The Maze of Bones (39 Clues Series) - Book Review & Huge Prize Pack Giveaway

"If you accept, you shall be given the first of thirty-nine clues. These clues will lead you to a secret, which, should you find it, will make you the most powerful, influential human beings on the planet. You will realize the destiny of the Cahill family." - The 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan

I'm hooked, so completely hooked. The popular 39 Clues series now has another fan after I read book 1: The 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones. Meant for middle school children ages 8-12+, the series reminds me of an interactive The Da Vinci Code for kids, sans religion. The multi-media adventure series combines 10 books, an online game, collectible cards and cash prizes in a way sure to excite even the most reluctant readers. (You must read the books in order to fully participate in the online game. However, the book series can be read and enjoyed without playing the online game.)

Power, riches, codes, exotic destinations, and famous individuals. The members Cahill family don't fully realize the history of their family lineage until the matriarch of their family, Grace, dies. After an unusual reading of her will, they must choose between a million dollars or a dangerous, mysterious race that will send them all across the world to discover the Cahill family secret. The plot centers around orphan siblings, Dan (age 11) and Amy (age 14) as they try to find and decode the 39 clues before their evil, sneaky relatives beat them to it. In The 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones - Book 1 they follow messages involving their ancestor Benjamin Franklin, end up in Paris and try to discover the first of many clues.

The exciting adventure captivated me and left me wishing I could read the entire series immediately. What kind of secret could make one the most powerful person on the planet? I must admit, I'm intrigued. I've heard many kids find the series just as fascinating. One fellow blogger sent this response via twitter, "My youngest, 13 yo boy loves those books and the game!" What an exciting way to encourage children, both boys and girls, to read. I briefly logged into the online game, but did not get much of a chance to play around yet. The winners of the first episode have been selected but readers can still join and try for subsequent episode prizes. My only complaint: the books include sets of cards that have unique ID numbers for use online. The numbers can only be used one time, so if you have multiple family members that want to play, each will need to get their own set of cards.

The Maze of Bones is the first book in the 10-book series. Each book in the series is written by a different author and includes a set of collectible game cards. A prominent figure from history is featured in each book, the first two books involving Benjamin Franklin and Mozart, respectively.

The 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones - Book 1 by Rick Riordan. Scholastic (September 2008); 220 pages; ISBN 9780545060394

Related links:
www.the39clues.com Official Game Website
The Maze of Bones Discussion Guide
Video Read-aloud - Rick Riordan Reads The Maze of Bones
The Maze of Bones Text Excerpt [pdf]

Book 3 by Peter Lerangis – The 39 Clues: The Sword Thief – comes out March 3!


HUGE GIVEAWAY!!! To celebrate the release of the 3rd book in the series, Scholastic has kindly offered to giveaway (1) Scholastic 39 Clues Prize Pack to a Brimful Curiosities reader. The Prize Pack includes the first 3 books in the series, a 39 Clues Card Pack, and a 39 Clues t-shirt.

To enter, visit The Scholastic Store Website and leave a comment here telling me one fact you learned about the 39 Clues series.

• For contact purposes, if you are a non-blogger or your email is not accessible in your blog profile, please leave a valid email address within the comment section.
• Contest is open to US only
• Contest ends on Monday, March 9th, 2008 at 11:59 PM CST.
• Winner will be chosen at random

Three ways to gain extra entries (Maximum total entries is 4):
1st extra entry: Follow Me! or subscribe by email or RSS reader
2nd extra entry: Blog about this contest then post your link in the comment section.
3rd extra entry: Follow me on twitter (iambrimful) and tweet about the contest.

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Welcome to Brimful Curiosities, where every week is a children's book carnival! This review/giveaway is one of my contributions to the Book Giveaway Carnival, (March 2-8, 2009). Head over there for all the great giveaways this week! And don't forget to enter my other giveaways!

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