The
Secret Cave
A Children's Novel by
Lisa Maria Lanno,
Juvenile Fiction - Adventure/Mystery
Ages 8-12
A real life type mystery
with lots of chills and thrills, twists & turns. Creative thinking
promoted
throughout the book with “Stop & Think” questions that end each chapter.
They will challenge the imagination, encouraging young ones to decide how
“they” would write the next chapter. A handy vocabulary section will help
with word meanings & spelling. Great for children, parents, and teachers!
These “hidden educational elements” will teach while the children are enjoying
the story.
THE BOOK
A summer vacation on a lake, two families and the adventure
of a lifetime! Two curious cousins exploring the deep woods see a
very strange site in the distance while at the
top of a tree. They decide to investigate. This leads
them to a journey full of secrets, mysteries, adventure, and a 300–year–old
mystery.
Join Joe, Ronnie and their four sisters, as they unravel a
puzzle full of CLUES, HIDDEN CAVES, AN OLD DIARY, TREASURE, and DANGER
at every turn. What is lurking in the caves? Will
they solve the riddles? Will they get lost, hurt, or worse? The secrets will
be shown to you!
Here’s a peek at what to expect,
along with Chapter One!
Don’t forget the “Stop & Think”
questions at the end. Make up your own thoughts as to how YOU would write the
next chapter. Then see what my imagination told me to write.
Table of Contents &
Chapter One
Chapter 1 The Strange White Rocks
Chapter 2 The Mystery Note
Chapter 3 The Next Day
Chapter 4 The Diary
Chapter 5 A Trip Back In Time
Chapter 6 The First Mystery, Solved
Chapter 7 The Clues
Chapter 8 The Spike
Chapter 9 The Green Trunk
Chapter 10 A Midnight Adventure
Chapter 11 An Underground Death?
Chapter 12 A Search In The Dark
Chapter 13 The Treasure
Chapter 14 A Surprise Discovery
Vocabulary Words
Chapter 1 – The Strange White Rocks
In the warm sunlight of a calm, mid July morning, the shrieks
of two boys are heard echoing through the air. Joe and Ronnie race to safety,
scared to death and shivering with fright. They've seen something horrifying
and went running for their lives. What could have terrified these thirteen year
olds? Let’s go back a few days to find out.
On the first day of a family vacation, the boys planned to
enjoy a beautiful lake, forest trails, and comfortable cottages. With backpacks
full of supplies, Joe and Ronnie headed toward a wooded path for a day of
exploring. They hoped to find lots of unusual specimens, along one of the
countless trails to investigate and wondered if anything interesting would
happen. Although there was just a hint of a
breeze, and the birds were singing, there was an air of
mystery that lingered about, and the boys felt it.
“Hey, want some gum?” asked Joe, adjusting his old, worn Red
Sox cap. “Is it as old as that hat?” questioned Ronnie? “Laugh all you want,
it’s my lucky hat,” answered Joe, peering under the visor with
his big, dark brown eyes. He gave Ronnie a handful of bubble
gum. Ronnie had a brand new hat, which proudly sat atop his straight, chocolate
brown hair. “Oh and get a hair cut,” suggested Ronnie, noticing Joe’s curly,
dark hair poking out the sides of his cap. “Anything else?” asked Joe. “Yeah,
you’re too short and too skinny.” “You’re too tall and too chubby,” Joe
replied. This teasing was endless, as the boys were cousins and close in age.
Joe was only a few months older than Ronnie. Although they had much in
common, there were the differences. Ronnie was the class clown, full of smart
comments, which occasionally got him sent to the office at school. Joe would
think fast and always had a good comeback. Ronnie would annoy his cousin to the
point of aggravation, knowing just when to stop, as Joe had a short fuse.
Joe's temper got him an occasional note from the teacher.
The boys both have older sisters, younger sisters, their dads
are brothers, and their moms are best friends. Joe’s older sister Genevieve, or
Genie as she is called, is sixteen. Valerie, Ronnie’s older sis is fifteen.
Joe’s little sister Emily is ten, and Ronnie’s younger sister Anna is just
eight. Both families get together often, enjoying outings at home as well as
vacations. They live in a scenic area, in the Western part of Massachusetts,
although they do get to the city, especially during baseball season.
They love apple picking in the fall, with the boys climbing
the highest treetops to retrieve apples. Anna and Valerie join in, while Genie
and Emily prefer to stay on the ground. Summertime is for strawberry picking.
Genie and Valerie like to make jam, and are teaching Emily. Anna would rather
stomp on berries to see how far they splat. “So what do you want to do later?”
Ronnie asked Joe. “I don’t know. Maybe go to the campfire at the beach
tonight,” responded Joe. “Oh yeah, there’s gonna be a ton of food,” remarked
Ronnie, with his big, crystal blue eyes lighting up. “Is that all you think
about?” commented Joe. “Most of the time,” answered Ronnie.
With a chuckle, they continued their stroll. As they headed
deeper into the woods, the sounds of music and laughter were replaced by
chirping birds, with their calls ringing from one tree to another. Furry
squirrels, hopping from branch to branch stirred up the unmistakable smell of
fresh pine. This was a perfect day so far. “Got your camping knife?” Ronnie
asked Joe. “Right here,” he replied, patting the pocket of his pants. “Hey
wait,” said Joe, stopping suddenly and digging into his backpack. “Look at
this,” he said, handing Ronnie a brand new slingshot. “Cool! Let me try,” said
Ronnie, reaching for the pellets. He carefully aimed at some berries at the
top of a tree, and with amazing skill, down came a bunch of
berries. “Not bad for a first try,” said Joe with a little
envy in his voice. “Yeah, I’m a natural,” responded Ronnie. “You wish,”
commented Joe, as they continued taking turns.
