Stephanie Watson

Elvis & Olive: Super Detectives
Scholastic Press, 2010
ages 9 to 12, ISBN 978-0545151481

Natalie and Annie decide to put their detective skills to use as they open the E & O Detective Agency to solve neighborhood mysteries. Together they stumble across an incredibly intriguing one when Mrs. Warsaw, their elderly neighbor with memory problems, begins spreading news about a woman named Zadie Zeolite hiding in her bedroom closet. As the detectives start investigating, Natalie and Annie discover that Zadie Zeolite is the name of the world's first female comic book superhero. But could Zadie Zeolite also be a real person? And what does a superhero have to do with the ailing Mrs. Warsaw?

Elvis & Olive
Scholastic Press, 2008
ISBN 978-0-545-03183-7

Ten-year-old Natalie Wallis is a shy bookish perfectionist. Annie Beckett, age nine, is a wild tomboy liar. Why do these two very different girls become friends? Because they’ve got some serious spying to do.

“Even the most dull-looking people do all kinds of weird, interesting things when they think no one’s watching,” Annie says. With this in mind, the girls form a secret spying club and start snooping on their neighbors under the code names Elvis & Olive.

By the end of their summer together, Elvis & Olive have uncovered a number of strange secrets about their neighbors. Eaten far too many freeze pops. And formed a friendship like no other.

Awards
Junior Library Guild selection

A discussion guide is available for this title.

Stephanie grew up in Minneapolis and after a roundabout detour through New York and São Paulo, Brazil, now finds herself living across the Mississippi in St. Paul. Elvis & Olive, a Junior Library Guild selection, is her first novel for middle-grade readers.

Stephanie has an unexplained passion for birds, perhaps because writing a story feels like weaving a nest. Just as a bird collects twigs and grass to make its home, a writer collects ideas and words and intertwines them to make something strong, something beautiful, a place to rest. Plus, Stephanie thinks birds are cute. With help from a 2008 Minnesota State Arts Board grant, she’s currently weaving new stories.