by Penny Warner
Uyo deepon
Quinn held his up, which read,
teh zepluz xob
And Luke revealed his:
Dogo cluk liwl eb soury.
Code Busters Solution found here.
“These are anagrams!” said Luke, the expert anagram solver. “We have to decode them.”
The kids got out paper and pencils and began working on their individual anagram codes. When they finished putting the letters in the correct order to form familiar words, the message still didn’t make any sense.
“That’s because we have to figure out the order of the message,” Cody said, smiling at Mika for creating such a clever puzzle. “Right, Mika?”
Mika nodded.
“Will you give us a hint?” M.E. asked.
“The message is a haiku,” Mika answered.
“Ahhh,” Cody said. “So the first line has five beats, the second has seven, and the last has five again.”
“But there are four parts to the puzzle. That’s more than three lines,” M.E. said.
Cody spread the four pieces of the message on the floor and studied them. She rearranged the lines by connecting two of them, to make seven beats. Then she read the answer aloud.
“Thanks, Mika!” Cody said, giving her friend a hug. “That was fun. And I can use this piece of fabric as a bookmark.”
“Good idea,” Mika said. “It’s called an omamori. My grandmother taught me how to make them out of silk. They’re used for good luck and for protection. Since the Code Busters seem to get into trouble once in a while, I thought maybe we all could use a little more protection.”
The Code Busters laughed. It was true, Cody thought. They needed all the good luck and protection they could get. She’d be taking her omamori with her on their next adventure, just in case there was more trouble . . .
Cody’s cell phone chirped. Someone was texting her. But all the Code Busters were in the clubhouse, so who could it be? She read the message: Ges wat! I gt us tkts 2 somplc cool 4 sprng brk!
“Oh man,” Cody said to the others, giggling. “My mom’s trying to text me, and she’s just randomly shortening all the words!”
Cody texted her back, using her mother’s style of leaving out letters and changing words into numbers. Wht abt the CBs? Cn they come 2?
Y, if they pay thr own wy, came the reply.
K%l! Cody answered.
Code Busters Solution found here.
She translated the message from her mother for the others.
“Wow,” M.E. said. “When it comes to good luck, this omamori thingy really works!”
“Yeah, but how are we going to get the money to pay for a trip?” Luke said. “My grand-mere doesn’t have a lot. She’s always watching what she spends.”
“I have an idea,” Mika said. “I can teach all of you how to make omamori! We could make a bunch of them out of fun fabrics, like superheroes and cartoon characters and codes, and then sell them!”
“Awesome!” Cody said. “Spring break adventures, here we come!”
Code Busters’ Key Book & Solutions
Alphanumeric Code:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
International Morse Code:
International Flag Code:
Semaphore Code:
Pigpen Code:
Key Version 1
Key Version 2
American Indian Symbols:
Phonetic Alphabet:
A = Alpha
J = Juliet
S = Sierra
B = Bravo
K = Kilo
T = Tango
C = Charlie
L = Lima
U = Uniform
D = Delta
M = Mike
V = Victor
E = Echo
N = November
W = Whisker
F = Foxtrot
O = Oscar
X = X-ray
G = Golf
P = Papa
Y = Yankee
H = Hotel
Q = Quebec
Z = Zulu
I = India
R = Romeo
Finger Spelling:
Grid Alphabet
Chapter 1 Solutions
Crossword:
Across
What a detective needs = clue
When something is undiscovered = hidden
6. A black bird = crow
7. What a bird has = wing
8. Electric fish = eels
11. Chew and swallow = eat
13. Outdoor overnight = camping
14. A mighty tree = oak
16. Insects that buzz = bees
18. A palindrome of TOOT = otto
19. Trees have this = root
20. Look for clues = search
21. What we’ll be taking = trip
Down
1. What spies use = code
2. Listen with these = ears
3. Who, what, when, where, why, and = how
4. Also called sunrise = dawn
5. When you sleep = nights
6. Use to tell time = clock
9. A tall, fuzzy Australian bird = emu
10. Breathe this = air
11. A tall white bird = egret
12. What a rainbow has = colors
15. See the sites = tour
16. Our ride to our destination = boat
17. The immigrants’ ride to their destination = ship
18. Give a cheer! = rah
Anagram: Angel Island
Chapter 2 Solutions
Flag code: Draw and color your ancestral flags.
Chapter 3 Solutions
Morse code: CJ
Flag code: be where of pirites on anjel iland (Beware of pirates on Angel Island!)
Chapter 4 Solutions
Semaphore: Set up camp, then meet at the visitor’s center with your lunch.
