We the Children (Benjamin Pratt and the Keepers of the School Series #1)

by Andrew Clements Narrated by Keith Nobbs

Overview

Benjamin Pratt's school is about to become the site of a new amusement park. It sounds like a dream come true! But lately, Ben has been wondering if he's going to like an amusement park in the middle of his town-with all the buses and traffic and eight dollar slices of pizza. It's going to change everything. And, Ben is not so big on all the new changes in his life, like how his dad has moved out and started living in the marina on what used to be the "family” sailboat. Maybe it would be nice if the school just stayed as it is. He likes the school. Loves it, actually. It's over 200 years old and sits right on the harbor. The playground has ocean breezes and the classrooms have million dollar views...MILLION DOLLAR views. And after a chance-and final-run-in with the school janitor, Ben starts to discover that these MILLION DOLLAR views have a lot to do with the deal to sell the school property. But, as much as the town wants to believe it, the school does not belong to the local government. It belongs to the CHILDREN and these children have the right to defend it!

Don't think Ben, his friend Jill (and the tag-along Robert) can ruin a multimillion dollar real estate deal? Then you don't know the history and the power of the Keepers of the School. A suspenseful six book series, book one, We the Children, starts the battle on land and on sea. It's a race to keep the school from turning into a ticket booth and these kids are about to discover just how threatening a little knowledge can be.

Editorial Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

Sixth-grader Ben Pratt is thrust into a mystery-adventure when his school's janitor shoves a gold coin in his hand, passing on the responsibility to save Oakes School from developers. Captain Oakes gave the school to the community back in 1783; its original building overlooks the Massachusetts town's harbor. But the land has been sold, and buildings will be razed to make way for a theme park. With his parents recently separated and new living arrangements-one week at home with mom, the next on dad's sailboat-Ben has had enough change. He and Jill Acton, a friend with brainpower and potential, embark on a campaign to stop the attack. Veteran Clements ably sets up his planned six-volume series with topical problems, convincing, likable characters and intriguing extra details. Ben is an enthusiastic sailor; this installment concludes with an exciting race and near-drowning. The author of Frindle (1996) knows his audience and sets his story in a world of cell phones, class assignments and afterschool rules that will seem familiar to his readers. They will welcome this new demonstration of kid power. Stower's art unseen. (Fiction. 8-12)

From the Publisher

This first novel in the new Benjamin Pratt and the Keepers of the School series centers on young
Benjamin’s efforts to save his historic elementary school from amusement-park developers. The school was founded in the late eighteenth century by an eccentric sea captain, Duncan Oaks. In their attempt to save the school, Benjamin and his friend Jill uncover a long string of clues and discover that the school’s janitor is not as innocent as he appears. Jill and Benjamin have still not fit together all the missing pieces toward the end of the story, when Clements sends Benjamin on an exciting side trip to a sailing regatta, where he competes and saves a fellow racer. Several other youth novels feature kids facing off against greedy, nefarious developers. What sets this title apart is the skillful way that Clements conveys Benjamin’s growing appreciation of his seaside hometown’s landscape and history. Readers will look forward to finding out how the disparate clues come together in coming installments. — Todd Morning, BOOKLIST, March 15, 2010

Sixth-grader Ben Pratt is thrust into a mystery-adventure when his school’s janitor shoves a gold coin in his hand, passing on the responsibility to save Oakes School from developers. Captain Oakes gave the school to the community back in 1783; its original building overlooks the Massachusetts town’s harbor. But the land has been sold, and buildings will be razed to make way for a theme park. With his parents recently separated and new living arrangements—one week at home with mom, the next on dad’s sailboat—Ben has had enough change. He and Jill Acton, a friend with brainpower and potential, embark on a campaign to stop the attack. Veteran Clements ably sets up his planned six-volume series with topical problems, convincing, likable characters and intriguing extra details. Ben is an enthusiastic sailor; this installment concludes with an exciting race and near-drowning. The author of Frindle (1996) knows his audience and sets his story in a world of cell phones, class assignments and afterschool rules that will seem familiar to his readers. They will welcome this new demonstration of kid power. Stower’s art unseen. (Fiction. 8-12) — KIRKUS, March 15, 2010, STAR

This suspenseful novel, which launches Clements's (No Talking) Benjamin Pratt & the Keepers of the School series, catapults Ben into a mystery surrounding his seaside school. Founded by a Revolutionary War–era sea captain, the school is slated to be demolished to make way for an amusement park. Just before he dies, the longtime custodian gives the sixth grader a gold coin imprinted with the founder's declaration that the school “belongs to the children” and cryptic instructions on how to “defend” it. Ben and his friend Jill set out to decode the message, a process that involves some intriguing questions and maneuverings. Clements has the makings of an action-lover's dream scenario: a school setting full of history and secrets, a tense kids-versus-adults dynamic, and a sailing race to boot. Some may be disappointed by how little is revealed, though, and the climactic race, while exciting, ends the story abruptly. Characteristically, Clements probes his hero's personal quandaries, as Ben deals with his parents' separation, his growing feelings for Jill, and the potential loss of his beloved school. PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, March 22, 2010

HORN BOOK

We the Children [Benjamin Pratt and the Keepers of the School]

by Andrew Clements, illus. by Adam Stower

Intermediate Atheneum 146 pp.

