The Wiley Kids in ... The Adventure of Cottonwood Canyon
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5.0 • 6 Ratings
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
A Kirkus Indie Book of the Month Selection for July 2015
A well-written blend of education and entertainment, with relatable young protagonists and a deft 21st century twist on historical sleuthing. — Kirkus Reviews
Written in a style that will appeal to tweens and early teens, The Wiley Kids in the Adventure of Cottonwood Canyon combines fascinating descriptions of ancient Native American heritage with present day examples of greed and corruption ... technically flawless. — Fun Educational Apps
It was just a simple writing assignment.
Freddie Tanaka needed to write a school paper on the Tongva, the native people of Los Angeles. So Freddie and his friends — Millie Reyes, Kyle Baldwin, Sleater Wiley and Neil Chandler — decided to take a nature hike up in Cottonwood Canyon and do some hands-on research.
Their hike turns dangerous, though, when Freddie falls down a hole into a hidden cave. But that’s also where he finds the perfect inspiration for his project — an ancient Tongvan cave painting, previously undiscovered.
Things don’t go smoothly for Freddie and the kids, especially after a mysterious explosion nearly destroys the cave. But who could have done such a thing? Mae Templeton, the former Hollywood child star and owner of Cottonwood Canyon? The Large Corp., the real estate developer interested in buying the canyon and paving it over? And what about Mae’s grandson, the shady and none too friendly Jimmy Campbell?
Or was it someone else?
The Wiley Kids will need all their wits to solve this one. Kyle’s familiarity of robotics and explosives plays a role, as does Freddie’s near encyclopedic knowledge of movies and TV. And Millie's understanding of what can and cannot fit in the human nose will prove useful as well. Fortunately, they can also rely on help from Gramps, Monk Man, Chief Wé-soo-yŭ-roo-it and timely news reporting from ActionNews’ own Kent Billings.
Will the Wiley Kids save the cave and the painting? Will Freddie and Millie escape from the truck they stowed a ride on? Or will they be kidnapped — or worse? And will Freddie ever get his paper done? These and many other questions are answered in The Wiley Kids in the Adventure of Cottonwood Canyon.
The Wiley Kids donate ten percent of profits to charities working in children’s education.
Customer Reviews
Great fun!
Loved this one and can't wait for the next!
Remarkable Story — Remarkable Book
My 7th grade boy finished this last week-end, and my 5th grade girl is working on it now. I checked it out last night after they went to bed, and was delighted.
The story is top-notch kid detective stuff. The Wiley Kids stumble — literally — upon an ancient Indian cave painting, and then figure out who tried to destroy it. They interview potential suspects, do research on Google and use their own cleverness to solve the mystery and ultimately save the painting.
Each chapter is written by a different Wiley Kid, which helps give you a sense of their personality. (7th grader like Neil Baldwin; 5th grader likes Millie Reyes, I think Freddie Tanaka is clearly the coolest.)
The characters they meet along the way are terrific. Steve, a Buddhist Monk (aka Monk Man), Mae, an former child star with memories of William Holden and Client Eastwood (and who may have once beaten Ernest Borgnine with a cane) and the 103-year old chief of the Tongva, the indigenous people of Los Angeles (and who seems to have an eye for Mae).
It’s a fun story, even for an adult.
But also remarkable is how the book is constructed. It starts with a music video, featuring music by Sleater Wiley and directed by Kyle Baldwin (the other Wiley Kids). There are many photographs, short videos, audio clips, maps— even a chili recipe.
It also include “pop-ups” — not sure to call them, but they reminded me of the old show on MTV called Pop-Up Videos. Clicking on certain words and pictures bring up additional material. That’s how I learned that a mountain lion had been found in Connecticut three years ago, and that young luffas (yes, like the sponge) are edible.
I’m read a fair amount, and I’ve never seen a book on the iBookstore (or, ahem, that other one) like this one. The ebooks i’ve read have basically been digital twins of their printed versions. I don’t think this book, with it’s multimedia content, could exist as a printed book.
Nicely, the multimedia content doesn’t get in the way of story. It “pops up” from time to time to add context or give more information.
Kudos to “the Wiley Kids” for making something my kids couldn’t put down.
P.S. Your ending was terrific.