Bones in the Badlands: Time Spies, Book 2 (Bk. 2)
Grade 2–4—When their parents decide to open a country bed-and-breakfast, Alex, Mattie, and Sophie worry that life will be dull. Then they discover a secret tower room and an old desk containing an antique brass spyglass that has the power to send them back in time. Each adventure begins when a Travel Guide checks into the Jefferson Room. In Secret, the inn's first guest is a Revolutionary War reenactor who tells the kids about the Battle of Yorktown. The spyglass then transports them back to 1781 where they help a courier who has been injured. The time travelers must get the message through to the American headquarters-and avoid being arrested as spies themselves. InBones, the special guest is a paleontologist on vacation from her dig in the Western badlands. This time, the spyglass sends the children to 1898 Wyoming during the Bone Wars. They join the camp of pioneer dinosaur hunter Walter Granger and help trap a crook who is trying to steal his dinosaur discoveries. Each adventure concludes with a letter from the Travel Guide that gives more historical details and a science experiment based on the events of the story. The books are similar in scope to Mary Pope Osborne's "Magic Tree House" series (Random), but with longer text, slightly more complex story lines, and fewer fantasy elements. The mild suspense, accurate historical detail, and occasional touches of humor should appeal both to transition readers and intermediate-grade reluctant readers.—Elaine E. Knight, Lincoln Elementary Schools, ILCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.