The plunder down under

Determined to rescue their kidnapped mother and find their missing father, the four Kidd siblings escape from their New York boarding school and travel to Africa. Mysterious clues, an encrypted message, and treasure maps send the intrepid kids traveling across the continent as they attempt to throw their cartoonlike enemies off the trail before homing in on their secret destination. Bick Kidd narrates the story, while his twin sister, Beck, contributes the many childlike illustrations. The second volume in the accessible Treasure Hunters series offers the same likable heroes, high-octane adventures, and pun-rich humor as the first. Literary popcorn and fun for young readers. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.

Bick, Beck, Storm, and Tommy have one week to traverse the Australian Outback, locate Charlotte Badger and her pirate cronies, and find evidence to prove their parents innocent of stealing rare opals.

When a rival treasure hunter frames their parents for theft, Bick, Beck, Storm and Tommy embark on a seven-day race across the Australian Outback to capture the real thief’s pirate band, recover a pair of stolen gems and prove their parents’ innocence. 200,000 first printing. Simultaneous eBook. Illustrations.