Title: Land Of Stories #1: The Wishing Spell (but should change over time)
Author: Chris Colfer
Tracking Number: 14905
Location: Mulholland Ridge, Orinda, California United States
Clue:
This book is hidden on “the ridge.” If you’ve never been up here before, you’re in for a treat! Bring your family for a nice walk. (And bring a jacket — it’s often foggy and chilly).
Near the entrance to MOFD Firetrail 44-11 (about 1,030′ past 89 Donald Drive on the right-hand side), you will find a lockbox with a book inside. Solve the magic square puzzle below (in the image), and use the three numbers in the RIGHT-HAND COLUMN to open the box.
Keep the fun going! Don’t just leave the box empty. Bring a book (but not a library book!) and leave it locked in the box for the next book scavenger to find.
In a 3×3 magic square puzzle like this one, you use number 1-9. You may use each number ONLY ONCE. You will know you have solved the puzzle correctly when the numbers in EACH row, column and diagonal add up to 15.
Location: Approximately 55 Ivy Drive, Orinda, California United States
Clue:
This puzzle has three levels:
1) Unscramble the letters in the darker squares of the crossword puzzle (see photo) to find the precise location of the book hidden at approximately 55 Ivy Drive.
2) As an added bonus for Del Rey students: if you finish the whole crossword… wow! Great job! That’s really impressive. Bring the finished crossword to Mrs. Lee and she will reward your efforts and knowledge with a gift: a book of your choice.
3) As an *added* added bonus for Del Rey students, there’s one more thing to notice about this puzzle, something that only the most astute sleuths will figure out: there’s a reference to a certain book series hiding in this puzzle and its clues. If you detect this piece of the puzzle, nice job! Keep it a secret… except do tell Mrs. Lee and she will reward you with — you guessed it — a book of your choice.
You can do one, two or all three parts of the puzzle.
RULES (AND HINTS)
1) Every one of the answers is related to nursery rhymes, children’s books or famous stories and legends that most elementary kids know. You may not *remember* an answer, but I highly doubt that there’s anything here that you’ve never heard of.
2) Don’t worry if you don’t get an answer right away. After all, this is meant to be a challenge! Think for a moment, and if you don’t get it, move on. At the end, go back to the ones you left blank. Can you figure them out now that you have some of the letters?
3) No cheating. If it feels like it might be cheating, it probably is. (A good rule for life).
4) OK, fine, if you want to get specific about the no cheating thing: No asking someone to just tell you the answer. But talking with family members or a friend to figure something out together is OK. Looking at your books to figure out or remember a title or character is OK.
5) Working with a friend of family member is a great way to solve a crossword puzzle. It’s more fun, and besides, everybody knows and remembers different things, so you have a better chance of finishing if you team up (especially with someone of a different age).
6) If you’ve done all that — you’ve worked with a friend or family member *and* you’ve looked at books to jog your memory — and you *still* can’t figure it out, then yes, you can look up an answer online. But give it a few days first. Do your best to figure it out without the internet. And remember that the Level 2 puzzle (finishing the whole crossword) is not a race. There can be multiple people who complete the whole crossword and earn a reward — so try letting the puzzle sit for a day or two (this allows you to think about it again tomorrow) before you start googling.
And, now, for the clues themselves:
ACROSS
3. Owner of a magic pasta pot. In Italian, her name means “Grandma Witch”
6. Dragons love them. But not with spicy salsa.
8. ___ _., former Kid Spy for the Queen of England (now an author)
11. Officer Buckle’s canine buddy
13. The first name of kid detective who loves pancakes (see also 6 down)
14. Author/illustrator of historical graphic novels (also the the subject of his first book, the name of a famous American soldier and spy)
16. Friend to The Hooligans. Do not panic!
17. Jack and Annie’s first adventure (Magic Treehouse #1)
18. Boys who dug a hole but did not find treasure
20. Where the ____ ______Are
22. __ Putter and _____ (an old man and his cat)
23. Owner of a famous chocolate factory
25. The Boy Who Lived
26. “Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow … turn this stupid fat ___ yellow!”
28. He was a good little monkey, and always very curious
29. Girl detective Drew
32. Author/illustrator of the Knufflebunny, Pigeon, and Elephant & Piggie books
35. In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines, lived …
36. Kristi, Claudia, Mary Anne, Stacey and Dawn: The ___________ Club
37. Wilbur’s spider friend
38. Adventurous mouse _____ Stilton
39. Pants-less superhero of George and Harold’s homemade comic books. Tra-la-laa!!!
DOWN
1. _____ Stories To Tell in the Dark (Alvin Schwartz’s classic collection of spooky short stories)
2. The Three Little ____
4. With Dink and Josh, one of three detectives in Green Lawn, Connecticut
5. Hermione _______, the brightest witch of her age
6. The end of the name of kid detective who loves pancakes (see also 13 across)
7. The Name of This Book Is _____ (Pseudonymous Bosch)
8. Mac Barnett’s silly counting book features pancake-eating lumberjacks and polka-dotted rhinoceroses with bagpipes and bad breath … but no actual _______ as he promised in the title
9. The book that inspired this puzzle
10. The Book With No ________
12. The Very Hungry ___________
13. ___ ___, the first graphic novel to win the Newbery Medal, about a boy who goes to a new school
15. The name of the legendary sword in the stone
17. Famous vampire
19. Diary of a _____ Kid
21. _____ blind mice, see how they run ….
22. The “porcine wonder” resident of Deckawoo Drive who loves hot buttered toast
24. The One and Only ____, Mighty Silverback
27. ____ __ ___ __ Hat, Caldecott medal winner about a little fish wearing a hat and the big fish who wants it back
30. The Day the _______ Quit
31. Last name of beloved British author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Twits, Matilda, The BFG and others. He was also a fighter pilot and spy.
33. The _____, he who “speaks for the trees” and confronts the Once-ler
34. Toad’s best friend
36. Two friends who never meant to like each other: Ivy and ____
Title: Agatha, Girl of Mystery: The Eiffel Tower Incident
Author: Steve Stevenson
Tracking Number: 14902
Location: Orinda Intermediate School, Orinda, California United States
Clue:
In Book Scavenger, new friends Emily and James create a secret written language to communicate with each other. Use their cipher to decode this clue and find the book hidding in the “friendship garden” near the OIS office:
