I featured the first book in the Horace j. Edwards and the Time Keepers series last Friday. 
THE SECRET OF THE SCARAB BEETLE kicked things off with a trip to ancient Egypt. The time travel mystery continues with THE SEARCH FOR THE LOST PROPHECY and this time Horace and his two friends portal to 1920s Detroit.
They seek answers as to why Horace is the keeper of this strange stone scarab beetle. It allows him to go through portals but what other secrets does it hold? His grandfather would know but he suddenly died and his grandmother is in a nursing home. The answers do come in bits and pieces from his own exploring and from Herman, another time keeper he meets.
Horace discovers all is not safe both in the present and the past, setting up a hair raising finale and a hint there may be some future time travel in the series. Great for those who can’t get enough mystery and time travel in their reading. The story moves along at a nice pace and the artists have come up with another great cover.
PUBLICATION DATE: 2017 PAGE COUNT: 240
FULL PLOT (From AMAZON) In The Search for the Lost Prophecy, the sequel to The Secret of the Scarab Beetle, Horace continues to search for more information about the Time Keepers and his role in this secret order. After he discovers that the tree portal at his grandparents’ farm is destroyed, Horace, along with his friends Anna and Milton, travels back in time to 1920s Detroit, hoping to learn more. There they meet keeper Herman at the Scarab Club and learn that someone is threatening the Time Keepers and the order’s mission. Horace finds out that the mystical Benben Stone is being stored in a crypt back in present-day Niles, Michigan. And Horace is now tasked with keeping the sacred stone safe. Will the person or persons threatening the Order learn of Horace’s true identity?
FIVE THINGS TO LIKE ABOUT:
THE SEARCH FOR THE LOST PROPHECY
- I often see a falcon flying high in the sky and wonder what it is up to. For Horace, his falcon is a personal protector and guide. We should all be so lucky!
- As much as I enjoy stories set in ancient Egypt, I was glad that the second book time traveled back to a completely different place in 1920s Detroit. You can’t get much more different than those two locations.
- Characters like Seth the bully and Horace’s uncle from the first book only make brief appearances, but there is enough stage setting to think they may be back causing more trouble in future stories. Interesting characters I’d like to know more about.
- A small drawing at the beginning of each chapter are the only images you will find. They make a great teaser for what’s ahead like the knife in chapter 15 and the graveyard in Chapter 11.
- You will learn a lot about the Dodge brothers and Detroit. A fascinating history of how they got started building cars.
FAVORITE LINES:
“Be careful!” shouted Anna, but it was too late.
He fell between the front seats, knocking the stick shift. The car suddenly jumped forward. And in a giant flash of blue light, they were gone.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR (From Sleeping Bear Press):
As a high school history teacher for over ten years, William (Bill) Meyer) has taught almost
every historic time period from the Italian Renaissance to the American Revolution. He says, “I’ve worked in urban districts from Detroit to New York City, but also in suburban schools like Scarsdale and Bronxville. However, regardless of the place or the students no topic has piqued the imagination of my classes as intensely as the study of Ancient Egypt.” As a result of both their interest and his own childhood curiosity about the mysteries of that era, he wrote the Horace j. Edwards and the Time Keepers series. In many ways the series reflects his experiences as both a kid and a teacher. Travelling around the world to places like London, Paris, and Rome, his interest and studies of the past have come to life. For Bill, whether it is teaching in the classroom or presenting to a larger audience, the past is more than just a group of facts to be memorized and timelines to be shared; it’s a window into a deeper understanding of ourselves and the world we live in. He was born in Detroit, and currently lives with his wife in New York.
This first book in the HORACE j. EDWARDS and the TIME KEEPERS series came out last year. I’m featuring it today in anticipation of my review next week on Marvelous Middle Grade Monday of Book Two: THE SEARCH FOR THE LOST PROPHECY.
FIVE THINGS TO LIKE ABOUT: CHILDREN OF REFUGE
The official study guide is now in its fifth edition and 2017’s version brings the first update since 2012. You don’t have to be a Bee participant to enjoy this book. The middle section includes over 40 pages of sample questions. Use them in the classroom during those few spare moments at the end or beginning of a class. You could even have a mini-competition at home. Here’s a sample question from the State Final Round:
white men when his raft crossed the line to the whites only beach. It set off what is known as the Chicago race riots. This new book by 
FIVE THINGS TO LIKE ABOUT: CROSSING THE LINE 
is in for a big surprise while building his treehouse: he’s first attacked by a creeper, and then must take on a group of zombies! The near miss has him feeling like the worst mob fighter in Minecraft, so when he finds a portal into a brand-new world, he’s willing to take his chances.
short chapters and just 112 pages. The appeal is a fast moving plot—action packed into every page as the creepy Enderman are up to no good like destroying villages and turning villagers into more Enderman. Here’s an excerpt:
Danica Davidson has written for MTV, The Onion, the Los Angeles Times, and about fifty other publications. She is also the author of the Unofficial Overworld Adventure series, as well as Manga Art for Beginners from Skyhorse Publishing.
master of this technique in writing. His new novel includes seven first person viewpoints scattered among thirty chapters.
FIVE THINGS TO LIKE ABOUT: RESTART 
Always in the Middle... 