Author Information
Dori Hillestad Butler's Latest Book

Newest Release

  • Bibliography:
    42 Books (6 Series)
  • First Book:
    December 1996
  • Latest Book:
    January 2024
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Full Series List in Order

The Buddy Files

1 - The Case of the Lost Boy (Mar-2010)
2 - The Case of the Mixed-Up Mutts (Mar-2010)
3 - The Case of the Missing Family (Mar-2010)
4 - The Case of the Fire Alarm (Mar-2011)
5 - The Case of the Library Monster (Mar-2011)
6 - The Case of the School Ghost (Mar-2012)

Dear Beast

1 - Dear Beast (May-2020)
2 - The Pet Parade (Feb-2021)
3 - Someone Is Missing! (Sep-2021)
4 - Simon Sleeps Over (Feb-2022)

Haunted Library

1 - The Haunted Library (Aug-2014)
2 - The Ghost in the Attic (Aug-2014)
3 - The Ghost Backstage (Nov-2014)
4 - The Five O'Clock Ghost (Mar-2015)
5 - The Secret Room (Aug-2015)
6 - The Ghost at the Fire Station (Nov-2015)
7 - The Ghost in the Treehouse (Apr-2016)
8 - The Hide-And-Seek Ghost (Aug-2016)
9 - The Ghosts at the Movie Theater (Feb-2017)

Haunted Library: Super Special

1 - The Underground Ghosts (Aug-2017)

King & Kayla

1 - King & Kayla and the Case of the Missing Dog Treats (Mar-2017)
2 - King & Kayla and the Case of the Secret Code (Mar-2017)
3 - King & Kayla and the Case of the Mysterious Mouse (Sep-2017)
4 - King & Kayla and the Case of the Lost Tooth (Mar-2018)
5 - King & Kayla and the Case of Found Fred (Mar-2019)
6 - King & Kayla and the Case of the Unhappy Neighbor (Mar-2020)
7 - King & Kayla and the Case of the Gold Ring (Feb-2021)
8 - King & Kayla and the Case of the Lost Library Book (Feb-2022)
9 - King & Kayla and the Case of the Cat Hunt (Feb-2023)
10 - King & Kayla and the Case of the Downstairs Ghost (Jan-2024)

The Treasure Troop

1 - Mr. Summerling's Secret Code (Jan-2021)
2 - The Hidden Room (Jan-2021)
3 - Summer Island (Jul-2021)
4 - The Final Treasure (Oct-2021)

Book List in Order: 42 titles




  • Elizabeth's mom is having a baby, and the whole family is involved. Elizabeth learns all about the baby's development, and she traces his growth, month by month. She learns how the baby got inside Mom, too....



  • For thirteen-year-old Samantha, life consists of too many unanswered questions about her past.
    Why has her father not tried to contact her all these years? How could he have allowed her twin sister to drown in Clearwater Quarry when they were only...



  • An adolescent girl learns that realizing a dream requires a good deal more than stubborn, steely resolve as she risks everything to follow her heart. IT'S NOT FAIR! Thirteen-year-old Joelle Cunningham is passionate about baseball. She loves to watch ...




  • Tank's three stepsisters will be sharing his cramped house for the summer vacation. Plus he needs a math tutor and must fill a notebook with his writing--just to pass fifth grade! But he comes up with a guide to girls that is sure to be a hit....



  • 2012-2013 Iowa Teen Award Master ListThey just wanted to tell the truth.When Zebby and Amr create the website thetruthabouttruman.com, they want it to be honest. They want it to be about the real Truman Middle School, to say things that the school ne...



  • What happens when everything you thought was true about your life turns out to be a lie?
    Thirteen-year-old T. J. always believed that her twin sister and her mother were dead―because that’s what her father had told her. But Mom and Sam are ver...



  • "My name is King. I am a dog. I am also a detective." King has a very big mystery to solve. His family is missing, and he's been put in the P-O-U-N-D. Why doesn't his beloved human (Kayla) come to get him? When King is adopted by Connor and his mo...






