“I was thinking if everyone in our club really wanted to become bird-watchers, we could put all of our money together,” Sam said. “We could buy a pair of binoculars that Mrs. Haynie could keep in her desk. Then we’d have that pair and Marja’s to look at birds with.”
“I think that’s a fine idea, Sam,” said Mr. Stockfish. “Who knows, maybe you could use those binoculars for solving mysteries too.” He paused to open the gate to Mrs. Kerner’s backyard. “I think you should try to find out who stole that box in the first place.”
“Maybe,” Sam said. “It is the most mysterious-sounding mystery so far. But there aren’t any clues.”
They walked across Mrs. Kerner’s backyard toward the chicken coop. “Maybe there aren’t any clues, but there are some interesting questions,” Mr. Stockfish said. “For instance, why did the person who stole the box put it in the lost and found?”
Sam thought about this. He had to admit, he liked how trying to figure stuff out was like working a puzzle. “Maybe nobody stole it,” he said after a minute. “Maybe the box really got lost, but it wasn’t until a week later that somebody found it and put it in the lost and found.”
“An interesting theory, Sam the Man,” Mr. Stockfish said as he reached into the chicken coop and pulled Leroy out. “Maybe you’ll crack this case after all—you and your club, that is.”
“Six heads are better than one,” Sam agreed. “I wonder if there’s ever been a six-headed chicken.”
“I’ve heard of a two-headed chicken,” Mr. Stockfish said as he sat down in his chair and set Leroy on his lap. “But not one with six heads.”
When Sam went to check the chickens’ water, he saw a small blue bird perched on top of the waterer. What kind of bird was it, he wondered? A blue jay? A plain old bluebird? Or were there other kinds of blue birds, ones that Sam had never heard of? Sam thought that maybe being a bird-watcher was a lot like being a detective. You made guesses, you asked questions, you talked to experts. Maybe you figured out the answer, maybe you didn’t.
Either way, Sam thought, a pair of binoculars would come in handy.
* * *
Acknowledgments
* * *
Many thanks to the following folks: The ever-astonishing Caitlyn Dlouhy, the marvelous Alex Borbolla, and the wise and wonderful Justin Chanda.
A good copy editor is a writer’s best friend: Thank you, Clare McGlade, for making my sentences the best they can be. Thanks to Sonia Chaghatzbanian for designing such beautiful books, and thanks to Tatyana Rosalia for making the Sam books shine. Finally, thanks to Amy Bates, whose wonderful illustrations bring Sam & Co. to life.
As always, I appreciate the forebearance and affection of my home team: Clifton, Jack, Will and Travis the Dog.
* * *
About the Author
* * *
FRANCES O’ROARK DOWELL is best known as the ace detective who solved the “Who took the last cookie?” mystery. (Clue: The thief looked a lot like Frances.) She’s the bestselling and critically acclaimed author of many novels, including Dovey Coe, Trouble the Water, Chicken Boy, the Sam the Man series, the Secret Language of Girls series, and the Phineas L. MacGuire series. She lives with her family in Durham, North Carolina. Connect with Frances online at francesdowell.com.
When AMY JUNE BATES was a kid, she loved to draw and read. She’s drawn art for many books for kids, including Patricia MacLachlan’s Waiting for the Magic. She currently lives in Pennsylvania with her three children, her husband, and Rosebud the dog. Visit her at amyjunebates.blogspot.com.
Visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids
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A Caitlyn Dlouhy Book
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Simon & Schuster, New York
Also by Frances O’Roark Dowell
Anybody Shining
Chicken Boy
Dovey Coe
Falling In
The Second Life of Abigail Walker
Shooting the Moon
Ten Miles Past Normal
Trouble the Water
Where I’d Like to Be
The Secret Language of Girls Trilogy
The Secret Language of Girls
The Kind of Friends We Used to Be
The Sound of Your Voice, Only Really Far Away
From the Highly Scientific Notebooks of Phineas L. MacGuire
Phineas L. MacGuire . . . Blasts Off!
Phineas L. MacGuire . . . Erupts!
Phineas L. MacGuire . . . Gets Cooking!
Phineas L. MacGuire . . . Gets Slimed!
The Sam the Man series
#1: Sam the Man & the Chicken Plan
#2: Sam the Man & the Rutabaga Plan
#3: Sam the Man & the DragonVan Plan
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Text copyright © 2018 by Frances O’Roark Dowell
Illustrations copyright © 2018 by Amy June Bates
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ISBN 978-1-5344-1258-3
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Sam the Man & the Secret Detective Club Plan Page 7
