Adventure Street Kids

Working on my latest book, "Adventure Street Kids," brought back a lot of memories. It's more than just a kid's book. It's a Middle Grade book based on true events that happened to me and my siblings. It's a slice-of-life story set in the late 1950's and early 1960's involving responsible older siblings, kid detectives, and neighborhood friends.

While the story seems to take place within a few months, the real events were spread out over several years. That's the beauty of creating a story. You can make it more cohesive than it actually was, with an ending you wanted to happen, even though it didn't.

When I did some brainstorming on blog ideas, I ran across several tropes that I used for this story, like Kid Detectives, Responsible Older Siblings, Period Piece Set in the Past, Slice-of-Life novels, and Based On True Events. If you like all or some of these tropes, you may like the following books:

KID DETECTIVES

1. Nancy Drew books by Carolyn Keen (I read these when I was young)

2. James Ponti books

3. Mystery of The Stolen Diamonds by David A. Adler

4. The Fairy-Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley

5. Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective by Donald J. Sobol

RESPONSIBLE OLDER SIBLINGS

1. Everything Here Is Beautiful by Mira T. Lee

2. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (I also read this book)

3. The Memory Keepers Daughter by Kim Edwards

4. The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan

5. Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

PERIOD PIECE SET IN THE PAST

1. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

2. The Secret Gardin by Frances Hodgson Burnett

3. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

4. Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

5. Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink

SLICE-OF-LIFE that feels real

1. If You Give A Mouse A Cookie by Laura Numeroff

2. 13 Stories About Harris by Amy Schwartz

3. The Luckies by Sarah Mlynowski & Christina Soontornvat

4. The Baby-Sitters Club by Ann M. Martin

5. Stella & Marigold by Annie Barrows

BASED ON TRUE EVENTS

1. Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear by Lindsay Mattick

2. The Crayon Man by Natascha Biebow

3. A Girl Named Genghis Khan by Michelle Lord

4. Ready to Fly by Lea Lyon

5. Northbound by Michael S. Bandy

There were many more books listed, but as I write these recommendations, I realize there were a lot more that I did not read. Some of the titles are interesting in themselves. But the book I remember most was "To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. I was also fortunate enough to see that movie in the theater when I was a child. To me, that book was close to the way the south was in the 1950's and early 1960's. And yes, I always considered Florida as a southern state, especially since I lived in South Miami. It was the innocense of the children at that time, as well as the carefree life children had growing up that I tried to capture in my story as well. We rode bikes all afternoon with no helmets or knee pads. We just told our parents we were going bike riding, and our mother would respond, "Come home before dark." We usually came home because we were hungry, way before dark. The fact that I had five siblings to look after and set a good example for, kept me in line. Especially when all five of them would tell my parents if I didn't behave. So, if you're looking for a feel good story about a group of children where there's a responsible older sibling, kid detectives, a slice-of-life set in the past and based on true events, I think you'll love "Adventure Street Kids."

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