This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line Branches, aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow!

Nine-year-old crime reporter Hilde Lysiak is back for the second book in this early chapter book mystery series! This time, there's a bear on the loose in Selinsgrove! Hilde knows a BIG story when she hears one, and she's determined to get the scoop. So she and her sister/photographer, Izzy, set out to track the bear and find out where he came from. But how will they find the bear? And can Hilde crack this case before someone gets hurt? Joanne Lew-Vriethoff's personality-filled black-and-white illustrations appear on every page, bringing Hilde's adventures to life for young readers!


About the Authors:

Hilde Lysiak is the ten-year-old publisher of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania’s newspaper, the Orange Street News. The paper has 700+ paid subscribers and is read by thousands more online. Hilde’s journalism efforts have been profiled in the New York Times, Columbia Journalism Review, NBC Today, and hundreds of other newspapers and television stations around the world. Hilde is co-writing 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 New York Daily News, Newsweek, the New York Sun, AM New York, and The Guardian. He has also appeared as a contributor on The Today Show, MSNBC, and countless other media outlets to discuss his work. He coauthored the young adult memoir of teen scientist Jack Andraka, Breakthrough: How One Teen Innovator Is Changing the World, and was the author of Newtown: An American Tragedy. Matthew is cowriting the Branches early chapter book series Hilde Cracks the Case with his daughter, Hilde Kate Lysiak.