39 Clues

I just finished reading the most recent 39 Clues book (#9 and there will be 12) and I have to say the series is very enjoyable and I'd highly recommend it for early readers (8-12 years old). It could work for younger children who are avid readers, but some of the history might be lost on them. I've always described it as a book version of the movie National Treasure.

A brother and sister get pulled into this hunt for the 39 clues, which are all over the world. They are up against other branches of their family (kind of like a secret society, but they're all "family"). There are 4 branches and each family branch specializes in something different: art/music, science/inventions, sports/exploring, and leaders/spies. I'm an Ekaterina who are the scientists and inventors. LoL Anyway, finding all the ingredients will make you the most powerful person and all of that. There is a nice amount of adventure and suspense in the books and it's nice to see the strong bond between the brother/sister too. Though, they are brother and sister and have their issues as siblings tend to have. What makes them really fun, though, is the world geography and history you learn.

National Treasure mixes in historical facts with non-historical storylines and 39 clues does similar things. Of course, all the greats in history are apart of the Cahill family and one of the branches, but you get to travel all over the place! The books start in Pennsylvania with Benjamin Franklin, then you travel to France, Austria, Italy, Japan, Korea, Egypt, Russia, Australia, South Africa, China, and Jamaica. Each country you go to, you learn some real fact about a person in that area and the book basically "follows" that person until the clue is figured out. So in Austria, it centered around Mozart and his sister (I never knew Mozart had a sister who was just as good at the piano as he). China, it was around the Forbidden City, but was really about Puyi (last emperor of China). The China one also went to Mt. Everest, the Great Wall, and the terracotta soldiers. The latest book was about Jamaica and the pirate Anne Bonny and The Right Excellent Nanny of the Maroons. Anyway, you learn history and you learn geography since you bounce all over the World.

In addition to the books being written by different children authors and syncing pretty darn well to each other, the books also promote card collecting to gain new clues, new puzzles, etc (I don't do the cards other than to find the super rare card for the clue to add to my profile LoL) and the computer! You have your own profile on the webpage, which allows you to keep track of the clues you've found from the cards and it has little missions you complete, games, and you can win prizes! Well, you win prizes if you're young enough. LoL Cash and international trips for your family. I enjoy doing the missions because it adds another clue to your profile and you learn more history. The missions are played out so it's you trying to find the next clue. One of them had you learn about the Taj Mahal. I like the games too. You'd think since it's a thing for younger kids it'd be super easy for me, but they're not. Some are easy because they're shooting games, but the logic ones take some work! Anyway, the on-line stuff is just as much fun as reading the books. :)

So, yeah, this long post was to promote the 39 Clues since I no longer work at a bookstore and can't tell random strangers on a daily basis about how great the series is for young children. :) I think it's a clever ploy to get kids to read since they can also use the computer to play games, earn some money, and win prizes, but they also learn some history at the same time. I'm not sure what I'll do when the series ends, though. It'll be almost 3 years from the publication of the first book to the 12th and last book. I could count on having a book to read every 3 months. LoL

With that...time to study for my 207 final before I hit the sack. My last class is tomorrow! :D The first proposal committee review meeting is tomorrow at 3:30 and my one and only final is on Friday at 1-4pm. Next Wed my 242 paper is due and then I'm FINISHED!!!! It might be a B+ free quarter too. :D (Depends on my 207 final since it's our only grade for the class and 242 paper but I have an A- going into the paper at least.) My grades are slowly getting better every quarter -- 2 B+'s 1st quarter, 1 B+ 2nd quarter, hopefully 0 B+'s 3rd quarter. A-'s are killing me, though. They're better than a B+, but I had 1 B+, 3 A-'s and 1 A last quarter. They're hurtin' my GPA! My prediction for this quarter: 3 A-'s and 2 A's. A- in natural resource econ, enviro law/policy, and stats (already know I got an A- in stats); A in marine processes and GP. If I'm lucky, I could possibly pull an A in natural resource econ and enviro law/policy. We'll see!