Retired primary school teacher writing short mystery stories aimed at the young readers making the transition from picture books to novels.  I noticed during my classroom practice how difficult it is for many children to go from a book with little text and pictures to a long book with no pictures.  They would become frustrated with the time it took to the story to get itself told and found it difficult to form the pictures in their minds. I write stories that are only about 50 pages long, get the story told quickly yet do not talk down to the young reader.  They are about ordinary kids who have no special powers other than their wits with which to face the challenges before them.