The Mystery at the Coral Reef

by Harper Paris, Marcos Calo (Illustrator)

Overview

Ethan and Ella are on the trail of an Australian coral thief in the eighth book of Greetings from Somewhere, an exciting series about mystery, travel, and adventure.

Ethan and Ella are in Australia, home to beautiful beaches and some of the most famous coral reefs in the world—plus tons of cool fish and other underwater creatures! And not only that, Australia is home to Ethan and Ella’s aunt, uncle, and cousin. The twins dive right into the water for some snorkeling at their cousin’s beach house, and while they’re exploring, they come across a watch that’s still ticking. Whose is it? Then they hear reports of fishermen illegally taking coral from the reefs nearby. Could Ethan and Ella be on the trail of a coral thief?

With easy-to-read language and illustrations on almost every page, the Greetings from Somewhere chapter books are perfect for beginning readers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781481423700
Publisher:	Little Simon
Publication date:	07/21/2015
Series:	Greetings from Somewhere , #8
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	370,115
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 7.20(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	590L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 9 Years

About the Author

Harper Paris loves to travel. Her favorite cities in the world are Paris (like her name!) and New York City. She has collected many souvenirs on her travels, including a good-luck coin from Japan and a reindeer-horn pendant from Sweden. She also loves mysteries. When she was a kid, she read Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew books after bedtime with a flashlight. She now lives with her family (including two cats and a bunny, who are not good travelers) in Ithaca, New York.

Marcos Calo has worked as a professional artist for more than fourteen years. He has worked in different fields including illustration, animation, and comic books. He lives with his wife and daughter in A Coruña, a small Spanish town by the seaside.

Read an Excerpt

The Mystery at the Coral Reef
“That girl’s going to fall off the bridge!” Ella Briar shouted.

Her twin brother, Ethan, looked up. The Sydney Harbor Bridge gleamed against the bright blue sky.



At the top of the massive bridge was a girl peering over the side. How did she get all the way up there?

And then Ethan saw that there were other people with her. Lots of other people.

“It’s okay, kids. You can actually climb to the top of the bridge,” their father, Andrew, explained.

“The view is supposed to be great!” their mother, Josephine, added.

“Wow!” Ella gazed out at the skyline of downtown Sydney and at the sailboats that dotted the harbor. The view from the top of the bridge probably was great. But she couldn’t imagine being up that high. She’d had enough of high places after Machu Picchu!



Machu Picchu was an ancient Incan city in Peru that was thousands of feet in the air. The Briars had spent some time there before flying off to Australia. Australia was the seventh stop on their trip around the world. Mrs. Briar was a travel writer. She was writing about their adventures for their hometown newspaper, the Brookeston Times.



The twins were excited to be in Australia. It was beautiful and warm, plus everyone spoke English, which meant that it was easy to communicate. Best of all, they were driving up the coast tomorrow to visit their aunt Julia, their uncle Owen, and their cousin Harry.



“Who’s hungry for some Balmain bugs?” Mr. Briar called out.

“Bugs?” Ethan and Ella gasped in horror.



Mr. Briar laughed. “They’re not actually bugs. They’re a kind of lobster. I thought we could check out a seafood restaurant for lunch.”

“And after lunch, we’ll go there.” Mrs. Briar pointed to a white building that jutted out into the bay.

Ethan squinted. The building looked like a row of stegosaurus spikes. “What is it?”

“It’s the Sydney Opera House. We’ll do a backstage tour and then stay for the opera,” replied Mrs. Briar.



“What about the aquarium?” asked Ella. “Hannah’s family went there last summer. She said it was awesome!” Hannah was Ella’s best friend back in Brookeston.

“I wish we could fit that in. But we won’t have time today. And we’re leaving Sydney first thing tomorrow morning,” said Mrs. Briar.

Ella pouted. Ethan was disappointed, too. He had really wanted to experience some real live sea creatures while they were in Australia! Hopefully there would be another chance for that.