The Shockoe Slip Gang: A Mystery by Patricia Cecil Hass

Sally and Andrew are going into a hot summer, the first one since their father's death a year ago.  Sally just wants to read but Andrew is doing all kinds of little jobs to help with the household income.  He does yard work, feeds and walks animals and anything else he can find that he can handle.

The author graciously shared a copy of this book with me for review (thank you).  It has been published and you can get a copy now.

Their mother works at the local museum and is in charge of the antique wooden toys display.  When the museum is robbed and many of the toys are missing, the children decide to try to find the thief.

This is a good mystery.  They join up with another boy in a near neighborhood.  He says he saw a wooden toy on a professor's back porch.  When they go to look the toys are gone.  However when they try to talk to the professor, they find him laid out  on the floor.  It seems someone has taken the toys from him and knocked him out when he got too close to them.

It gets more and more dangerous as they get closer to the answer but they don't give up.

This was an enjoyable read with an historical note and a helpful horse.  It has a good ending, too.