The Mystery of the Barking Branches and the Sunken Ship - (Cayuga Island Kids) by Judy Bradbury (Paperback)

About the Book

On the first day of summer vacation, four mystery-loving friends on a small island are seeking a dogwood tree when they unearth a remnant of a famous battleship built in the 1600s.

Book Synopsis

Pesky was pawing at something. Maya leaned over to take a closer look. At the edge of a patch of wildflowers there was a hard, round bump. Was it just a rock? Or was something buried there? When five friends set off to solve the mystery of a "barking" tree, they unearth a remnant of a famous battleship built in the 1600s! The island they live on is home to a whole lot of history and, it turns out, a whole lot of mystery, too... Meet the Cayuga Island Kids! It's summer vacation, and that means there's plenty of time for a quest, a mystery, and exciting adventure. This first book in the Cayuga Island Kids chapter book series is loosely based on one of the most intriguing unsolved mysteries of the Great Lakes: the disappearance of fur-trading ship the Griffon. As the kids follow clues offered by the cannonball they find, young readers will learn about taking notes, verifying sources, and what an adventure doing research can be, learning to be "fact detectives" like the Cayuga Island Kids. The second book in the series, The Adventure of the Big Fish by the Small Creek, will release in Fall 2021.

Review Quotes

"The Mystery of the Barking Branches and the Sunken Ship is a delight! There is SO MUCH packed into this amazing chapter book! Rich information is woven throughout the story. The characters learn about nature, history, science, math, geography, explorers, rhyming words, vocabulary (i.e. archives, primary sources), and more... a tome that encourages curiosity, learning, and fun! As a teacher, I love this realistic action story because it would be a great guided reading or shared reading text. Children in primary grades (1-3) would love this book as an independent reading selection. It would be a great book for cross-curricular learning since there is science, social studies, and math woven throughout! I can see many extension activities for teachers or parents to use with readers." --Kirsten Burke Smith, M.S.Ed. President-Elect, New York State Reading Association 2019 NYSRA Literacy Educator of the Year Past President, Niagara Frontier Reading Council

"Any book that begins with a map of an island is my kind of story. Enliven that setting with a diverse group of characters who are consistently kind--and bursting with curiosity--and you've got all the elements of a series that is alive with adventure, friendship, and mystery." --James Preller, author of the Jigsaw Jones mystery series

"Likeable kids use their distinctive personalities and particular interests to solve two non-crime mysteries. Good fun and gentle humor abound."--Vivian Vande Velde, Edgar Award-winner and author of Twitch the Squirrel chapter books

About the Author

Judy Bradbury is an author, award-winning literacy advocate and educator, and host of the popular Children's Book Corner blog. She is also a Cayuga Island Kid. Judy grew up on the island, which is located a few miles upstream from the mighty Niagara Falls. She rode the bicycle her father built for her up and down the island's streets, which weren't paved until the year she turned ten. Judy explored all the alleys on Cayuga Island, too. Learn more about Judy and find activities for the Cayuga Island Kids series at www.judybradbury.com. Gabriella Vagnoli was born in Pisa, Italy, from a Brazilian mom and an Italian dad. With her heart constantly in two different countries, she then decided to add a third by moving to the United States and marrying an American. She is now raising two beautiful multicultural boys that think, like her, that the world is after all a very small place. Gabriella loves the ability to visually communicate a story that will be indelibly imprinted in a young mind, just like many illustrated stories from her childhood had stayed with her throughout her life.