The Wiley Kids in the Adventure of Cottonwood Canyon

A Kirkus Indie Book of the Month Selection for July 2015


A well-written blend of education and entertainment, with relatable young protagonists and a deft 21st century twist on historical sleuthing. — Kirkus Reviews


Written in a style that will appeal to tweens and early teens, The Wiley Kids in the Adventure of Cottonwood Canyon combines fascinating descriptions of ancient Native American heritage with present day examples of greed and corruption ... technically flawless. — Fun Educational Apps


The Teacher Edition contains the entire text of the original version, plus 195 questions (and answers) for self-review, plus notes.

*****

It was just a simple writing assignment.

Freddie Tanaka needed to write a school paper on the Tongva, the native people of Los Angeles. So Freddie and his friends — Millie Reyes, Kyle Baldwin, Sleater Wiley and Neil Chandler — decided to take a nature hike up in Cottonwood Canyon and do some hands-on research.

Their hike turns dangerous, though, when Freddie falls down a hole into a hidden cave. But that’s also where he finds the perfect inspiration for his project — an ancient Tongvan cave painting, previously undiscovered.

Things don’t go smoothly for Freddie and the kids, especially after a mysterious explosion nearly destroys the cave. But who could have done such a thing? Mae Templeton, the former Hollywood child star and owner of Cottonwood Canyon? The Large Corp., the real estate developer interested in buying the canyon and paving it over? And what about Mae’s grandson, the shady and none too friendly Jimmy Campbell?

Or was it someone else?

The Wiley Kids will need all their wits to solve this one. Kyle’s familiarity of robotics and explosives plays a role, as does Freddie’s near encyclopedic knowledge of movies and TV. And Millie's understanding of what can and cannot fit in the human nose will prove useful as well. Fortunately, they can also rely on help from Gramps, Monk Man, Chief Wé-soo-yŭ-roo-it and timely news reporting from ActionNews’ own Kent Billings.

Will the Wiley Kids save the cave and the painting? Will Freddie and Millie escape from the truck they stowed a ride on? Or will they be kidnapped — or worse? And will Freddie ever get his paper done? These and many other questions are answered in The Wiley Kids in the Adventure of Cottonwood Canyon.

*****

The Wiley Kids donate ten percent of profits to charities working in children’s education.