The Mount Rushmore Face That Couldn't See

by Steve Brezenoff

  “Look on the bright side, then,” I said. “If she’s grounded, she’ll have to stay in her house.”

  “Why is that the bright side?” Sam asked.

  I laughed. “Well,” I said, “she sure won’t be homesick anymore!”

  Literary News

  MYSTERIOUS WRITER REVEALED!

  Steve Brezenoff lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, with his wife, Beth, their son, Sam, and their small, smelly dog, Harry. Besides writing books, he enjoys playing video games, riding his bicycle, and helping middle-school students work on their writing skills. Steve’s ideas almost always come to him in his dreams, so he does his best writing in his pajamas.

  Arts & Entertainment

  CALIFORNIA ARTIST IS KEY TO SOLVING MYSTERY – POLICE SAY

  Marcos Calo lives happily in A Coruña, Spain, with his wife, Patricia (who is also an illustrator), and their daughter, Claudia. When Marcos and Patricia aren’t drawing, they like to go on long walks by the sea. They also watch a lot of films and eat Nutella sandwiches. Yum!

  A DETECTIVE’S DICTIONARY

  awed (AWD)—amazed

  crank (KRANGK)—a handle that makes something turn

  culprit (KUHL-prit)—a person who has done something wrong

  cylinder (SIL-uhn-dur)—a shape with flat, circular ends and sides shaped like the outside of a tube

  historian (hiss-TOR-ee-uhn)—someone who studies history

  honorary (ON-uh-rer-ee)—given as an honor without the usual requirements

  interrogate (in-TER-uh-gate)—ask many questions

  investigate (in-VESS-tuh-gate)—find out as much as possible about something

  monument (MON-yuh-muhnt)—a statue or building, etc., that is meant to remind people of a person or event

  motive (MOH-tiv)—a reason for doing something

  protest (PROH-test)—a demonstration against something

  ranger (RAYN-jur)—someone in charge of a park or forest

  reservation (rez-ur-VAY-shuhn)—an area of land set aside by the government for a special purpose

  Catalina Duran

  Sixth Grade

  Mount Rushmore

  Mount Rushmore is a monument located near Keystone, South Dakota. It is a famous tourist destination because of the faces of four United States Presidents carved into the mountain – George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt – but the massive sculpture has more stories than most people know.

  Mount Rushmore was originally known to the Lakota people as Six Grandfathers. It is located on land that originally belonged to the Lakota tribe.

  The land was seized by the United States after the Great Sioux War of 1876. The land is controversial among some groups because of this reason. Many people say it should be returned to the Native American tribe that once owned it.

  In 1927, construction began on the four faces. It took four years and more than four hundred workers to sculpt the four faces on the side of Mount Rushmore. The whole project cost almost one million dollars to complete.

  Cat – Great essay. I hope you enjoyed Mount Rushmore, and I appreciate knowing more about its history! – Ms. J.

  A

  FURTHER INVESTIGATIONS

  CASE #FTM15CDMR

  1.In this book, my class went on a field trip. What field trips have you gone on? Which one was your favorite, and why?

  2.If you went on a field trip to Mount Rushmore, what would you be most excited to see? Talk about your answer.

  3.Who else could have been a suspect in this mystery?

  IN YOUR OWN DETECTIVE’S NOTEBOOK . . .

  1.Write about a time you were homesick. What happened? How did you deal with it?

  2.Sam, Cat, Gum, and Egg are best friends. Write about your best friend.

  3.This book is a mystery story. Write your own mystery story!

  FIND MORE:

  games

  puzzles

  heroes

  villains

  authors

  illustrators at

  www.capstonekids.com

  Still want more?

  Find cool websites and more books like this one at www.facthound.com.

  Just type in the Book ID: 9781434237873 and you’re ready to go!

  Field Trip Mysteries are published by Stone Arch Books

  A Capstone Imprint

  1710 Roe Crest Drive

  North Mankato, Minnesota 56003

  www.capstonepub.com

  Copyright © 2013 by Stone Arch Books. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Brezenoff, Steven.

  The Mount Rushmore face that couldn’t see / by Steve Brezenoff ; illustrated by Marcos Calo.

  p. cm. -- (Field trip mysteries)

  ISBN 978-1-4342-3787-3 (library binding)

  ISBN 978-1-4342-4199-3 (pbk.)

  ISBN 978-1-4342-9886-7 (ebook)

  1. School field trips--Juvenile fiction. 2. Vandalism--Juvenile fiction. 3. Mount Rushmore National Memorial (S.D.)--Juvenile fiction. [1. School field trips--Fiction. 2. Vandalism--Fiction. 3. Mount Rushmore National Memorial (S.D.)--Fiction. 4. Mystery and detective stories.] I. Calo, Marcos, ill. II. Title. III. Title: Mount Rushmore face that could not see. IV. Series: Brezenoff, Steven. Field trip mysteries.

  PZ7.B7576Mou 2012 813.6--dc23

  Graphic Designer: Kay Fraser

  Summary: When Catalina “Cat” Duran and her friends in the History Club arrive at Mount Rushmore on a school trip, they find that someone is playing dangerous tricks and trying to drive people away from the park.