We the children [sound recording]
(Sound Disc)

Read by Keith Nobbs.

Grade 3?6?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.