Mr. Summerling's Secret Code #1 (The Treasure Troop, Band 1) - Hardcover

Butler, Dori Hillestad

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0593094832 ISBN 13: 9780593094839

Verlag: Penguin Workshop, 2021

Inhaltsangabe

From Edgar Award Winner Dori Hillestad Butler comes a new chapter book mystery series, The Treasure Troop! Join Marly, Isla, and Sai, three code-cracking kids on the hunt for an old neighbor's hidden treasure.

Marly always knew Mr. Summerling as her friendly neighbor living in the big, old house next-door. Sure, he walked around with a metal detector and talked about being a "treasure hunter," but she didn't think much of it. But when news of Mr. Summerling's death arrives at her doorstep, Marly is brought into a treasure hunt of her own. In Mr. Summerling's will, he's left a treasure for Marly and her two classmates, Isla and Sai. The catch? They have to solve a series of riddles, puzzles, and clues to find its location. And not only that, they have to work together on it -- which Marly is not looking forward to. But with no other choice, she, Isla, and Sai set off on the hunt. Can the three kids come together to crack the code? And even if they do solve the clues... what could Mr. Summerling possibly have left them?

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Dori Hillestad Butler's books have appeared on children's choice award lists in 18 different states. Trading Places with Tank Talbott won the Maryland Children's Choice Award in 2007, and The Buddy Files: Case of the Lost Boy won the 2011 Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery. She is the author of the successful Haunted Library series, and has also been a ghostwriter for the Sweet Valley Twins, Unicorn Club, and Boxcar Children series. She's published numerous short stories, plays, and educational materials, and has served as the Iowa Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators' Regional Advisor. She grew up in southern Minnesota and now lives in Seattle with her husband, son, dog, and cat. She visits schools and leads writing workshops all over the country.

Tim Budgen is an illustrator and art teacher. For much of his life he has been scribbling down ideas and can usually be found with a pencil in one hand and a sketchbook in the other! He lives by the sea on Hayling Island, England, with his wife, Julia.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Chapter 1
A Strange Letter


Marly heard the doorbell ring, but she didn’t budge from the couch. Her best friend, Aubrey, had moved to Chicago at the beginning of the summer, so Marly was pretty sure that whoever was at the door wasn’t here to see her. And she didn’t want to pause the book she was listening to. Not when she was so close to finding out the truth about Sam Westing.

“Can you get that, honey?” Mom called from the kitchen island.

Marly’s mom was baking bread for the food pantry. She always did that on the third Saturday of the month. Sometimes Marly helped, but she didn’t feel like helping today.

She didn’t feel like answering the door, either. She turned up the volume on her audiobook and pretended she couldn’t hear her mom.

The doorbell rang again.

“Please, Marly. My hands are covered in dough.” Mom held up her hands.

Marly sighed. Dad was out grocery shopping. Nick and Noah were at the pool. So she paused her book and dragged herself to the door.

“It’s probably Ellen.” Mom walked behind Marly, kneading a ball of dough between her hands. “She said she was going to drop off some work for me today.” Marly’s mom was an accountant and Ellen was her boss.

Marly peered out the narrow window beside the door and saw a curly--haired man standing on the porch. He wore a blue shirt and khaki pants, and he held a white envelope in his hands.

“It’s not Ellen,” Marly told her mom.

“No? Then who is it?” Mom went to the window.

Marly shrugged and opened the door. The man on the porch did a double--take when he saw her, then quickly turned his attention to Mom. “Marly Deaver?” he asked. 

“No, this is Marly.” Mom tilted her head.

“Oh.” The man blinked in surprise. “Well, this envelope is for her,” he said, as though Marly wasn’t standing right there. Marly was used to that. Grown--ups didn’t like to make eye contact with kids who wore eye patches.

Mom didn’t have a free hand to take the envelope, so the man thrust it toward Marly. She grabbed it, and the man hurried away.

“What is this?” Marly asked, turning the envelope over. There was no return address or stamp. Just her name typed in all capital letters: MARLENA MARIE DEAVER. 

“Excuse me?” Mom called to the man. “What’s this about?”

He didn’t answer. Without even looking back, the man got into the red car he’d left running in the street and drove away.

Marly tore open the envelope and pulled out a single, typed sheet of paper. It looked like the sort of letter you’d send to a grown--up, not an almost nine--year--old. Marly read the letter out loud while her mom looked over her shoulder:

Dear Ms. Deaver,

Your presence is requested at the office of Ms. Stella Lovelace, 120 Downtown Plaza, 10:00 a.m. on Monday, July 24, for the reading of Mr. Harry Summerling’s will. Please let me know if you cannot attend.

Sincerely,

Stella Lovelace
Attorney-­at-­Law

“Huh,” Mom said. “I didn’t know Mr. Summerling passed away.”

“What?” Marly said, shocked. “Passed away” was what grown--ups said when they meant “died.” “How do you know he . . . passed away?” Mr. Summerling was their next--door neighbor. He was old, but not that old.

Everyone in Sandford knew Mr. Summerling because he walked around town with a metal detector. He was always on the hunt for buried treasure. He was also the janitor at the library, but last year he quit his job so he could spend even more time treasure hunting. No one knew whether he ever found any. If you asked him about it, he would gaze thoughtfully into the distance and say something like “Not all treasure is silver and gold.”

“If an attorney is reading his will, he must’ve passed away,” Mom said. “That’s too bad. He was a nice man. Quirky, but nice.”

“Yeah,” Marly said. She didn’t know what else to say. No one she knew had ever died before.

She glanced over at the house next door. She couldn’t see much of it because of the tall hedge that seperated the two yards. A faded yellow tower stood out above the greenery. The tower looked quiet without Mr. Summerling. Maybe even a little sad. 

“If this Ms. Lovelace wants you to be there when she reads Mr. Summerling’s will, he must’ve left you something,” Mom said.

“Me?” Marly perked up. “What would he leave me?”

“That’s a good question,” Mom said.



“I don’t get it,” Nick said at dinner. “Why would Mr. Summerling leave something in his will for Marly, but not the rest of us?”

“Yeah,” Noah said, passing the pasta to Dad. “That’s hardly fair.”

Nick and Noah were twins, but you couldn’t tell by looking at them. Nick had brown hair like Mom and Noah had blonde hair like Marly and Dad. The twins were four years older than Marly and going into eighth grade.

“He must’ve liked me better than he liked you,” Marly said with a shrug. It wasn’t often she got something that her brothers didn’t.

But inside, she couldn’t stop wondering what Mr. Summerling had left her. Was it money? Was it buried treasure? And why in the world would he leave her anything at all?

Sure, he was nice. He bought candy and wrapping paper from her when she sold it for school. Sometimes he paid her to sweep his front walk. Once he even gave her one of his old metal detectors when he cleaned out his garage. But he was next--door--neighbor nice, not give--you--something--when--I--die nice.

“Where’s your patch?” Mom interrupted Marly’s thoughts.

“It was hot, so I took it off.”

“Go put it back on, please,” Dad said.

“You need to wear it, honey,” Mom added. “At least until you see the eye doctor next month.”

Marly groaned. There was no point in arguing, so she got up and dragged herself to her room. She was so tired of patching. So tired! Most kids who patched only had to do it for a few months in kindergarten and then they were done. Marly had been patching off and on since she was three years old. And unlike other kids, she had to wear her patch all day. It wouldn’t be so bad if the patch covered her bad eye. But the whole point of wearing it was to train her bad eye to work like her good eye, which meant covering her good eye.

There were two patches on her dresser. She had worn the smiley--face one earlier in the day, so Marly grabbed the pink flower one instead. Carefully, she threaded it onto the temple of her glasses until it covered her right lens. Then she put her glasses on and everything across the room went blurry. 

“Does Marly have to share whatever Mr. Summerling left her with the whole family?” Noah asked their parents when Marly returned to the table.

Mom smiled. “Whatever it is, I can’t imagine it’s all that valuable.”

“It could be,” Marly spoke up.

“Mr. Summerling was always searching for treasure.” Nick stood up and helped himself to another slice of garlic bread. “What if he found some?”

“Yeah, maybe he’s got a secret vault at the bank where he stores it all,” Noah added.

“Does he?” Nick asked their dad.

Dad would know....

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Penguin Workshop
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2021
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0593094832
• ISBN 13: 9780593094839
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Zeichner: Budgen Tim
• Anzahl der Seiten: 128
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Terminal Video; n.pederzini@terminaldistribuzione.com; ; Via Bruno Buozzi, 24/26,; Granarolo dell'Emilia BO,; Italien