39 Clues ... an interesting concept

Normally,  series titles bore me.  The only series I ever finished as a juvenile reader were the Little House books.  I loved them!  But when Laura Ingells Wilder decided that the stories were over,  I never went back to reading another series.  An occasional Nancy Drew, but never the a series.  For today's young reader, the trend in Children's Literature seems to be that authors have to come up with a series.  There are so many good series out to choose from, that it is quite a task to find the best ones. As a librarian reliving her youth through some of these titles,  I wish these books would have been around when I was a kid.   One of the best series was,  Percy Jackson and the Olympians which became an unexpected thrill through Greek Mythology.   Rick Riordian found gold and the stories are quite a gem.   So it came to no surprise to me that the next adventure he chooses to tackle is the 39 Clues.  

The best way to describe the 39 Clues series is think of the movie, National Treasure, but instead of Nicholas Cage running around the world searching for clues and hidden treasures, it is two young orphans who have conniving relatives,  au pair who is responsible, yet cool in a punk-like way, and a chance to become rich.  The adventures of Dan and Amy Cahill are to say the least outlandish.  Having said that, even though the reader may think to themselves "Yeah, right.",  they are hooked in trying to decipher the clues alongside Amy and Dan.   Each book has it's own set of  trading cards.  The cards can then be used to find additional clues online at www.39clues.com.   It's reading with a board game feel.  

This series has four books out to date and a fifth title in the series due out in August 11th and the final book will be out by September 2010. In order to see all 39 clues and try to win the game, readers read he book collect the cards and choose missions on the website. Fans can't wait to see what happens next, but I got to wonder are there any closet 39 clues addict out there who would want to form an alliance to solve the mystery of the Cahill fortune?   If you have read the 39 Clues,  young or old, and would like to share insights on Amy and Dan's treasure hunt,  leave a post to this blog.  I am not sure where this will lead, but I am hoping that as a librarian this could lead to the rewarding treasure of sharing books with young readers.