÂShenanigan's mother. Her eyes would have been closed. She would have run her finger down the page and stopped on the word and definition that would become her child's name. ÂShenanigan could picture this so well because every Swift's first day began in exactly the same way. . Excerpted from The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels by Beth Lincoln All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.