4/10 978-1-4169-3886-6 $14.99

The always popular Andrew Clements begins a new mystery series set on the New England coast. It starts with a bang, as the injured school custodian presses a mysterious coin on Ben, making him swear to keep it secret, and dies. Words on the coin lead Ben to take a second look at the imminent plan to tear down his old school to build an amusement park, and he begins working with a fellow student, Jill, to try to figure out the coin, and who the sneaky new custodian is. Ben and Jill find a clue that instructs them to follow five steps in order. This is very much a series entry, as the book ends before any of the clues have been followed. It's light stuff, but a side story featuring a sailing race and the backstory of Ben's newly separated parents give it more substance, and there's a lot of child appeal in a novel where kids are the appointed rescuers in a quest handed down through time. SUSAN DOVE LEMPKE

Sixth-grader Ben is racing off to class when he finds the janitor, Mr. Keane, in severe pain. The man gives him a gold coin from 1783 that has been passed down through the years by loyal janitors and can be traced to the first man hired by the founder of Captain Duncan Oakes School. It reads, “First and always/My school belongs to the children./Defend it.” A few hours later, he is dead. The town council has sold the school to a big company to build a theme park, and there’s something very fishy about the deal. With the words on the coin as his first clue, Ben studies the history of his school, which is 50 feet from the water’s edge in a Massachusetts coastal town, and he convinces his friend Jill to help him explore it. Meanwhile, Ben is adjusting to his parents’ separation and living at home with his Mom and on the sailboat with his dad. Expressive, dynamic full-page and spot illustrations rendered in pen and ink heighten the action. An exciting ending sequence features Ben participating in a sailboat race and becoming a reluctant hero. There are many questions to be answered in the next book. Good writing by an experienced author, likable characters, and a mystery to be solved make this a solid choice.–SLJ, May 2010

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170769162
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster
Publication date:	04/06/2010
Series:	Benjamin Pratt and the Keepers of the School Series , #1
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

Read an Excerpt

Keepers of the School We the Children

As the ship’s bell clanged through the school’s hallway for the third time, Ben ran his tongue back and forth across the porcelain caps that covered his front teeth, a nervous habit. And he was nervous because he was late. Again.

When she was being the art teacher, Ms. Wilton was full of smiles and fun and two dozen clever ways to be creative with egg cartons and yarn—but in homeroom she was different. More like a drill sergeant. Or a prison guard. Still, maybe if he got to his seat before she took attendance, he might not have to stay after school. Again.

The art room was in the original school building, and Ben was still hurrying through the Annex, the newer part of the school. But the long connecting hallway was empty, so he put on a burst of speed. He banged through the double doors at a dead run, slowed a little for the last corner, then sprinted for the art room.

Halfway there, he stopped in his tracks.

“Mr. Keane—are you okay?”



It was a stupid question. The janitor was dragging his left leg as he used the handle of a big dust mop like a crutch, trying to get himself through the doorway into his workroom. His face was pale, twisted with pain.

“Help me . . . sit down.” His breathing was ragged, his voice raspy.

Ben gulped. “I should call 9-1-1.”

“Already did, and I told ’em where to find me,” the man growled. “Just get me . . . to that chair.”

With one arm across Ben’s shoulders, Mr. Keane groaned with each step, then eased himself into a chair by the workbench.

“Sh-should I get the school nurse?”

Mr. Keane’s eyes flashed, and his shock of white hair was wilder and messier than usual. “That windbag? No—I broke my ankle or somethin’ on the stairs, and it hurts like the devil. And it means I’m gonna be laid up the rest of the school year. And you can stop lookin’ so scared. I’m not mad at you, I’m just . . . mad.”

As he snarled that last word, Ben saw his yellowed teeth. And he remembered why all the kids at Oakes School tried to steer clear of old man Keane.

A distant siren began to wail, then a second one. Edgeport wasn’t a big town, so the sound got louder by the second.

