[The Polly McDoodle Mystery Series 05] • The International Polly McDoodle

Being in Italy is a dream come true for Polly, a budding artist. She's certainly not looking for another mystery to solve. She and Kyle just want to have fun on their school trip--enjoying the great art, splendid architecture, and gorgeous countryside. Then things start to go missing. The kids from Kirby Junior High are losing favourite keepsakes and items of clothing, Polly's old Teddy Bear, and finally, Kyle's valuable new hand-held computer. What else can a pair of detectives do? They start to investigate. As usual, Polly "McDoodle" has to use her artistic skills to help solve the crimes.

But there's more going on than a few petty thefts. A series of major art thefts from famous galleries is baffling police. It's got nothing to do with a busload of Canadian students, right? But why did Mrs. Grimaldi, the tour guide, suddenly get sick? And what is her replacement, Guiseppe Guidocchio, really up to?

Polly and Kyle are close to spotting the thief when a painting disappears from Florence's famed Uffizi Gallery. It's enough to get any detectives excited. The two friends start with a small mystery and end up working on a much bigger one. Maybe too big for a couple of kids from Edmonton.

Mary Woodbury is the best-selling author of the young adult title The Ghost in the Machine, the Polly McDoodle Mystery Series, and Jess and the Runaway Grandpa, a finalist in the Silver Birch Young Readers Choice Award, and a Canadian Children's Book Centre "Outstanding Title of the Year."