  • Buddy has settled with his adopted family, but he's never given up on finding his beloved human, Kayla, and his first family. One night he sees men taking things out of Kayla's old house and loading them into a van. What's up? Though his friend Mouse...



  • Buddy was adopted from the P-O-U-N-D and he likes his new family, but he's still searching for Kayla-his first family. What has happened to them? He hopes to solve that mystery soon, but right now he's got another urgent case-two dogs, Muffin and Jaz...



  • Buddy is starting his work as a therapy dog at Four Lakes Elementary School, where Connor attends and Mom is the principal. On his very first day, he accidentally knocks down a little kid on the playground......



  • Buddy is in the school library and kids are taking turns reading with him. While Buddy listens to a ghost story, he hears rustling in the shelves behind him. He turns to look, but doesn't see anyone back there. He hears a book fall. Something smells ...



  • It's the night of the Fourth Grade sleepover, and Buddy is invited. When he gets to school, Mr. Poe, the custodian, tells everyone about the ghost that haunts the school grounds. There are no such things as ghosts, right? But secret notes, unusual ba...



  • After successfully solving the mystery of the ghost in the library, Kaz and Claire land the first case for their detective agency -- a haunted attic in a neighbor’s home! With a little help from Grannie, Kaz and Claire discover that what appeared t...



  • When ghost boy Kaz’s haunt is torn down and he is separated from his ghost family, he meets a real girl named Claire, who lives above the town library with her parents and her grandmother. Claire has a special ability to see ghosts when other human...



  • Kaz and Claire’s new detective agency is a success! Their latest case, though, is proving to be the hardest yet. When Claire’s classmate says he saw a ghost backstage while rehearsing the school play, Kaz goes to school with Claire to investigate...



  • Kaz and Claire are called in for another ghostly mystery, and this ghost is always right on time. When Claire's friend tells the young detectives about his five o'clock ghost, Kaz wonders if it could be his own missing brother, Little John. Kaz and ...



  • Now that Kaz can finally pass through walls without feeling all “skizzy,” he can go explore Beckett’s secret room at the back of the library. What he finds there is a mystery he never expected! ...






  • With a lot of searching and a lot of luck, Kaz has found his dog Cosmo, his little brother Little John, his grandmom, and his grandpops. But what about his parents? Or his big brother Finn? Will he ever see them again? Kaz wants to keep looking for h...



  • Here is Edgar Award Winner Dori Hillestad Butler's seventh title in her not-too-scary chapter book mystery series, The Haunted Library. Perfect for reluctant readers in the mood for a great mystery! A group of girls in Claire’s town have noticed...



  • Here is the eighth title in Edgar Award Winner Dori Hillestad Butler's not-too-scary chapter book mystery series, The Haunted Library. Kaz are Claire are called on for another case! A family thinks their house is haunted, making it difficult for t...



  • Kaz are Claire are on the case again -- this time, they're looking for Kaz's long-lost uncle! Their search takes them to a bakery and a movie theater. Along the way, they meet another kid ghost detective. Will Kaz and Claire be able to figure out wha...



  • A lovable dog helps his human girl solve a mystery. Kayla made peanut butter treats for Jillian's new puppy Thor. But now the treats are missing. What does Kayla know? There are three treats missing. King was in the kitchen. King's breath doesn't sme...



  • A loveable dog helps his human girl solve a mystery. Kayla and Mason both got mysterious letters, written in code. What does Kayla know? The same person left both letters. It's someone she and Mason both know. The two letters are the same, except for...



  • Edgar Award Winner Dori Hillestad Butler gives us the tenth -- and final! -- title in her not-too-scary chapter book mystery series, The Haunted Library, in the form of a super special! It's almost Halloween, and Kaz and Claire are off to Seattle ...



  • A lovable dog helps his human girl solve a mystery. King and Kayla are playing fetch with their friends, Jillian and Thor. Jillian throws King’s favorite ball too hard, and now it’s gone missing! King and Kayla must put together the clues to f...



