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Liza, Bill & Jed Mysteries #2
Clues in the Woods
Vintage children's book
160 pages, Library Binding
First published April 15, 1968
4 people are currently reading
163 people want to read
About the author
Peggy Parish
148 books763 followersPeggy Parish was the author of the children's story series Amelia Bedelia. The series was continued, after her sudden death from an aneurysm, by her nephew Herman Parish. Peggy attended the University of South Carolina and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.
Herman honored Peggy's life in his book, Good Driving, Amelia Bedelia, by writing in its dedication: "For Peggy Parish, the real Amelia Bedelia."
-Wikipedia
Herman honored Peggy's life in his book, Good Driving, Amelia Bedelia, by writing in its dedication: "For Peggy Parish, the real Amelia Bedelia."
-Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
May 12, 2023
Did you know that Peggy Parish wrote books other than Amelia Bedelia? Well she did, and the Liza, Bill & Jed Mysteries are just great! In fact, these were some of my favorite and earliest reads from my childhood!
Something always exciting happens when Jed and the twins go to their grandparents for the summer. Grandpa tells them an old family story and, coincidentally, one of the kids finds a clue. Then it's all a mad race through the house, barn, fields and the like to put the clues together and solve the family riddle. They're always full of mystery, creaky attics, and fun explorations along the way. I definitely idolized their summer adventures and I know your young readers will too!
Ages: 5 - 10
Cleanliness: the words “gee” “gosh” “golly” “thank goodness” and the like are used. Stupid and idiot were used. A boy calls a girl dumb, then apologizes. A boy lies and then admits that he lied. A newspaper article mentions two children ran away from their stepmother - the main characters feel sympathetic, assuming she’s mean and the grandparents state that the article mentioned the children being difficult.
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! And be sure to check out my bio page to learn a little about me and the Picture Book/Chapter Book Calendars I sell on Etsy!
Something always exciting happens when Jed and the twins go to their grandparents for the summer. Grandpa tells them an old family story and, coincidentally, one of the kids finds a clue. Then it's all a mad race through the house, barn, fields and the like to put the clues together and solve the family riddle. They're always full of mystery, creaky attics, and fun explorations along the way. I definitely idolized their summer adventures and I know your young readers will too!
Ages: 5 - 10
Cleanliness: the words “gee” “gosh” “golly” “thank goodness” and the like are used. Stupid and idiot were used. A boy calls a girl dumb, then apologizes. A boy lies and then admits that he lied. A newspaper article mentions two children ran away from their stepmother - the main characters feel sympathetic, assuming she’s mean and the grandparents state that the article mentioned the children being difficult.
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! And be sure to check out my bio page to learn a little about me and the Picture Book/Chapter Book Calendars I sell on Etsy!
July 22, 2018
Fun continuation of Key to the Treasure--picks up where it left off, with the kids still at Grandma's house. Ends with their parents coming to pick them up. Easy, summer read.
November 6, 2018
How racist is it?
On a ten scale, it's about a three. I have to spoil the plot to explain.
Liza, Bill and Jed are trying to figure out what's going on in the woods near their house. In the climax, they stumble upon a family of "Indians" living in a teepee (in the woods?), dancing to a drum and wearing "war paint." In the resolution, it turns out that the family is studying the "Indian" lifestyles (presumably Plains Indians) and spending their vacation practicing in the woods. Peggy Parish is not suggesting that these people are actual Indians or that Indians are currently living in teepees in the woods.
I did have to make it extra-clear to my daughter than our Indian friends at church live in houses and not teepees.
Much like the first book in the series, this is a reasonably well constructed mystery delivered in bland prose. The characters are sometimes annoying. Liza does all the kitchen-related chores while the boys do all the outside chores. Bill is jerk most of the time.
On a ten scale, it's about a three. I have to spoil the plot to explain.
Liza, Bill and Jed are trying to figure out what's going on in the woods near their house. In the climax, they stumble upon a family of "Indians" living in a teepee (in the woods?), dancing to a drum and wearing "war paint." In the resolution, it turns out that the family is studying the "Indian" lifestyles (presumably Plains Indians) and spending their vacation practicing in the woods. Peggy Parish is not suggesting that these people are actual Indians or that Indians are currently living in teepees in the woods.
I did have to make it extra-clear to my daughter than our Indian friends at church live in houses and not teepees.
Much like the first book in the series, this is a reasonably well constructed mystery delivered in bland prose. The characters are sometimes annoying. Liza does all the kitchen-related chores while the boys do all the outside chores. Bill is jerk most of the time.
August 17, 2021
Three kids staying at their grandparent's house discover a mystery when scraps of food meant for a kitten go missing. Fun follows as they try to unravel the mystery, which winds up involving runaway children, animal capers, staying up way to late and weird family playing...Indian??? ... in the woods.
Erk.
