From the Publisher
An intriguing, exciting story about the secrets hidden in a familiar world.” — Blue Balliett, author of CHASING VERMEER
“The book has much of the enterprising spirit of old-fashioned series fiction about young sleuths from the HARDY BOYS to TRIXIE BELDEN.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“A delicious multilayered romp.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Readers will relish being tourists on this treasure hunt.... Pick it up and watch for the sequel.” — School Library Journal
“Readers will get a real sense of the uniqueness that is New York City.” — ALA Booklist
Blue Balliett
An intriguing, exciting story about the secrets hidden in a familiar world.
ALA Booklist
Readers will get a real sense of the uniqueness that is New York City.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
The book has much of the enterprising spirit of old-fashioned series fiction about young sleuths from the HARDY BOYS to TRIXIE BELDEN.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
The book has much of the enterprising spirit of old-fashioned series fiction about young sleuths from the HARDY BOYS to TRIXIE BELDEN.
The Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books
The book has much of the enterprising spirit of old-fashioned series fiction about young sleuths from the HARDY BOYS to TRIXIE BELDEN.
School Library Journal
Gr 5–8—Twelve-year-old CJ, his nine-year-old sister Brid, and six-year-old Patrick Smithfork resent leaving Brooklyn for Manhattan, even though they are pleased that their dad's video-game company has struck it rich. Finding a wall, a painting, and a book behind a grille in their historical Fifth Avenue apartment, the children start to decipher clues that send them on an architectural treasure hunt. Their neighbor Eloise Post hopes that the hunt will reveal the whereabouts of her father's lost fortune from the 1930s. The man left a book of poems by Langston Hughes, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and others that lead to seven famous structures around the city. This debut novel is a breathtaking romp, focusing on the work of little-known master tile mason and architect Rafael Guastavino. Sherry's passion will make readers fall in love with New York and the poems that portray its many personalities. Full-page illustrations appear throughout. There is a majesty to the author's juxtaposition of monument and poem, although this grandeur masks some of the book's irregularities. The third-person perspective shifts in a way that distances readers from the main characters and impedes character development. Secondary figures are sometimes sketched lightly, although the implied sequel may develop them more fully. Similar to "The 39 Clues" (Scholastic) books or Michael D. Beil's "The Red Blazer Girls" (Knopf), this story incorporates many subplots but lacks a tidy narrative. Nevertheless, readers will relish being tourists on this treasure hunt, no matter what. Pick it up and watch for the sequel.—Caitlin Augusta, Stratford Library Association, CT
Kirkus Reviews
Myriad mysteries and long-lost treasure await the Smithfork children when they move from Brooklyn into an eccentric, historic apartment on the Upper East Side of New York City. Lonely and uncomfortable at first in this new environment, they find adventure behind the apartment walls, in secret passageways and in the nooks and crannies of their building as they make one remarkable discovery after another and meet a cast of fascinating neighbors. CJ, Brid and Patrick explore Manhattan from Harlem to Central Park to Ellis Island and get trapped in an abandoned subway station on their way to solving the clues that will lead them to a fabulous treasure trove and a happy ending. These children and their family dynamics are natural and engaging. The plot is well paced and completely believable, as Sherry deftly weaves fact and fiction in an intricate series of poetry and puzzles that challenge both characters and readers to look at the world with fresh eyes, humor and imagination. A delicious multilayered romp. (Magical adventure. 8-12)