  • A lovable dog helps his human girl solve a mystery. Kayla lost a tooth, but now it’s missing! What does Kayla know? ―Her tooth is not inside the tooth fairy pillow. It’s not inside her backpack. It’s not inside the car. What does...



  • A lovable dog helps his human girl solve a mystery. King, Kayla, and Grandma find a dog who has lost his human family. What does Kayla know? ― This dog doesn’t have a collar or any tags. He can sit, lie down, and shake hands. No one around...






  • King & Kayla are back on the case in this laugh-out-loud mystery from the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Award-winning series.Thor is in big trouble. Mr. Gary says he knocked over his trash cans, dug up his garden, and ate some of his vegetables. Kin...



  • A jealous cat really, really, REALLY wants to drive away his young owner's new dog in this playful illustrated chapter book from a two-time Geisel Honor winner. Simon has taken care of his owner, Andy, for many years. He's a good cat. Clea...



  • From Edgar Award Winner Dori Hillestad Butler comes a new chapter book mystery series, The Treasure Troop! Join Marly, Sai, and Isla, three code-cracking kids on the hunt for an old neighbor's hidden treasure.In the second book of this code-busting s...



  • From Edgar Award Winner Dori Hillestad Butler comes a new chapter book mystery series, The Treasure Troop! Join Marly, Isla, and Sai, three code-cracking kids on the hunt for an old neighbor's hidden treasure.Marly always knew Mr. Summerling as her f...



  • King & Kayla are back on the case in this laugh-out-loud mystery from the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Award-winning series.King, Kayla, Mason, and Asia are playing in the snow. Later, Asia discovers her gold ring is missing. What happened to it? A...



  • A snobby cat and a good-natured dog fight over the chance to dress up with their owner in this playful illustrated chapter book series told in letters. It's time for the annual city pet parade! Only one pet can win first place . . . Simon the ...



  • From Edgar Award Winner Dori Hillestad Butler comes a new chapter book mystery series, The Treasure Troop! Join Marly, Sai, and Isla, three code-cracking kids on the hunt for an old neighbor's hidden treasure.In the third book of this code-busting se...



  • Who says cats and dogs don't get along? A snobby cat and a good-natured dog team up -- sort of -- to solve the mystery of a missing classroom pet in this playful illustrated chapter book told in letters.Simon the cat and Baxter the dog have finally l...



  • From Edgar Award Winner Dori Hillestad Butler comes The Treasure Troop, a chapter book mystery series! Join Marly, Sai, and Isla, three code-cracking kids on the hunt for an old neighbor's hidden treasure.In the fourth and final book of this code-bus...



  • King & Kayla are back on the case in this laugh-out-loud mystery from the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Award-winning series.Kayla needs to return her library books, but she can't find one of them. King knows that if they don't return all the books,...






  • A stuck-up cat and a good-natured dog are pen pals from a distance, until a disastrous sleepover brings them together in this playful illustrated chapter book told in letters.Andy has two pets and two houses: a cat, Simon, at his mom’s hous...



  • In this latest book in the Geisel Honor award-winning series, our intrepid human-and-dog detective duo have another mystery to solve: how did Raj’s cat escape from a locked house?King and Kayla have a new case and a new friend. King LOVES new frien...



  • Jillian thinks there’s a ghost in her basement. King and Kayla know that ghosts aren’t real, but what is making that dark shape and that scary noise?King and Kayla are going to a sleepover at Thor and Jillian’s house. King LOVES sleepovers. The...


Award-Winning Books by Dori Hillestad Butler

The Case of the Lost Boy
2011 Edgar Allan Poe Award -- Juvenile
Trading Places with Tank Talbott
2006 Black-Eyed Susan Award -- Grades 4-6


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Dori Hillestad Butler has published 42 books.

Dori Hillestad Butler does not have a new book coming out soon. The latest book, King & Kayla and the Case of the Downstairs Ghost, was published in January 2024.

The first book by Dori Hillestad Butler, The Great Tooth Fairy Rip-Off, was published in December 1996.

Yes. Dori Hillestad Butler has 6 series.