Just in time for summer vacation, Maine authors have created real literary treats for youngsters of all ages.

QUENTIN FENTON HERTER III, written by Amy MacDonald, illustrated by Giselle Potter, Melanie Kroupa Books, New York, 30 pages, $16, hardcover.

Falmouth author Amy MacDonald’s “Quentin Fenton Herter III” just begs to be read aloud expressively at least a dozen times. Its vigorous rhyming text will enchant preschool and elementary children, yet holds enough sophistication to amuse parents. And its bold illustrations, often spilling energetically out of their frames, are a perfect accompaniment.

“Quentin Fenton Herter III” is a clean-spoken, ultra-polite, generous paragon of youthful virtue. In one picture, he kisses a prim aunt’s hand while his cousin makes faces at him. On the next he willingly shares toys with his tormentor. But he has an evil shadow, Quentin Fenton Herter Three, who stomps through life pulling off every bit of mischief he can: taking the last snacks, bullying his friends, shocking the aunts with naughty words, and leaving a trail of chaos in his wake.

Although they do view each other with disgust and seem to be polar opposites, each boy secretly wishes to be just a little bit like the other. At a proper tea party presided over by a quite strait-laced great aunt, this transformation begins to take place. The picture of the decorous lady flying through the air, revealing a glimpse of her foundation garments, is delightfully outrageous.

Marine mystery

THE MYSTERY OF THE BLACK MORIAH, by David A. Crossman, Down East Books, Camden, 234 pages, $16.95, hardcover.

It can be challenging to find a mystery book that creates a credible aura of suspense intermediate students find irresistible without relying on explicit gore or too precocious sexuality. Friendship author David A. Crossman’s “The Mystery of the Black Moriah” is a gem in this genre. The tension builds beautifully from chapter to chapter. The ending contains quite a few surprises. And the kids believably outsmart the adults.

Ab and Bean, the protagonists of Crossman’s “The Mystery of the Missing Grave,” are nearly swept out to sea in a yellow mini-submarine that their pal, Spooky, has discovered. A cryptic map and poem, possibly related to hidden pirate treasure, are stolen from the sub. A sinister apparition, The Black Moriah, a malodorous phantom dreaded by the oldest generation, resumes its spectral appearances. Near-drownings and kidnappings help make it impossible to put this book down.

Once again Ab and Bean’s evolving friendship is refreshingly innocent. Friends since early childhood, they are surprised by subtle changes in their feelings toward each other. Crossman has beautifully shown the confusing and tumultuous nature of those years bridging the worlds of childhood and adolescence. Adults and kids will find themselves waiting eagerly for the sequel hinted at on the last page.

Timely tale

A TIME FOR COURAGE: The Suffragette Diary of Kathleen Bowen, by Kathryn Bowen, Scholastic, New York, 215 pages, $10.95, hardcover.

In view of their elders’ dismal performance in the recent election – with only 20 percent of eligible voters bothering to show up – Maine summer resident Kathryn Lasky’s “A Time for Courage: The Diary of Kathleen Bowen” could not be a more timely read for middle schoolers. Told in the intimate diary format that has made Scholastic’s Dear America Series so popular, it beautifully illuminates a little-known episode in women’s suffrage history: the 1917 silent vigil of the Women’s Party at the White House. Over a one-year period, Kat, 13, relates her thoughts and feelings about her mother’s participation.

Although the vigil starts out peacefully, over the months, especially as America’s entry into World War I brings on enhanced patriotism, ominous changes occur. Hecklers become violent. Women are arrested and imprisoned at a workhouse under brutal conditions.

Kat convincingly portrays the mixed feelings of a teen with a parent fully immersed in a noble cause. Her pride in her mother’s involvement and anger at those opposed to women voting alternates with sadness at her perceived emotional abandonment, especially when her birthday celebration must be “squeezed in” to accommodate picketing schedules. And when jailed women go on a hunger strike, she is deeply afraid of losing the most treasured person in her life forever.