U.S. Census Book Club: The 39 Clues

One of the aspects about my job that I most love is how I get paid to read books. I love reading. In the past several years, I've read around 20-30 adult books every year, several more kid novels, and countless picture books. But 2010 was off to a very disheartening start. With the combined efforts of my sons, my class and my second job all pulling for my time, I had finished not one entire book as of March 14. That is pitiful. I had been dilligently chipping away at a few books, but had not finished any. And then I got my job for the Census!

While I sit at my little table outside of Alco or IGA, I sometimes wait quite a while before someone takes up my offer to talk more about a great job. So, while I wait, I read. This too has been an answer to prayers. Last week, I finished THREE books. I could insert another YouTube clip here of angelic choirs singing, but I'll spare you.

The first book I finished was The 39 Clues: Book 1-A Maze of Bones. The 39 Clues is a new mystery series, specially designed to capture children's interest in the wake of the conclusion of Harry Potter. It is a planned series of 10 books, and what I find most interesting is that the series is being written by seven different authors. Rick Riordan wrote the first book and the outline for the series. This definitely caught my attention because he is the author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, a very cool look at Greek mythology. I just read Book 1 of that series to my students and they loved it. But I digress. Of the other six authors, three I'd never heard of, but the other three are very successful in their own right. This collaboration of an impressive roster of authors had me intrigued.

This is already too long. Quick conclusion: It wasn't so great. It is a noble effort and has a real "National Treasure" kind of vibe as the two teen protagonists hunt for clues about Benjamin Franklin, Mozart and other historical figures. But I wonder  if the kiddos will even make it through this plodding, overly-dense intro. We'll see...