ANDREW CLEMENTS has written over sixty books for children, including the enormously popular Frindle, Troublemaker, and the Benjamin Pratt & the Keepers of the School series. On the back flaps of the series’ first two books, Mr. Clements told us about his love of old things, and now adds: “And in that same home, as I scraped darkened varnish off a floorboard one day, my tool caught on something under the molding. I pulled, and out slid an 1862 Indian Head cent—a copper penny. And I thought, ‘How did this get here? Did it just slip from someone’s pocket and roll out of sight? Or did someone push it into that crack to stop a squeak . . . or did someone hide it there on purpose, a minimessage from the past?‘ I tucked that last idea away for later use, because that’s what writers do. I also tucked the penny away—I still have it. Some other incidents that prepared me to write this series happened near the rocky coast of New England. . . .”

 

ADAM STOWER has a rich imagination and loves fantasy and adventure stories. He studied illustration at the Norwich School of Art and Design and at the University of Brighton. He currently lives with his daughter in Brighton, England.

 

 

ATHENEUM BOOKS FOR
YOUNG READERS
SIMON & SCHUSTER • NEW YORK

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