Night Buddies – Book 1
Night Buddies and the Pineapple Cheesecake Scare

Meet John Degraffenreidt. He isn’t ready to go to sleep, and the bright red crocodile who appears from under his bed isn’t about to make bedtime any quieter. Crosley is John’s new Night Buddy, and he has a mystery to solve: pineapple cheesecakes are disappearing from the world’s only Pineapple Cheesecake Factory. Using Crosley’s collection of whatchamacallits, including an I-ain’t-here doodad that makes them invisible, John and Crosley sneak out after lights out and begin their first Program together. Filled with mystery, fantasy, unusual characters, playful language, and plenty of pineapple cheesecake, this first Night Buddies adventure introduces the Borough and the unlikely friendship at the center of the series.

Series: Night Buddies

Series order: Book 1

Author: Sands Hetherington

Illustrator: Jessica Love

Genre/format language: Children’s illustrated chapter-book adventure; fantasy and mystery

Verified recognition: Next Generation Indie Book Award winner – Juvenile Fiction

When the world’s supply of pineapple cheesecakes begins disappearing from the Pineapple Cheesecake Factory, Crosley needs help getting to the bottom of it. He recruits John, and the pair set off through the Borough on a nighttime investigation. The Program introduces readers to the Night Buddies world: Crosley’s strange gadgets, the Night Folks Limited, Big Foot Mae, the factory, the Iguana Gang, and the playful words and expressions that make the series its own.

Night Buddies and the Pineapple Cheesecake Scare is identified on the current official website as a Next Generation Indie Book Award winner in Juvenile Fiction

Wayne S. Walker “Home School Book Review” (5 stars): “Have you ever eaten a pineapple cheesecake? John Degraffenreidt is a young city kid who doesn’t want to go to bed. He had eaten so much pineapple cheesecake that his dad was afraid that he might get sick. After his parents leave him alone in his room, he hears some strange noises and sees a light beam squirting out from underneath his bed, and out comes a wacky red crocodile in a yellow suit named Crosley who has an astonishing and inventive collection of magical whatchamacallits on his belt. He likes pineapple cheesecake too, and the reason he has come is to enlist John’s aid in joining the Night Buddies and solving a mystery. All the pineapple cheesecakes from the world’s only pineapple cheesecake factory are disappearing.” Read more…
— Kathi Macias, award-winning author of more than 30 books including Special Delivery (Freedom Series)

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This Kid Reviews Books (5 stars): “Most kids would get creeped out if a red crocodile crawled out from underneath their bed, but not if it’s a Night Buddy! Night Buddies are from a secret agent program that helps kids wo can’t sleep. If a kid can’t sleep, a night buddy comes and takes them on an adventure. John meets his Night Buddy, Crosley (a red crocodile) and Crosley takes John on an adventure to see why the world’s one and only pineapple cheesecake factory has stopped making pineapple cheesecakes! After sneaking out of the house, the Buddies go on a silly adventure to get to the bottom of the problem. What they find is that some one (or thing) is taking the cheesecakes! But who?!?” Read more…

“Hetherington seems to have the right ingredients for a classic children’s whodunit—talking animals, an unsolved mystery and a brave hero willing to face unforeseen foes … Punctuating the story are Love’s pencil sketches that boast just the right amount of whimsy and adequately capture the spirit of Hetherington’s eccentric characters.”
— Kirkus Reviews

“Night Buddies is a wonderful display of talent and literature.”
— Burlington Times News

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“Night Buddies is a terrific story my second and third-graders would love to have read to them, complete with its colorful dialect. Thanks for the sneak peek!”
— Lorie Thompson, Principal, Haskell Elementary School, Los Angeles Unified School District

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“Two unlikely friends-one human and one crocodilian-embark on an adventure to solve a mystery: where did all the pineapple cheesecakes go? Have fun reading this lively story.”
— Diane Witt, Retired Public Elementary School Teacher (30 years), Boulder, Colorado

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“Don’t miss this wonderful new children’s book, Night Buddies and the Pineapple Cheesecake Scare. Your children will thank you!”
— Kathi Macias, award-winning author of more than 30 books including Special Delivery (Freedom Series)

Watch the Book 1 video and hear Sands Hetherington read from Night Buddies.