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About The Book

In this seventh Henry Heckelbeck adventure, Henry’s friendly spy competition might expose his magical secret!

It’s a spy versus spy world when Henry enters into a spying contest with one of his best friends, Max Maplethorpe. But will Max find out a little too much about Henry and his magical secret?

With easy-to-read language and illustrations on almost every page, the Henry Heckelbeck chapter books are perfect for beginning readers.

Excerpt

Chapter 1 HEY, BOT!

 

  Henry Heckelbeck spied a new mystery behind the playground swing set.

  “What’s THAT?” he asked.

  His best friend, Dudley Day, zoomed in on the object.

  “My spy sense tells me it’s personal property,” he said.

  The boys crept closer.

   

  Henry smiled. “Well, my spy sense tells me its somebody’s LUNCH BOX!”

   

  Dudley put a finger to his lips. “Shh, not so loud. Remember Spy Rule Number Five!”

  Henry covered his mouth with his hand. “Oops, sorry!” he whispered. “Spy Rule Number Five: A spy never calls attention to themselves.”

   

  The boys crouched over the dark purple lunch box.

   

  “Don’t touch it,” Henry warned.

  “Why not?” Dudley asked.

  “Because the owner might be watching!” Henry told him.

   

  Dudley looked around. School was over, and the playground was nearly empty.

  “I doubt it,” said Dudley. “There’s hardly anyone over here.”

   

  Henry scanned the playground. He motioned to a couple of third graders on the monkey bars and some kids playing four square.

  Dudley saw them too. But he wasn’t worried. “They’re so far away that they’re practically in the next town!” he said.

   

  Henry gave a big shrug and reminded his friend that a spy can never be too careful.

  Then Henry pulled out a magnifying glass.

   

  He always carried one just in case. He held the magnifying glass over the top of the lunch box.

  “Dancing robots,” Henry noted.

   

   

  Dudley corrected Henry. “No, those are BATTLING robots.”

  Henry looked again. “Could be,” he said. “But if it’s dancing robots, this lunch box belongs to Nina Noff. Remember when she brought her Boogie Bot to school?”

  “Oh yeah,” Dudley said with a laugh. “It was taken away because of the no-toys-at-school rule. Did Nina ever get her Boogie Bot back?”

   

   

  Henry nodded. “Yup, but I heard she almost got it taken away again on the bus ride home because it started singing in her backpack!”

   

  The boys cracked up. Then they got right back into spy mode.

   

   

  “Well, if the robots on the lunch box are BATTLING, then the lunch box probably belongs to Ryan Riley,” said Dudley. “He always doodles battling robots.”

  The boys kept their eyes fixed on the lunch box.

  “I wish we could open it,” said Henry.

  Dudley nodded. “Me too, but it might be a trap.”

  Henry stroked his chin thoughtfully. “We need to think like super spies!”

   

 

   

 

About The Author

Wanda Coven has always loved magic. When she was little, she used to make secret potions from smooshed shells and acorns. Then she would pretend to transport herself and her friends to enchanted places. Now she visits other worlds through writing. Wanda lives with her husband and son in Colorado Springs, Colorado. They have three cats: Hilda, Agnes, and Claw-dia.

About The Illustrator

(c) Priscilla Burris

Priscilla Burris is the illustrator and author-illustrator of many books for children. She attributes her love of children’s books and library visits to the East Los Angeles Library. Priscilla loves her role of creating characters and stories for readers everywhere. She lives in sunny Arizona, where she finds the sunrises and sunsets awe-inspiring.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Little Simon (December 1, 2021)
  • Length: 128 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781534486379
  • Ages: 5 - 9

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