Ronnie had a bit of an edge on Joe, being a couple of inches
taller, with a longer reach, but Joe was quick on his feet, catching anything
that fell from the trees before it even hit the ground.
As mid morning approached, the young explorers were getting
hungry. They dropped their packs and sat for a snack. Ronnie relaxed in the
shade of a tree. He’d piled in so much food, that he forgot sun lotion to
prevent his very light complexion from burning. Joe, on the other hand, enjoyed
the warm rays,
bronzing easily with his darker skin tone. They talked about
the newest video games and collecting baseball cards that hopefully would be
worth money in the future. They were off on their own, away from everything and
everyone. Not even a cell phone would work this far out. The boys were
enjoying every minute of this early day.
After their break, they resumed shooting at berries with the
slingshot. Joe hit a bunch, and as the tiny fruits came down, they noticed
something in the tree. “I think it’s a birds’ nest,” said Joe. They eagerly
climbed up, expecting to find baby birds. All they found were broken pieces of
bright blue shells in the
abandoned nest, most likely a robins’ home. Since the babies
were now on their own, the boys decided to take the nest as their first
specimen. Joe grabbed it and climbed down. Ronnie climbed back up to the
highest branch to have a look around. He clearly saw the base of a hill in the
distance. On the ground were some huge, white rocks, and from where he was, the
rocks seemed to form a shape. “Joe, get up here. You’re not gonna believe what
I think I see, and bring the binoculars,” said Ronnie in a serious voice. Joe
zipped up the tree, nearly slipping twice, perching himself next to his cousin.
“Look out there and tell me what those rocks look like,” continued Ronnie. Joe
looked, as Ronnie took the binoculars. “They look like a face,” commented Joe,
confused. With a strange expression, Ronnie handed Joe the binoculars. Joe
couldn’t imagine what his cousin had seen. “This is too weird,” said Ronnie.
Joe took a good look for himself, and it certainly was weird. The giant rocks
in the distance didn’t form a face.
They formed the shape of a skull! Could this really be?
How did they get there? Should they check it out? Could there be danger
ahead?
Stop & Think
If you were Joe and Ronnie, would you check out the white
rocks? What do you think the white rocks in a skull shape could be? (Make up
your own thoughts, as if you were writing the book)
Book an event or writer's workshop, Up to
45% Book Discount, for schools, Libraries, Organizations, Excellent Fund-Raiser.
Workshops
Imagination Station
Creative Workshops For Kids! (And Grown-Ups too!)
Think, imagine, create, & learn. Have Fun!
Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring
We can imagine anything!
Imagination Station is where anything is possible, & everyone
is always right.
You can never go wrong with your imagination!
Featuring:
Creative Writing Workshops
Author Talks
Summer Fun Workshops
Student/Teacher Lectures
*School Visits & *After School Programs
*Summer Programs
*Library Visits & Programs
*Organizations *Bookstores
*Student Seminars *Teacher Seminars
Kids Workshops
Workshop Example 1
“Secret Cave” Author Visit - Creative Writer’s
Workshop
Program Time: 1 to 2 hrs
Introduction of the Book & Author, First Chapter Reading,
audience is asked one of the “Stop & Think” questions, and
the fun
begins! Imaginations soar as young & old alike can share
their own
thoughts and creativity. When everyone sees how great they
can be, we
go into a bit of motivation and a
Q & A segment.
Talk can be combined with the “Creative Writer’s Workshop”,
(or
scheduled for a different time/day).
Armed with markers & more, stories emerge from themed story
starters,
helping to guide each step along the way to a complete &
individual story.
Workshop Example 2
Get Lively, Thinking & Laughing! Program Time: 1
to 2 hrs
Indoors or Outdoors - Great for Summer Camp Fun
A “New” Hot Potato: Kids sit in a traditional circle with
either a potato for
indoors, or a water balloon for outdoors. Music is played,
the potato is
passed, but the person who is “out”, answers a question by
giving a color,
stripe or dot, big or little, name a bug, etc. I have a
drawing of something
silly (like a space alien), and a “list” to go along with the
responses. By the
end, we may have a pink alien, with yellow ears, green dotted
nose, who is
afraid of butterflies, eats broccoli, and lives in a purple
tree! Everyone is
given a blank picture to color and write their own story.
(Also works great
with “Red Light, Green Light)
Dress in the Circle (More Hot Potato)
Someone volunteers to get into the circle (usually a
teacher). I have a
variety of dress-up items. They must pick something for the
one in the
circle to wear. By the end, everyone is hysterical, watching
the teacher
with a clown nose, goofy hat, big glasses, etc. They tell a
silly story about
the character they have created! Everyone wants the center
after that!
For the "wee" ones
Even toddlers and pre-school children can have fun with this
program.
We start at "circle time" with a few "one page" stories.
They choose some "dress up" items, and return to the circle.
Now they use their imaginations and tell what they are and
where they are
going (according to age level).
Now it's time for a Parade!
When dress up items are put away, out come the markers &
crayons, and
they color in the stories that were told earlier, as they are
printed in b/w for
them to color.
They have had fun, used their imaginations, and learned at
the same time!
Have
any questions, comments or suggestions, email Lisa at
lisa@lisamlanno.com
