National Archive Hunters 1

March 1, 2024
Grades 4-6 *Starred Review* Ike Carter is a genius among history fans and a logical thinker, while his twin sister, Iris, is a gifted athlete with a photographic memory. Fifth-graders at a Washington, DC, Montessori school, they are helping out at the small history museum run by their mother when they witness a crime. A girl removes a valuable miniature portrait from the wall and escapes. Iris gives chase, but the thief eludes her. To save the museum, which is important to their family, Ike and Iris team up with a staff member at the National Archives, who helps them with their historical research. Meanwhile, the twins and their parents meet with a lawyer, who helps them handle an FBI agent who seems to suspect the whole family of theft. Developments send the Carters to Philadelphia and Boston, where more historical artifacts disappear, before they return home for the conclusion. Meanwhile, an ominous antagonist lurks in the background. More original and entertaining than most mystery and adventure novels, the story is immediately involving. The fast-paced first-person narrative shifts, chapter by chapter, between Iris and Ike, setting the stage, introducing the intriguing characters, and laying the groundwork for upcoming volumes in this engaging book in the National Archive Hunters series.

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April 1, 2024
In Washington, D.C., twins Ike and Iris use their brains and athletic abilities to solve a string of thefts that baffle even the FBI Art Crime Team. Icarus "Ike" Carter is a genius who sometimes tunes out when it comes to reading emotions; Iris, his sister, is a superior athlete with a photographic memory and spatial awareness to spare. Together with their museum curator mom and former Army officer dad (who's now a Montessori school principal), they run and bike their way around D.C.'s monuments and historic sites every day. When an impressively acrobatic girl steals a miniature portrait of George Washington from their mom's cash-strapped museum, Ike and Iris hatch a plan: solve the crime and save the museum by making the recovered portrait the center of an attention-grabbing new exhibit, "The Stolen Washington." The FBI gets involved, the underage criminal pulls off heists in Philadelphia and Boston, and the twins even become suspects themselves. As this case wraps up, the family accepts an offer to consult with the FBI in the future. Ike and Iris alternate as narrators, allowing their strengths to complement each other (even if Iris thinks Ike's explanation of Occam's razor is a "snooze-fest"). The action is nonstop as these fifth graders outthink a seasoned FBI agent, sprint through crowded streets, and even shimmy down a marble porch column with aplomb. The Carters are cued white. A high-energy story that holds its own in the growing pantheon of middle-grade crime thrillers. (historical notes) (Thriller. 8-12)

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