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One False Note (The 39 Clues, Book 2)



Last updated Sunday, January 8, 2017

Author: Gordon Korman
Date of Publication: 2008
ISBN: 0545060427
Grade Level: 5th    (GLCs: Click here for grade level guidelines.)
Date(s) Used: Jan. 2017

Synopsis: This is the highly-anticipated Book 2 of the #1 bestselling The 39 Clues series. THIS JUST IN! Amy and Dan Cahill were spotted on a train, hot on the trail of one of 39 Clues hidden around the world. BUT WAIT! Police report a break-in at an elite hotel, and the suspects ALSO sound suspiciously like Amy and Dan. UPDATE! Amy and Dan have been seen in a car . . . no, in a speedboat chase . . . and HOLD EVERYTHING! They're being chased by an angry mob?!?

From Booklist: Korman takes the reins from Rick Riordan, responsible for series opener The Maze of Bones (2008), with barely a hitch as Amy and Dan Cahill continue their quest to solve the mystery of their wide-ranging and powerful extended family (a tree that branches from Mozart to Picasso to Snoop Dogg). The siblings’ bickering increases as they hunt down the next clue, but so do their successes as they manage to be always one step ahead of their various cutthroat cousins.

Note to readers:
•  It may be helpful to read the Comments to the kids before beginning the book. Use a map in the classroom or on your phone and show the kids where the Cahills have travelled and where they are heading. (began in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania traveled to Paris, France and on way to Vienna, Austria and Germany). You will not finish the book so try to read to page 26 where they steal a clue.

Discussion topics for before reading:
•  Have you ever traveled outside Los Angeles? If yes, where did you travel to?
•  Do you know what a treasure hunt or scavenger hunt is?(a race where the contestants solve clues to win a prize/find a treasure) Can you think of a modern day treasure hunt? (The Amazing Race)
•  Would you want to participate in a treasure or scavenger hunt?
•  Vocabulary: haughty-proud, arrogant; au pair--French for babysitter/nanny; podunk--a small, dull town; mused--consider/absorbed in thought; treacherous--dangerous; scouring--looking everywhere; sidled--to move furtively/sneaky; unceremoniously--discourteously abrupt/rude

Discussion topics for during/after reading:
•  Would you want to be a relative of a famous person? If so, why?
•  Amy and Dan Cahill had a choice of inheriting 1 million dollars or participating in the treasure hunt. What choice would you make?
•  If you went on an adventure with your family, what locations would you visit?

Craft ideas:
•  Make a treasure map or a map of your favorite places to visit.
•  Make a family tree of all your relatives. Can you imagine being in a treasure hunt with your relatives?
•  Create a Treasure Hunt for your family. First hide something of value (a book, cookie, dollar) somewhere in your home. Write out clues as to where the prize is on a piece of paper and hide them in the house away from the prize. Have your family find the clues to find the prize.
•  Check out our January craft ideas on Pinterest! https://www.pinterest.com/readingtokids/january-2017-mystery-adventure/

*Note: These craft ideas are just suggestions. You can use them, but you don't have to use them. You can expand upon them, or add your own twist. Remember, though, that the focus of your time should not be on the development and execution of a craft; the focus should be on the read-aloud and the enjoyment of the book!