Posted on by TracyC

Pirate Island Adventure

pirateislandPirate Island Adventure by Peggy Parish, 1975.

The Roberts kids must solve another family treasure hunt! This time, they are staying with their grandparents at the family’s vacation home on Pirate Island. It has been many years since the family has been able to go there during the summer. For years, they rented the house out to a couple who lived there most of the time, and the grandparents could only go there when the couple left to visit relatives at Christmas. Now, the house is vacant again, and the grandparents have decided to take the Liza, Bill, and Jed there for the summer.

The last time that their grandfather spent the summer there as a child, his older brother decided to take something from every member of the family and make a treasure hunt just like the old family treasure hunt that the kids solved in Key to the Treasure. Just like that treasure hunt, other circumstances arose that kept the treasure hunt from being solved, so no one ever got back what grandfather’s brother hid. The only clue they have to the treasure now is a picture that grandfather’s brother drew. Since the children were able to solve the last treasure hunt, their grandfather is hopeful that they will be able to solve this one, too.

Unlike other treasure hunts that the Roberts kids solve, this treasure hunt does not involve codes and word games.  The clues are given in the form of drawings, most of which (unfortunately) are not shown to the readers.  The readers wouldn’t have a chance to solve the puzzles anyway because the objects in the drawings are things which the children’s grandfather has to recognize, places where he and his brother went as kids.  This book also introduces Hermit Dan, who appears in another book.

This book is part of the Liza, Bill, and Jed Mysteries series.

Posted on by TracyC

The Haunted House

hauntedhouseThe Haunted House by Peggy Parish, 1971.

The Roberts family is moving to a different house across town because they want a bigger place to live. Liza, Bill, and Jed are not very happy about moving, at least at first, because they will be farther away from their friends, especially Jimmy and Mary, who have been their best friends and next door neighbors. Liza is also worried because the house they will be living in is the old Blake house, which is rumored to be haunted. A couple of past caretakers have left because they claimed to hear ghostly noises.  The boys tease her about it, and their father insists that there is no such thing as ghosts.

The house is definitely much bigger than their old one, and there is a barn, a garden, and a large wooded area on the property. When they actually move in, the kids become fascinated with the old things in the attic, which the children are allowed to go through.  The kids also plan to start building a tree house.  The boys become excited about the house, but Liza is still nervous about the ghost stories.

Then, strange notes and coded messages appear for the children, starting with a note taped to Liza’s window in the middle of the night. Little presents are left for them in a hollow tree with promises of bigger surprises later. Who is sending these messages? Could it be the ghost?

Like other books in this series, there are coded messages and word games that the readers can solve alongside the children.  Some of them are easily recognizable, like word scrambles and Pig Latin, and others are a little harder.  The kids walk readers through their solutions, but readers can attempt the puzzles on their own first.

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.

Posted on by TracyC

Key to the Treasure

keytreasureKey to the Treasure by Peggy Parish, 1966.

When twins Liza and Bill and their older brother Jed visit their grandparents for the summer, their grandfather tells them the story of a treasure hidden somewhere on their farm. Over a hundred years ago, their great-great-grandfather was friends with an Indian (Native American) woman. When she died, she left her belongings to him, including a feathered bonnet, a leather shield, a mask, and a doll.

When he grew up, he went away to fight in the Civil War. Before he left, he hid three of the items (the shield, the mask, and the doll) and made up a series of clues to help his children find them.  Unfortunately, the first clue was lost, and he never returned to tell his children where he hid the treasure. The only clue that was left was a picture of the feathered bonnet, a little pot, and a strange-looking key.  From then on, each generation in their family has tried to solve the puzzle. Since so many generations of their family have failed to find the treasure, Liza, Bill, and Jed don’t have much hope for success until they accidentally stumble on something that gives them their first clue.

keytreasurepic1Together, the three children quietly work on the clues, following each to the next.  They hope to surprise their grandfather with the solution to this old family mystery.  But, can they?

The clues to the treasure take the form of word games and codes (the first is a simple substitution code, and the other two are word games). Young readers will find it challenging to solve the codes along with the children in the book (Liza, Bill, and Jed walk readers through their solutions as they work on the puzzle, even showing how they correct for mistakes along the way), although older readers may find them rather easy.  It’s a good book for introducing children to codes and word games if they haven’t really encountered them before.  For the challenge of it, you can stop reading at each new puzzle and attempt to solve it before the kids do!

This is the first book in the Liza, Bill, and Jed Mysteries series.  It is currently available online through Internet Archive.

Posted on by TracyC

Mystery Up the Winding Stair

Mystery Up the Winding Stair by Helen Fuller Orton, 1948.

Harry Hunter and his mother have been living with his grandfather in his big mansion while his father is in Japan doing work for the government. His family has owned the mansion for a long time, and it has a small museum in it containing Native American artifacts and things relating to pioneer life, including a small log cabin built in a large room up a winding staircase.

When Harry’s mother goes on a trip to see his father, Harry and his grandfather invite Harry’s cousins to visit them: Ned and his sister Lou, and Carol, whose family has only recently moved to the area.  When the children try to decide what they would like to do together, Carol suggests a treasure hunt.  Their grandfather sends them on a treasure hunt to find something that he hid himself a long time ago: a set of silver spoons made by Paul Revere and a diamond. The explanation is that the grandfather is rather absent-minded and has forgotten where he hid the treasure, although he knows that it’s somewhere in the house.

A storm leaves them all snowbound in the mansion, but they are not alone. There are mysterious footsteps, someone using a secret staircase to the attic, and signs that the bed in the cabin has been slept in. The children begin to realize that someone else is in the house with them, and this person wants the treasure for himself!

This book is out of print, but you can borrow and read it online for free through Internet Archive.  Internet Archive requires you to sign up for an account to borrow books, but the account is free, and you read the books directly in your browser.  There are no overdue fees because the books simply disappear from your virtual loan list when your time is up.  You are allowed to re-borrow books as long as copies are available (not being “borrowed” by other people).

My Reaction and Story Background

The house the mansion in the book was based on was the old summer home of Governor Washington Hunt, located in Lockport, New York. (I learned about the house from an article about the story behind the book and an event related to the book that was held at the library in Lockport, but the site that had the article doesn’t have it up anymore. I think I saved a copy somewhere, but I’m having trouble finding it right now.)  It was called Wyndham Lawn and later became a children’s home. It’s now a private school called the Henrietta G. Lewis Campus School.  When the author, Helen Fuller Orton, was young, some of her relatives rented Wyndham Lawn from its owner, and she lived with them for a time.  In the article, the author noted that the house had been changed somewhat since the time when she lived there in the 1880s in order to accommodate the needs of the children’s home.

When I first read this book, I thought that the part about the grandfather simply forgetting where he hid an important treasure was a little cheesy, but the treasure hunt in a mansion with its own museum is fun. It’s a little spooky when the kids realize that there’s an intruder in the house with them while they’re snowbound, although it’s pretty obvious to readers of the story who the intruder was. The house really makes the story because it is a fantastic setting! It’s a very cozy mystery for winter.

I enjoyed the story and learning about the history of the real house. I also considered what Harry’s father is doing in Japan because this book was published just after WWII. I don’t think they ever explain why Harry’s father is in Japan on government work, but I’m sure he’s involved with the occupation and reconstruction of Japan after the war. It’s a subtle reference to current events at the time this story was written that’s not part of the main story but is used as part of the reason why the main story is happening.