ESPERADOTHE

ETECTIVES

Moses LoBeau(Lead Detective)

Dale Earnhardt Johnson III(Best Friend and Fellow Detective)

By

THE TUPELO MATCH-UP!All right, Detectives! Can you guess who said each of these?

Do you have what it takes to be a Desperado Detective? Prove your sleuth skills by finding the words below!

1. Ugly is always on sale. 2. Fate is bipolar and ought to be on medication.3. You got to stay who you are no matter how many murders you solve.4. If counting to ten doesn’t cover it, count to twenty.5. Steer around difficult people if you can. If you can’t, don’t let them slow you down more than you have to.6. The problem with having a temper is you find out what you’re going to say at the exact same minute everybody else does.7. When in doubt, be polite.8. It’s never too late to make a better decision.9. The sign of a great statesman is the ability to compromise.

A. THE COLONEL

B. LAVENDER

C. THE COLONEL

D. MO

E. MISS LANA

F. MISS LANA

G. THE COLONEL

H. MISS ROSE

I. MO

MO LOBEAU

DALE

THREE DAY RULE

UNDERBIRD

COLONEL

MISS LANA

LAVENDER

DETECTIVE

CAFÉ

WORD SEARCHAnswer Key: 1E, 2A, 3D, 4C, 5B, 6I, 7F, 8H, 9G

QKWHRYUNMNDHK

UVDAIJLLRREYS

CAFEUHAHIXVCS

XTEYZVLBCTIKP

NDUBEWRAOITVE

BOANOECQLMCEE

FWDLDLUSOYEZH

PEYNEDODNMTID

RNUILQPMEZENZ

ANALSSI

MLCDAQ

THREEDAYRULEJ

WORD SCRAMBLE

DESPERADO MAD LIBS™

Solving a crime takes creative thinking. Fill out the lines below and show us

what you got!

Answer Key: 1. TUPELO LANDING, 2. SOLDIER, 3. GOLD STAR, THREE TIMES LUCKY

Taken from GHOSTS OF TUPELO LANDING by Sheila Turnage, Page 54–55Mad Libs is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

1. “As far as I know, I ’m the only kid in __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ who’s researching her own autobiography. I ’m also the only kid who needs to. So far, my life is one big, fat mystery.” (LOPETU GLNADNI)2. “We can’t change the past, __ __ __ __ __ __ __. We can only be grateful for the life of a new day, and move on.” (LDEIRSO)

3. “For me, it was a __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ day. I ’d identified an enemy, and I ’d made a life decision: I might come home tore up from fighting or late from being punished, but I ’d never come home crying. So far, I ain’t.” (DOLG ATRS)

4. “Some say I was born unlucky that night. Not me. I say I was __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __.” (ERHET MIEST YCKLU)

Can you crack the case of these scrambled words?

Extra credit looms large with Dale, who specializes in the ____________________

Arts. On the other hand, Mrs. Little curdles __________________ by smiling at it.

“Thank you, Miss Retzyl, but Dale and me got somebody even older,” I said, trying to think of someone.

Attila flashed her braces. “There isn’t anyone older, ____________________.”…

My temper popped like ___________________ on a hot skillet.

“There is too somebody older.” I glared at him. “Dale and me are interviewing a ___________________________.”

The problem with having a ___________________ is you find out what you’re

going to say at the exact same minute everybody else does. The class gasped. “No,” Dale moaned. Like the Colonel says, sometimes the only way out is _____________________.

“A ___________________________ means extra credit,” I said as the bell rang.

“There ain’t nobody older than dead.”

ACTIVITY

FOOD ITEM

VEGETABLE

FOOD ITEM

NOUN

ANIMAL

ANIMAL

ACTION

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Congratulations! You’ve completed your detective training. Welcome to the team!

Just write your name in the lines below and you’ve got your very own Detective Cards! —Mo

ESPERADOTHE

ETECTIVES

MURDERS SOLVED FOR

CHEAP.

LOST PETS FOUND FOR

FREE.

ESPERADOTHE

ETECTIVES

MURDERS SOLVED FOR

CHEAP.

LOST PETS FOUND FOR

FREE.

ESPERADOTHE

ETECTIVES

MURDERS SOLVED FOR

CHEAP.

LOST PETS FOUND FOR

FREE.

ESPERADOTHE

ETECTIVES

MURDERS SOLVED FOR

CHEAP.

LOST PETS FOUND FOR

FREE.

ESPERADOTHE

ETECTIVES

MURDERS SOLVED FOR

CHEAP.

LOST PETS FOUND FOR

FREE.

penguin.com/kids

Join Mo and Dale as they set out to solve the mystery of their lives, in the follow up

to the Newbery Honor Winning Three Times Lucky!

Small towns have rules. One is, you got to stay who you are—no matter how many

murders you solve.

When Miss Lana makes an Accidental Bid at the Tupelo auction and winds up the mortified

owner of an old inn, she doesn’t realize there’s a ghost in the fine print. Naturally,

Desperado Detective Agency (aka Mo and Dale) opens a paranormal division to solve

the mystery of the ghost’s identity.

Don’t miss the Newbery Honor Winning, New York Times bestselling, Edgar Award Finalist, and E.B. White Read-Aloud Honor

winner Three Times Lucky!

Miss Moses LoBeau lives in the small town of Tupelo Landing, NC, where everyone’s

business is fair game and no secret is sacred. So when a lawman comes to town asking

about a murder, Mo and her best friend, Dale Earnhardt Johnson III, set out to uncover the truth in hopes of solving the case and saving

those she loves the most.

Praise for The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing:H “Tupelo Landing may be even better on a second visit.”

–Kirkus, starred review

H “[An] equally hilarious sequel.” –Publishers Weekly, starred review

Praise for Three Times Lucky:H “Mo LoBeau is destined to become a standout character in children’s fiction.” –Kirkus, starred review

“A literary descendant of Scout Finch of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird.’” –Newsday, Top 12 Children’s books of 2012

HC: 978-0-8037-3671-9 · $16.99 ($18.99 CAN)

PB: 978-0-14-242605-0 · $7.99 ($8.99 CAN)HC: 978-0-8037-3670-2 · $16.99 ($18.00 CAN)

Cut out the cards below!