The Mysterious Case — Enzo Silvestri; Karen Silvestri

The Time Card series follows the adventures and fortunes of three friends â€" Blue, Jesse, and Ellie â€" as they use the contents of their newly found case to travel to diverse and exotic places. Their middle school studies come alive as they interact with historical figures of their country and the world, while at the same time struggling to not change the time-line or upset the course of history. Trying to hide the case from present day bullies, the friends try to stay one step ahead of their arch enemies Ryan Johnson and Jake Barker, not to mention sinister otherworld forces who are determined to find the time card. In the first book of the series, The Mysterious Case, Blue, Jesse, and Ellie find something strange while fishing. Nothing ever happens in St Andrews, a sleepy little town in North Carolina. Nothing that is, until the appearance of a small tightly sealed metal case. The three middle school friends, 13 year-olds Australian-born Blue, his neighbor Jesse, and Jesse's sister Ellie live in these backwoods. One day they stumble upon the metal case in a creek while they are fishing. What's inside it? How can they open it since it has no catches or hinges? There's something in it, as they can feel the contents rolling around inside. The three friends lose badly as they resist bullies on the bus, but somehow they turn it all around. Join the kids as they explore new worlds, battle bullies, deal with family issues, and ultimately try to save the world. The Time Card is aimed at young readers as short stories that can be read in a single sitting. As English teachers, we are always on the lookout for stories that our students (middle/high school) are interested in reading. We've found that most young readers (heck, even many adults!) who are reluctant to read balk at long stories. We really wanted to offer them short, engaging fiction stories, so we created The Time Card series. Anyone will enjoy the stories while learning about history, dealing with social situations, and improving vocabulary and reading skills. We hope you and your children enjoy these stories as much as we are enjoying writing them!