Morse code: Meet me at noon at the usual place.
Pigpen code: head to Camp Reynolds
American Indian symbols: bird, running water, mountain range animal track, fence
Chapter 5 Solutions
Flag code:
Take a picture of the Rock,
Once Al Capone’s home,
The place has gone to the birds.
(Answer: Alcatraz)
Phonetic alphabet code: Whose motto is “Honor. Respect. Devotion to Duty”?
Chapter 6 Solutions
Sign language:
What was Matt doing out there?
I think he was looking for treasure.
Maybe he believes he’s a real pirate.
Did you notice how mad Schnikey got?
Yeah. I don’t trust that guy. He’s been acting really strange.
We should keep an eye on him.
Alphanumeric code:
What’s missing? Solv my riddl and tak a pictur.
You’ll find me
At the beginning of eternity
At the end of time and space
At the beginning of every end,
And at the end of every place.
(Answer: the letter e)
Pig Latin: Looks like lots of money.
Semaphore: Let’s go!
Finger spelling:
Guys, I think I recognized the man Schnikey was talking to.
Who?
He was on the ferry. He had a tattoo that looked like the Jolly Roger. And I think we saw the signal that Schnikey sent him.
Chapter 7 Solutions
Grid:
Phonetic alphabet code: Let’s get out of here!
Chapter 8 Solutions
Finger spelling: I’ll bet the gift is hidden in the station’s kitchen, behind the stove!
Morse code:
Ready?
Ready!
Meet behind the latrine in five minutes
Ten-four
Be caref
ul
You too!
Finger spelling:
What?
I heard a noise. It came from the stairs.
Chapter 9 Solutions
Semaphore: Stay there! I’ll come up and unlock the door!
Morse code: SOS
Chapter 10 Solutions
Finger spelling: Coast is clear. Let’s make a run for the golf cart.
Chapter 11 Solutions
Pig Latin: I think we’re in big trouble.
Morse code: What’s in the box?
Chapter 12 Solutions
Anagrams:
You have cracked the code.
You opened the puzzle box.
Good luck will be yours.
Text messages:
Guess what! I got us tickets to someplace cool for spring break!
What about the Code Busters? Can they come too?Yes, if they pay their own way.
Cool!
For more adventures with the Code Busters Club, go to www.CodeBustersClub.com.
There you’ll find:
1. Full dossiers for Cody, Quinn, Luke, and M.E.
2. Their blogs
3. More codes
4. More coded messages to solve
5. Clues to the next book
6. A map of the Code Busters neighborhood, school, and mystery
Suggestions for How Teachers Can Use the Code Busters Club Series in the Classroom
Kids love codes. They will want to “solve” the codes in this novel before looking up the solutions. This means they will be practicing skills that are necessary to their class work in several courses, but in a non-pressured way.
The codes in this book vary in level of difficulty so there is something for students of every ability. The codes move from a simple code wheel—Caesar’s Cipher wheel—to more widely accepted “code” languages such as Morse code, semaphore and Braille.
In a mathematics classroom, the codes in this book can easily be used as motivational devices to teach problem-solving and reasoning skills. Both of these have become important elements in the curriculum at all grade levels. The emphasis throughout the book on regarding codes as patterns gives students a great deal of practice in one of the primary strategies of problem solving. The strategy of “Looking for a Pattern” is basic to much of mathematics. The resolving of codes demonstrates how important patterns are. These codes can lead to discussions of the logic behind why they “work,” (problem solving). The teacher can then have the students create their own codes (problem formulation) and try sending secret messages to one another, while other students try to “break the code.” Developing and resolving these new codes will require a great deal of careful reasoning on the part of the students. The class might also wish to do some practical research in statistics, to determine which letters occur most frequently in the English language. (E, T, A, O, and N are the first five most widely used letters and should appear most often in coded messages.)
This book may also be used in other classroom areas of study such as social studies, with its references to code-breaking machines, American Sign Language, and Braille. This book raises questions such as, “Why would semaphore be important today? Where is it still used?”
In the English classroom, spelling is approached as a “deciphering code.” The teacher may also suggest the students do some outside reading. They might read a biography of Samuel Morse or Louis Braille, or even the Sherlock Holmes mystery “The Adventure of the Dancing Men.”
This book also refers to modern texting on cell phones and computers as a form of code. Students could explain what the various “code” abbreviations they use mean today and why they are used. —Dr. Stephen Krulik
Dr. Stephen Krulik has a distinguished career as a professor of mathematics education. Professor emeritus at Temple University, he received the 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
