Thief Strikes!: A Branches Book (Hilde Cracks the Case)

Tomato plants were stolen from a local garden! Hilde needs to catch the thief fast. But when she and her sister Izzy interview witnesses, they discover something strange: people all around town are getting sick! Can this real-life reporter get to the ROOT

Hilde Lysiak is the 11-year-old publisher of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania's newspaper, the IOrange Street News/I. The paper has 700+ paid subscribers and is read by thousands more online. Hilde's journalism efforts have been profiled by the INew York Times/I, IColumbia Journalism Review/I, NBC IToday/I, and hundreds of other newspapers and television stations around the world. Hilde is cowriting the Scholastic Branches series Hilde Cracks the Case with her dad, Matthew Lysiak.
Matthew Lysiak is a nationally recognized journalist and author. He has reported for the INew York Daily News/I, INewsweek/I, the INew York Sun/I, IAM New York/I, and the IGuardian/I. He has also appeared as a contributor on IThe Today Show/I, MSNBC, and countless other media outlets to discuss his work. He coauthored the young adult memoir of teen scientist Jack Andraka, IBreakthrough: How One Teen Innovator Is Changing the World/I, and was the author of INewtown: An American Tragedy/I. Matthew is cowriting the Branches early chapter book series Hilde Cracks the Case with his daughter, Hilde Kate Lysiak.
Joanne Lew-Vriethoff is the acclaimed illustrator of many picture books, including IBeautiful/I by Stacy McAnulty, named among ISchool Library Journal/I's 2016 Books with a Message. She is a Mom's Choice Gold Award medal winner whose illustrations can be found in IThe Dancing Pancake/I by Eileen Spinelli and IPeace, Baby!/I by Linda Ashman. Joanne also is the illustrator of the Hilde Cracks the Case series by Hilde Lysiak. She lives in Amsterdam with her husband and two children.