by Ida Siegal
I told Papi about all my questions and he agreed to help me track down Sarah Spellman for some answers. Papi started by looking up the address in the riddle. Then he called the local newspaper in Seattle, and together they were able to figure out that Sarah Spellman lived on Washington Way five years before Jumpin’ Java Coffee Shop opened. They even found her new address. She was still in Seattle! Papi called her, and she was so thankful we found her puppy and ring, she agreed to do an interview with me.
“Hi, Sarah! It’s me, Emma,” I said once I saw her pop up on my computer screen. “Can you see me? I can see you!” I was interviewing her over the Internet.
Sarah Spellman was not a nine-year-old girl anymore. She was a grown-up now. And she looked happy.
“Yes, hello, Emma! I can see you. Thank you so much for finding my ring! And my stuffed puppy. My uncle Peter gave me the ring as a going-away present before we moved, and I was so sad to have left it behind.”
“Sarah, that’s what I want to know. Why did you leave it behind? And how did your book end up at the P.S. 387 library?”
“Well, P.S. 387 was my school, too, before my family moved to Seattle! The book was returned there by mistake—it should have gone back to the Jefferson Market Library. When I was a little girl, I spent every weekend at that library with my uncle Peter. He was the custodian there. My parents were both busy working and going to college on the weekends, but I didn’t mind. I loved all the books.”
“Did you play up in the tower?” I asked.
“Well, I wasn’t supposed to, but I would sneak up to the very top and look out the window with my binoculars. I used to pretend I was a princess trapped in a tower!” Sarah smiled at me. “One day, I spotted an owl building a nest in the tree. Soon there were two owls, and then came the eggs. No one knew about them but me because they were so high in the tree and never flew around in the daylight.”
“That’s just like the owl family we found. They never flew around during the day. But, Sarah, why did you leave the princess behind?”
“When my parents told me we were moving to Seattle, I knew I would miss my little owl family,” Sarah told me. “I decided my little princess puppy should stay there in the tower to watch over them. It was only after we moved that I realized I left my ring in the princess’s pocket. I wanted it back so badly, but I was afraid I would get in trouble if I told my parents what happened. I was never supposed to go up into the upper level of the tower by myself!”
“We weren’t, either,” I said. “Oops!”
Sarah laughed. “Well, Emma, I wasn’t sure what to do. But then I discovered that I had a library book I forgot to return. I knew this was my chance to get the ring back. I wrote the note and put it in the book. I gave it to my mom to send back to the library in New York City. I was hoping a kid would find my note and then find my ring—a kid like you, Emma! But after the book got lost, I figured I’d never see that ring again. Until I got a call from your father—fifteen years later!”
“Wow. What a story, Sarah. I’m so glad I found your ring!” I told her.
“Me too! But I’m even more pleased to hear you saved the owls! They must be the grandchildren of the owls I met when I was a kid. I left my princess there to protect them—and in a way, she did. Thanks to you!”
Papi and I were both amazed by Sarah’s story. I included the interview in my news report and posted it one last time. I had officially solved the case!
* * *
“I’m really proud of you, mija,” Papi said. He picked up the newspaper page I had pinned to my bulletin board. “Look at you. A real reporter on the front page of the paper.”
The morning after we saved the owls, we made it into the newspaper. There was a picture of me and the whole news team on the front page!
“You really are famous now,” Papi said. “You are officially a famous TV news reporter. Just like you wanted.”
“I’m proud of you, too,” Mom said, coming into my room.
Luna jumped on my lap. “Meow!”
Even baby Mia clapped her hands and said, “EMMA FAMOO EMMA FAMOO.”
“Yeah, I guess I am famous. Soy famosa,” I replied. “But you know what, I don’t think I really care about being famous anymore.”
“Oh, no? How come?” Papi asked.
“Well, there are so many more important things to care about. I didn’t have time to worry about being famous when I was doing my investigation. We had to work really hard to find all our clues. Just like Nellie Bly, we had to be a voice for the voiceless. All this time we’ve been helping people. We helped Javier with his wormburger. We helped Sophia with her costume. We helped all the mangulina dancers find the tambora drum. And now we’ve helped the owl family keep their nest and Sarah get her ring back. I think that’s the part I like the best. The helping part.”
“That’s my girl. Eso es mi niña,” Papi said, giving me a huge hug.
I have to admit, being in the newspaper is pretty cool. I know it’s not the most important thing in the world … and it’s not the reason you should become a journalist … but I still do love being FAMOUS! Ha-ha!
I got up and started doing the famous jumpy dance with Luna. This time Mom, Papi, and baby Mia got up and danced with us!
1. Keep your eyes open. You never know when one news story will lead you to another. The second story may be even more awesome than the first!
2. Get creative—carefully! Sometimes you have to find different, even undercover, ways to get your news report done. Just make sure you’re not hurting anyone, and ask your parents before being a sneaky sneakster!
3. Make everyone your friend. When someone is super mean and you think they will never ever be nice, don’t get mad. Try being nice to them first. A good news reporter turns everyone into a friend!
4. Don’t give up! Some news stories might feel impossible. That’s just because you don’t know all the facts yet. Keep going and it will all come together.
IDA SIEGAL is an Emmy Award–winning journalist and on-air reporter at NBC’s flagship station in New York City, WNBC. Ida also lives in New York City, with her husband and their two children.
Text copyright © 2016 by Ida Siegal
Illustrations copyright © 2016 by Scholastic Inc.
This book is being published simultaneously in hardcover by Scholastic Press.
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
First printing 2016
Cover art by Karla Peña
Cover design by Sharismar Rodriguez and Mary Claire Cruz
e-ISBN 978-0-545-68713-3
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