From under his bushy eyebrows, Mr. Keane looked up into Ben’s face. “I know you, don’t I?”

Ben nodded. “You helped me and my dad scrape the hull of our sailboat two summers ago. Over at Parson’s Marina.” He remembered that Mr. Keane had been sharp and impatient the entire week, no fun at all.

“Right—you’re the Pratt kid.”

“I’m Ben . . . Benjamin.”

The janitor kept looking into his face, and Ben felt like he was in a police lineup. Then the man suddenly nodded, as if he was agreeing with someone.

He straightened his injured leg, gasping in pain, pushed a hand into his front pocket, then pulled it back out.

“Stick out your hand.”

Startled, Ben said, “What?”

“You hard a’ hearing? Stick out your hand!”

Ben did, and Mr. Keane grabbed hold and pressed something into his palm, quickly closing the boy’s fingers around it. Then he clamped Ben’s fist inside his leathery grip. Ben wanted to yank his hand loose and run, but he wasn’t sure he could break free . . . and part of him didn’t want to. Even though he was frightened, he was curious, too. So he just gulped and stood there, eyes wide, staring at the faded blue anchor tattooed on the man’s wrist.

“This thing in your hand? I’ve been carryin’ it around with me every day for forty-three years. Tom Benton was the janitor here before me, and the day he retired, he handed it to me. And before Tom Benton, it was in Jimmy Conklin’s pocket for thirty-some years, and before that, the other janitors had it—every one of ’em, all the way back to the very first man hired by Captain Oakes himself when he founded the school. Look at it . . . but first promise that you’ll keep all this secret.” He squinted up into Ben’s face, his blue eyes bright and feverish. “Do you swear?”

Ben’s mouth was dry. He’d have said anything to get this scary old guy with bad breath to let go of him. He whispered, “I swear.”

Mr. Keane released his hand, and Ben opened his fingers.

And then he stared. It was a large gold coin with rounded edges, smooth as a beach pebble.

Outside, the sirens were closing in fast.

“See the writing? Read it.”



With shaky hands, Ben held the coin up to catch more light. The words stamped into the soft metal had been worn away to shadows, barely visible.

He read aloud, still whispering. “‘If attacked, look nor’-nor’east from amidships on the upper deck.’” He turned the coin over. “‘First and always, my school belongs to the children. DEFEND IT. Duncan Oakes, 1783.’”

Mr. Keane’s eyes flashed. “You know about the town council, right? How they sold this school and all the land? And how they’re tearin’ the place down in June? If that’s not an attack, then I don’t know what is.”

He stopped talking and sat still. He seemed to soften, and when he spoke, for a moment he sounded almost childlike. “I know I’m just the guy who cleans up and all, but I love it here, with the wind comin’ in off the water, and bein’ able to see halfway to England. And all the kids love it too—best piece of coast for thirty miles, north or south. And this place? This is a school, and Captain Oakes meant it to stay that way, come blood or blue thunder. And I am not giving it up without a fight. And I am not giving this coin to that new janitor—I told him too much already.” His face darkened, and he spat the man’s name into the air. “Lyman—you know who he is?”

Ben nodded. The assistant custodian was hard to miss, very tall and thin. He had been working at the school since right after winter vacation.

“Lyman’s a snake. Him, the principal, the superintendent—don’t trust any of ’em, you hear?”

The principal? Ben thought. And the superintendent? What do they have to do with any of this?

The sirens stopped, and Ben heard banging doors, then commotion and shouting in the hallway leading from the Annex.

The janitor’s breathing was forced, and his face had gone chalky white. But he grabbed Ben’s wrist with surprising strength and pushed out one more sentence. “Captain Oakes said this school belongs to the kids. So that coin is yours now, and the fight is yours too—yours!”

The hairs on Ben’s neck stood up. Fight? What fight? This is crazy!

Two paramedics burst into the room, a woman and a man, both wearing bright green gloves. A policeman and Mrs. Hendon, the school secretary, stood out in the hallway.

“Move!” the woman barked. “We’re getting him out of here!”

Mr. Keane let go of Ben’s wrist, and Ben jumped to one side, his heart pounding, the coin hidden in his hand.

The woman gave the janitor a quick exam, then nodded at her partner and said, “He’s good to go—just watch the left leg.”

And as they lifted the custodian onto the gurney and then strapped him down flat, the old man’s eyes never left Ben’s face.

As they wheeled him out, Mrs. Hendon came into the workroom and said, “I’m glad you were here to help him, Ben. Are you all right?”

“Sure, I’m fine.”

“Well, you’d better get along to class now.”

Ben picked up his backpack and headed toward the art room. And just before he opened the door, both sirens began wailing again.

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