Well, this book is certainly dated. I grew up in the 70s and given this book was written in the 60s you'd think I would shrug this of more. Times were different then. The problem is, sometimes things might be historically portrayed accurately (meaning in a different time people would indulge in behaviors which would be considered abhorrent today, but can be taken in the historical context for reporting on things as they were) and other times it's just wrong, no matter what the time period.
In the 70s I would have winced at this portrayal of a white family pretending to be "Indians" for the summer.
This book really is a victim of its time in other ways though. There is a clear line between what's accepted for a girl to do and what's right for a boy. The chores given to each is only one example. I would have expected in the 60s a little more pushback to the gender roles, but I suppose this was written a little early for that. With all these issues, I'm going to say I see difficulties and if you want to use this book with your children you might want to take a little care. Perhaps it would be a good springboard to discussion about these kinds of issues?
Which gets the problematical part of the book out of the way. How are the characters or the story?
The kids fight. A lot. That's probably fairly accurate as kids do get into squabbles with their family. But again, we're not portraying much about family life which I like. I also didn't like the way the puppy had to sleep outside. It's a puppy! Sigh.
As for the mystery, this the ONLY reason I'm giving this book 2 stars instead of 1. It had some nice twists and turns and kept me engaged, wanting to know what happened next. This is challenging to do in a book meant for 7 year olds. So with that mind, it's a good story. Kind of. I'd be a little bit curious to read the rest of the series, but not enough to spend money on it or waste time hunting it down.
So, why read it? This is one of those books I saw sitting on a next shelf to me when I was on the treadmill. Tired at staring at the blank wall in front of me while I worked out, I snagged it and threw it down in front of me for something to do. Being engaging it did in fact pass the time, and I liked it for that at least.
Erk.
Well, this book is certainly dated. I grew up in the 70s and given this book was written in the 60s you'd think I would shrug this of more. Times were different then. The problem is, sometimes things might be historically portrayed accurately (meaning in a different time people would indulge in behaviors which would be considered abhorrent today, but can be taken in the historical context for reporting on things as they were) and other times it's just wrong, no matter what the time period.
In the 70s I would have winced at this portrayal of a white family pretending to be "Indians" for the summer.
This book really is a victim of its time in other ways though. There is a clear line between what's accepted for a girl to do and what's right for a boy. The chores given to each is only one example. I would have expected in the 60s a little more pushback to the gender roles, but I suppose this was written a little early for that. With all these issues, I'm going to say I see difficulties and if you want to use this book with your children you might want to take a little care. Perhaps it would be a good springboard to discussion about these kinds of issues?
Which gets the problematical part of the book out of the way. How are the characters or the story?
The kids fight. A lot. That's probably fairly accurate as kids do get into squabbles with their family. But again, we're not portraying much about family life which I like. I also didn't like the way the puppy had to sleep outside. It's a puppy! Sigh.
As for the mystery, this the ONLY reason I'm giving this book 2 stars instead of 1. It had some nice twists and turns and kept me engaged, wanting to know what happened next. This is challenging to do in a book meant for 7 year olds. So with that mind, it's a good story. Kind of. I'd be a little bit curious to read the rest of the series, but not enough to spend money on it or waste time hunting it down.
So, why read it? This is one of those books I saw sitting on a next shelf to me when I was on the treadmill. Tired at staring at the blank wall in front of me while I worked out, I snagged it and threw it down in front of me for something to do. Being engaging it did in fact pass the time, and I liked it for that at least.
February 28, 2019
I just got done reading my march book called, CLUES IN THE WOODS. The book is written by Peggy Parish, and illustrated by Paul Frame. The story is taken place at Grans and Grandpa's house. The characters in the book are Liz,Bill,Jed,Gran, and Grandpa. Later in the story you will meet Jelly bean, Bob Jackson,Linda,Mark, and Alison. I found this book in the library in the very far left shelf at the bottom.
Gran tells the kids that someone has taken the scraps off of the trashcan, so the kids are up to find out who has been taking them. Liz loses her sweater and later finds it in the woods all tore up. The kids then get more suspicious, so they leave a note out there for them. Later, they get a note from the kids that said , "thank you" written in sticks. They take a bag of sandwiches out to the woods to catch them, but nobody comes. Then, they try to see if they are at the other side of the wods, they later become aware of a indian camp.
I thought the book ended at a good note. My favorite part was when Liz and the kids was trying to eat like indians do. That part showed a act of history an a way of living before today's time.
The book was a decent story. I didn't expect much because it was a child's book. Reader that like adventures and mysterys would like this book.
Gran tells the kids that someone has taken the scraps off of the trashcan, so the kids are up to find out who has been taking them. Liz loses her sweater and later finds it in the woods all tore up. The kids then get more suspicious, so they leave a note out there for them. Later, they get a note from the kids that said , "thank you" written in sticks. They take a bag of sandwiches out to the woods to catch them, but nobody comes. Then, they try to see if they are at the other side of the wods, they later become aware of a indian camp.
