Minutes before she died Grace Cahill changed her will, leaving her decendants an impossible decision: "You have a choice - one million dollars or a clue." Grace is the last matriarch of the Cahills, the world's most powerful family. Everyone from Napoleon to Houdini is related to the Cahills, yet the source of the family power is lost. 39 clues hidden around the world will reveal the family's secret, but no one has been able to assemble them. Now the clues race is on, and young Amy and Dan must decide what's important: hunting clues or uncovering what REALLY happened to their parents. The 39 Clues is Scholastic's groundbreaking new series, spanning10 adrenaline-charged books, 350 trading cards, and an online game where readers play a part in the story and compete for over $100,000 in prizes. The 39 Clues books set the story, and the cards, website and game allow kids to participate in it. Kids visit the website - the39clues.com - and discover they are lost members of the Cahill family. They set up online accounts where they can compete against other kids and against Cahill characters to find all 39 clues. Through the website, kids can track their points and clues, manage their card collections, dig through the Cahill archives for secrets, and "travel" the world to collect Cahill artifacts, interview characters, and hunt down clues. Collecting cards helps: Each card is a piece of evidence containing information on a Cahill, a clue, or a family secret. Every kid is a winner - we'll give away prizes through the books, the website and the cards, including a grand prize of $10,000!
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
The 39 Clues (The Maze of Bones, Book 1:
My 11 year old grandaughter loved it. Can't wait for the next book. She loves to read and get on the computer but her computer use is very monitored and this is something that she can do.
Fascinating First Book in an Intriguing Series of Ten . . . You Don't Need Any Game Cards to Have Fun:
I decided to wait until I had read the second book in the series, One False Note, to review The Maze of Bones. I wanted to see how well the books work without the trading cards, Web site, and contest. Imagine that the Wizard of Oz had been written as a ten part book where you could read what happens to Dorothy and Toto along with clues to help get them home . . . with an opportunity to win a cash prize for solving the clues before anyone else. It would have been a nice publicity stunt, but the pleasure... more info
Fabulous book:
I bought this book for my 10 year old son, who loved it. I could tell it was not only entertaining him, but he was using critical thinking when learning about the clues. I am surprised he hasn't shown interest in the trading cards or on-line activities. Maybe that will come as friends read the books and start talking about those activities.
Well worth the money:
My daughter is 8 (strong reader) and has been mesmerized by this book. I had to force her to go to bed at night and she woke up 3 times in the night trying to get me to let her continue to read this book. The online site is wonderful. Literally this website (it's free) will keep your kid busy for weeks. It has a place to put the codes from the collector cards you get when you buy this book. There are hundreds of mini missions your child has to discover. Vocabulary would be appropriate for 5th grader and up.... more info
