“Or discover he has a fake skull,” I added quickly.
“He can’t possibly...” Eric said. “And anyway, he does have a real crystal skull.”
“That’s right,” Ben agreed. “I mean, it’s not like his skull is made of glass, or rubber, or recycled pop bottles. It is a real crystal skull—just not the secret crystal skull.”
Rachel studied my frown for a minute and then said, “What’re you thinking?”
“I suppose I’m worried that he knows there’s a secret skull. He said something on the boat about testing the stolen broken skulls. What if he tests his skull and finds out it’s only a slab of quartz?”
Eric shrugged. “All I know is,” he said, “I wouldn’t want to be around him if he ever does figure out we swapped skulls.
“If we are lucky,” Anna said, “he will continue to think he has the only genuine unbroken crystal skull in the world. And the secret Chocoan skull will remain protected and hidden away.” She paused and quickly repeated, “If we are lucky.”
Anna was right—getting caught or saving the world all came down to us either being lucky or not being lucky. I know that could be said for many normal situations, except the shenanigans we found ourselves in were never normal. They always seemed to be really messed up and in need of luck—buckets and buckets of luck.
Questions for Discussion
In the prologue, we meet Thiago and his grandfather and learn about the origin of the crystal skulls. Why do you think the author started the book so far in the past? Later in the story, were you surprised to learn where (and when) the original skull actually came from? Why or why not?
Imagine that someone has offered you the opportunity to travel to a faraway country and take part in an archaeological dig—but your parents don’t want you to go! What would you say to convince them to let you go on the trip?
Think about the characters of Cody, Eric, Rachel, Anna, and Ben. Which one of the kids is most similar to you in terms of personality? Which one of them (if any) do you think you would be best friends with? Which one might you not get along with? Explain.
Dr. Bruno Wassler’s brother, Rudi, is accused of stealing crystal skulls, even though he didn’t do it. Have you ever been accused of doing something wrong that you didn’t actually do? How did that make you feel? Did you defend yourself, or just let it go? Have you ever falsely accused someone else of something, either accidentally or on purpose? What happened?
Every country has archaeological sites that contain precious artifacts. Who do you think should get to decide what happens to those artifacts?
Sometimes archaeologists find really cool things, like the crystal skulls in the story, but most of the time, they find less-important things, like pieces of pottery or everyday objects like tools. Do you think it’s important to study those everyday objects, or should they just be ignored? Why or why not?
Imagine that archaeologists five hundred years from now are on a dig, and they find your house! What items in your house, and especially your bedroom, might they find? And what do you think those items will tell them about you?
Have you ever seen a leech? What would you do if you had to walk through a leech-infested jungle, like Cody, Rachel, and Ben did?
Why do you think Mr. Zola agreed to build a school for the Chocoan village? Do you think he really cares about the community?
If you could choose between being an archaeologist like Dr. Wassler or a billionaire like Anton Zola, which would you choose? Why?
Discover a world of adventure with the Shenanigans series.
AVAILABLE NOW:
* * *
COMING SOON
IN TOO DEEP
The Shenanigans Series, Book Five
When Cody and Eric are denied permission to recover golf balls from the ponds at the local golf course, they decide to trespass on the property and snorkel at night. But they end up finding a lot more than just golf balls. Hidden in the murky water they discover a life-size bronze statue of a man.
Perhaps the answers to this mystery should have been left to the depths…
WANDERING FOX BOOKS
Contemporary Canadian classics reimagined for today’s young readers
WANDERING FOX BOOKS is an imprint of Heritage House Publishing, catering to young readers ages eight to sixteen. Wandering Fox titles are timeless Canadian stories by bestselling, award-winning authors who count kids, parents, librarians, and educators among their loyal fans. The name Wandering Fox encompasses the curiosity, mischief, and adventure of young readers on the journey to adulthood.
All books are suitable for classroom use and come with discussion and/or comprehension questions and author interviews.
For more information, or to order books in the series, see wanderingfoxbooks.com, heritagehouse.ca, or hgdistribution.com.
About the Author
ANDREAS OERTEL WAS born in Germany but has lived most of this life in eastern Manitoba, Canada. He now lives with his wife, Diane, on the beautiful Lee River, near Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba.
Andreas has degrees from the University of Winnipeg and the British Columbia Institute of Technology, and a lifelong passion for archaeology, ancient civilizations, and writing, especially for young people. In addition to creating fun books for tweens, Andreas enjoys travelling, reading, watching movies, and exploring the great outdoors.
Andreas is the tallest writer in Canada (194 centimetres, or 6 feet 4 inches) and can be found exploring Manitoba beaches with his trusty metal detector, Lucky.
Visit andreasoertel.com to learn more about Andreas and the Shenanigans series.
Copyright © 2016 Andreas Oertel
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, audio recording, or otherwise—without the written permission of the publisher or a licence from Access Copyright, Toronto, Canada.
Wandering Fox Books
An imprint of Heritage House Publishing Company Ltd.
heritagehouse.ca
Cataloguing information available from Library and Archives Canada
Issued in print and electronic formats.
ISBN 978-1-77203-097-6 (paperback).-ISBN 978-1-77203-098-3 (epub).-ISBN 978-1-77203-099-0 (epdf)
Cover design by Setareh Ashrafologhalai
Cover illustration by Rafal Cichawa/istockphoto.com
We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund and the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Province of British Columbia through the British Columbia Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.
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