I thought the book ended at a good note. My favorite part was when Liz and the kids was trying to eat like indians do. That part showed a act of history an a way of living before today's time.
The book was a decent story. I didn't expect much because it was a child's book. Reader that like adventures and mysterys would like this book.
August 31, 2025
3.5 stars -- This second in the series sent me on a deep dive for information about Peggy Parish. She had no children of her own, but she must have had student relationships she drew from, as well as her siblings, because Jed, Bill, & Liza are some interesting characters, especially Bill. He really has anger issues. In this story, the three children investigate one case that involves missing food scraps, a trail in the forest, a dug animal trap, and a missing sweater to figure out who has been around their grandparents' property. This mystery is not as good as the first, and once again, the portrayal of American Indians and the children's reaction to seeing something about them did not sit well with me. Also, I am obviously not a fan of Bill, so this and the first one are leaving my library. Amelia Bedelia is great, but these? Not so much.
November 21, 2024
An old childhood favorite that I rediscovered in one of my local Little Free Libraries last year. Not bad for its time, but doesn't hold up that well to this time or to me as an adult. Particularly the idea of a white family playing at being "Indians" -- complete with "war paint". yeesh. Plus the character of Bill bothered me; what a brat! (Wonder if he was based on somebody the author knew in real life?) Well, it's going into my own LFL. Some other Gen-Xer may remember it fondly too.
February 26, 2018
Two brothers and a sister look into the mystery of who is stealing the scraps meant for a kitten.
This was still mildly enjoyable as a re-read as an adult. I remember loving the first book (Key to the Treasure) as a kid. The scrabbling between siblings was rough and the book shows its age but is still worth reading.
This was still mildly enjoyable as a re-read as an adult. I remember loving the first book (Key to the Treasure) as a kid. The scrabbling between siblings was rough and the book shows its age but is still worth reading.
April 17, 2025
I read the first book in the series of Liza, Bill & Jed mysteries 6 years ago, and I don't know why I waited so long to read their further adventures. This was a good middle-age mystery with wonderful illustrations by Paul Frame.
December 1, 2019
Please view my review on my Youtube vlog:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9T04...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9T04...
June 29, 2021
absolutely amazing! was an old hardcover, my grandparents gave me!
November 27, 2023
Not nearly as good as Key to the Treasure, but Ace and I still enjoyed reading it.
March 13, 2012
This is the second book in the Jed, Bill and Liza series I read as a child. I believe I got the first one in 2nd grade, and I wasn't ready for it. The next year, I saw it on my bookshelf, read it and was then hooked. This was probably purchased as the book fair. Remember those? They came to your school library and had red, blue, yellow and green fold out displays with books to buy. They were awesome. I'm going through and re-reading this series, delighting in the adventures I read over and over again as a kid. They still hold up. Maybe I'll get to introduce my nephew to them in a few years!
August 25, 2015
I remember reading these mysteries as a kid and loving them. Decided to reread 30 years later...and wow, this book has some extremely racist themes. Felt like writing a disclaimer/warning in the front before I returned it to the library(but even as an adult I'm way too rule-following to deface a library book).
August 15, 2016
I don't remember all that much about the plot, though I remember the cover, and I also remember that this is the very first chapter book I remember reading from the library. it's sort of mythical in my mind even though it's not a big deal children's book or anything. I didn't even realize parish also wrote the amelia bedelia books.
February 20, 2010
As a child I remember this was the most popular book in our elementary school library (high-praise indeed!). Now, I'm having a hard time locating a copy for my 7-year-old neice, who I'm sure will love it as much as I did.
November 2, 2013
I had fond memories of reading this as a child, a mystery book that wasn't actually scary was right up my alley. However, times change and wow does this contain some pretty weird/racist bits about Native Americans.
July 14, 2016
The story involves the same family written about in Parish's earlier story, Key to the Treasure. The children get along pretty well, but have their differences like most siblings do. It was an enjoyable children's book and is appropriate for all elementary school aged children.
February 22, 2008
I love the Liza, Bill & Jed mysteries. Great for kids!
July 3, 2008
this book is great.
September 29, 2010
Excellent book for 2nd-3rd graders
October 24, 2011
I bought this at the library sale too. I'm sure when Sam gets around to reading it she'll love it :-)
April 14, 2012
Just read aloud to Jake. Great mysteries for kids to listen to! Classic Peggy Parish.
March 27, 2013
I enjoy kids novels but this one was a little too kiddie for me.
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November 20, 2013is a nice book, so ctually y like it for children.
January 30, 2016
love it!
April 1, 2014
3/30/14-3/31/14
December 20, 2018
I think, I should write a children's book! ;')
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews