The Real McCoys - Paperback

by Matthew Swanson (Author), Robbi Behr (Illustrator)

The first book in an illustrated middle-grade series in which a precocious detective solves mysteries with her super-smart little brother.

Her name's Moxie. Moxie McCoy.

Bold, opinionated, and haplessly self-confident, the world's greatest fourth-grade detective faces her biggest challenge! When someone kidnaps beloved school mascot Eddie the Owl, Moxie is on the case--but she's forced to fly solo now that her best friend (and crime-solving partner) has moved away.

Moxie must interview her classmates--both as potential new best friends and as possible suspects. She finds clues and points fingers but can't save the owl on her own. Enter Moxie's little brother, Milton. Quiet, cautious, and boring as a butter knife, he's a good listener.

Can the Real McCoys form an unlikely alliance and solve the crime of the century?

Bursting with interactive illustrations on every page, Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr's The Real McCoys delivers clever storytelling, laugh-out-loud humor, and heartwarming insight. This is the first book in a series.

Don't miss book two:
The Real McCoys: Two's a Crowd

An Imprint Book

Praise for The Real McCoys:

A Junior Library Guild Selection

"Readers will breeze through this ingenious combination of text and art, eager for Moxie and Milton's next case." --School Library Journal, starred review

"Swanson's witty text is enhanced exponentially by Behr's bold, original artwork to create a uniquely told whodunit with wide appeal. . . . An exceptional book." --Booklist, starred review

"Delightfully topsy-turvy . . . readers will hope to see more of both siblings soon." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

"An exceptional middle-grade read packed with giggles for young sleuths who love to explore a little off the beaten path." --Kirkus Reviews

Author Biography

Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr are the author-illustrator, husband-wife duo behind Ten Thousand Stories (Chronicle Books, 2013), Babies Ruin Everything (Imprint, 2016), Everywhere, Wonder (Imprint, 2017), The Real McCoys (Imprint, 2017), and more than sixty illustrated books for children and adults. They run two small publishing companies and a letterpress shop out of their Maryland home/barn/studio, teach and speak on creativity and collaboration, and have three small-but-obstreperous children.