Cynthia C. DeFelice books

Cynthia C. DeFelice is an American children's and middle grade author known for the Ghost Mysteries series, picture books, and historical fiction spanning from 1988 to 2015.

Anthologies

Title Published Buy on Amazon
A Treasury of Ghost Stories 1996 Buy

Avon Camelot Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Lottie & Lisa 1952 Buy
Summerdog Comes Home 1980 Buy
A Hippopotamus Ate the Teacher 1981 Buy
Baseball Fever 1981 Buy
The Trouble with Tuck 1981 Buy
Irma and Jerry 1982 Buy
Basic Fun 1982 Buy
Esp McGee 1983 Buy
Tunnel to Yesterday 1983 Buy
Bet You Can! Science Possibilities to Fool You 1983 Buy
Rich Mitch 1983 Buy
Summerdog 1983 Buy
Bet You Can’t! 1983 Buy
The Earth is Flat–And Other Great Mistakes 1983 Buy
Behind the Attic Wall 1983 Buy
Peggy Fleming: Portrait of an Iceskater 1984 Buy
Gremlins 1984 Buy
Maura’s Angel 1984 Buy
The Jellyfish Season 1985 Buy
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Book 1 1985 Buy
Get Rich Mitch! 1985 Buy
Mystery of the Melted Diamonds 1986 Buy
Ukrainian Egg Mystery 1986 Buy
Moroccan Mystery 1986 Buy
Ralph Fozbek and the Amazing Black Hole Patrol 1986 Buy
Flash Fry, Private Eye 1986 Buy
The Anti-Peggy Plot 1986 Buy
Best Joke Book for Kids 2 1987 Buy
The Codebreaker Kids 1987 Buy
Summer Camp Creeps 1987 Buy
The Case of the Lost Look-Alike 1988 Buy
Breezy 1988 Buy
Racing the Sun 1988 Buy
Anne Frank 1989 Buy
The Case of the Vanishing Villain 1990 Buy
Something Upstairs 1990 Buy
Ghost Brother 1990 Buy
A Haunting in Williamsburg 1990 Buy
The Best Ever Kids’ Book of Lists 1991 Buy
Ask Me Anything About the Presidents 1992 Buy
The Adventures of King Midas 1992 Buy
Tons of Trash 1992 Buy
Maria, a Christmas Story 1992 Buy
How to Travel Through Time 1993 Buy
Lucie Babbidge’s House 1993 Buy
Beardance 1993 Buy
Christmas Countdown 1993 Buy
Miss Yonkers Goes Bonkers 1994 Buy
The Mummy’s Curse 1994 Buy
Lemonade Days 1994 Buy
Super Snoop Sam Snout and the Case of the Missing Marble 1994 Buy
Main Street 1994 Buy
Comet Luck 1994 Buy
Home Front Hero 1994 Buy
Ali Baba Bernstein, Lost and Found 1995 Buy
Kwanzaa 1995 Buy
Goodbye, Desert Rose 1995 Buy
Vampire Mom 1995 Buy
My Own Two Feet 1995 Buy
Spookhouse 1995 Buy
Harry the Poisonous Centipede 1996 Buy
Going for the Gold: Shannon Miller 1996 Buy
Four Perfect Pebbles 1996 Buy
Zombie Queen 1996 Buy
Freak Show 1996 Buy
Going to Net 1996 Buy
Tracks in the Snow 1997 Buy
Danger Along the Ohio 1997 Buy
Lasting Echoes 1997 Buy
Night of the Chupacabras 1998 Buy
As Ever, Gordy 1998 Buy
No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War 1998 Buy
Becoming Felix 1998 Buy
Breakaway 1998 Buy
Mischief, Mad Mary, and Me 1998 Buy
It’s In Your Hands, Daisy P. Duckwitz 1998 Buy
Leaving Summer 1998 Buy
Flea Circus Summer 1998 Buy
Calling Me Home 1998 Buy
The Pizza That Time Forgot 1999 Buy
Love Me, Love My Broccoli 1999 Buy
Get on the Net 1999 Buy
Don’t Try This at Home! 1999 Buy
Bruce Coville’s Shapeshifters 1999 Buy
A Kids’ Guide to America’s Bill of Rights 1999 Buy
Bruce Coville’s Alien Visitors 1999 Buy
Green Mango Magic 1999 Buy
All the Answers 2000 Buy
Can of Worms 2000 Buy
Orphan Journey Home 2000 Buy
Bearstone 2000 Buy
Alice-by-Accident 2000 Buy
Death at Devil’s Bridge 2000 Buy
Alice By Accident 2003 Buy

Children’s Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
When Grampa Kissed His Elbow 1992 Buy
Mule Eggs 1994 Buy
Three Perfect Peaches 1995 Buy
Casey in the Bath 1996 Buy
Willy’s Silly Grandma 1997 Buy
Clever Crow 1998 Buy
The Real, True Dulcie Campbell 2002 Buy
Old Granny and the Bean Thief 2003 Buy
One Potato, Two Potato 2006 Buy
Nelly May Has Her Say 2013 Buy

Devil’s Bridge Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Devil’s Bridge 1994 Buy
Death at Devil’s Bridge 2000 Buy

Ghost Mysteries Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Ghost of Fossil Glen 1998 Buy
The Ghost and Mrs. Hobbs 2001 Buy
The Ghost of Cutler Creek 2004 Buy
The Ghost of Poplar Point 2007 Buy

Nathan Fowler Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Weasel 1991 Buy
Bringing Ezra Back 2006 Buy

Standalone Novels

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Strange Night Writing of Jessamine Colter 1988 Buy
The Dancing Skeleton 1989 Buy
The Light on Hogback Hill 1993 Buy
Lostman’s River 1994 Buy
The Apprenticeship of Lucas Whitaker 1996 Buy
Nowhere to Call Home 1999 Buy
Cold Feet 2000 Buy
Under the Same Sky 2003 Buy
The Missing Manatee 2005 Buy
Signal 2009 Buy
Wild Life 2011 Buy
Fort 2015 Buy

Cynthia C. DeFelice has been writing for young readers since the late 1980s, covering everything from spooky middle grade mysteries to picture books rooted in folk storytelling traditions. Her best-known work is the Ghost Mysteries series, which follows Allie Nichols as she encounters restless spirits who need her help. She also wrote the Nathan Fowler books, historical fiction set on the Ohio frontier.

Beyond her series work, DeFelice has written a large catalog of standalone novels for middle grade readers. Books like Weasel, Signal, and The Missing Manatee deal with themes of survival, nature, and growing up in rural settings. Her picture books, including Clever Crow and One Potato, Two Potato, draw on folktale traditions with humor and warmth. She has also contributed to the Avon Camelot children’s imprint.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books has Cynthia C. DeFelice written?

Cynthia C. DeFelice has written 125 books across seven series.

What was Cynthia C. DeFelice's first book?

Cynthia C. DeFelice’s first book is Lottie & Lisa, published in 1952.

What is Cynthia C. DeFelice best known for?

Cynthia C. DeFelice is best known for her Ghost Mysteries series, a four-book middle grade series about a girl named Allie Nichols who encounters ghosts that need her help solving mysteries. She is also well known for her standalone novels like Weasel and The Missing Manatee.

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