October 10, 2009

The 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan


The new series The 39 Clues stars brother and sister orphan duo Amy and Dan Cahill as they trek around the world, finding clues to solve an ancient family mystery. With an au pair to assist them, the kids travel from country to country in an attempt to find clues that will ultimately lead them to an unknown, yet infinitely powerful, prize. The Cahill kids aren't the only ones trying to solve the mystery, of course. Their extended family members have formed teams in search of clues as well, and despite family ties they seem to stop at nothing to get ahead in the chase.
The 39 Clues Book One: The Maze of Bones (guided reading level R) is written by Rick Riordan, but each book in the series is penned by a different author. With the clues connected to major historical figures, a young reader will get a nice history lesson along the way. Think: The Da Vinci Code for kids, only without the religious aspects.
I am hoping to use the series as a book club with some of my students a bit later in the year. Each book comes with a set of playing cards, and there's a website where readers can enter their card codes and play along with the mystery online.

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