Introduction

It is the start of a typical hot Richmond, Virginia summer; the first for 12 year-old Sally Corbett and her younger brother Andrew since losing their father the year before. Everyone's bucolic summer routine is devastated when thieves break into the city's Fine Arts museum (where their mother is senior curator) and steal part of a major new exhibit of antique American toys believed to have been used to communicate coded messages between spies in secret from the British before the American Revolution.

Sally and Andrew instantly decide that they are going to find the toys and get every last one of them back. As the fast-paced action scenes play out against the languid summer setting, the energetic and enterprising kids face all challenges with initiative, brains and determination, and in the end, serious guts.

The Shockoe Slip Gang stars a strong, smart heroine and her resourceful brother. At its core it's a family story, about three kids who have initiative and courage and go out to save their mother's job. It's a classic literary mystery with a historical mystery giving it even more of a twist.

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Excerpt

Sally froze. Wait. Just wait, she thought. If he’s gone I can jump out too. If he hasn’t...
She let out her breath. Nothing. Not a sound. She counted to ten, and then slowly raised her head to peer to the front ‘til she could see through the windshield. Through the pouring rain she could dimly make out a small building. It was a shack – no, it was made of logs – it was a cabin. Its front door was close to the front of the van, but its one small window was further along the wall and had shutters that were closed. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

1) Do you like to see a strong girl character?
2) What would you do if you have to save your mother’s job?
3) Would you be frightened to climb into an empty barn at night when a horse is below you in his stall?
4) Do you think that the Founding Fathers really hid secret codes in their children’s wooden toys?

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