{"product_id":"samantha-spinner-and-the-spectacular-specs-isbn-9781524720070","title":"Samantha Spinner and the Spectacular Specs","description":"\u003cb\u003eGet ready for more round-the-world adventure with Samantha Spinner and her brother, Nipper, in the second book in this hilarious, puzzle-packed series filled with super-secret messages! Perfect for fans of \u003ci\u003eEscape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library\u003c\/i\u003e and classics like \u003ci\u003eHoles\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen Samantha Spinner's uncle Paul disappeared, he left amazing presents for her sister and brother. Samantha got . . . a rusty old umbrella.\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eWow! So unfair, Uncle Paul.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWell, it \u003ci\u003eseemed\u003c\/i\u003e unfair--until Samantha discovered that the old umbrella holds the plans for super-secret travel. It's the ticket to danger and adventure beyond anyone's wildest dreams.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut Uncle Paul is still missing. And Samantha just received a new gift from him: a pair of strange purple sunglasses. Are they another powerful present? A clue to his whereabouts? Or just a bad fashion choice? Samantha and Nipper need to figure it out fast, because . . . here comes the SUN!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cu\u003ePraise for the Samantha Spinner series:\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003cb\u003eA winning mix of fast-paced action, fascinating facts, bathroom humor, and hidden puzzles\u003c\/b\u003e . . . [that is] sure to please action-loving middle-grade readers.\" --\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Wild, wacky,\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003eoccasionally gross\u003c\/b\u003e.\" --\u003ci\u003eThe Bulletin\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cu\u003ePraise for the Samantha Spinner Series: \u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003ewinning mix\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003eof\u003cb\u003e fast-paced action, fascinating facts, bathroom humor, \u003c\/b\u003eand\u003cb\u003e hidden puzzles\u003c\/b\u003e.” —\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003cb\u003eWild\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003ewacky\u003c\/b\u003e, and occasionally \u003cb\u003egross.\u003c\/b\u003e” —\u003ci\u003eThe Bulletin\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003cb\u003eClever, smart, \u003c\/b\u003eand\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003esometimes a bit\u003cb\u003e silly, \u003c\/b\u003ethis\u003cb\u003e fun mystery\u003c\/b\u003e . . . includes a few extra secrets for the especially inquisitive mind\u003cb\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e”\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e—\u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e “Full of\u003cb\u003e adventure \u003c\/b\u003eand\u003cb\u003e survival, \u003c\/b\u003e[\u003ci\u003eSamantha Spinner and the Super-Secret Plans \u003c\/i\u003eis] great for [readers of] series like The 39 Clues.” —\u003ci\u003eSchool Library Journal\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\"Appealing fare for kids who enjoy\u003cb\u003e zany adventure tales \u003c\/b\u003ewith side helpings of historical\/geographical trivia \u003cb\u003eand wacky humor\u003c\/b\u003e.” —\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eRussell Ginns is a writer and game designer who specializes in puzzles, songs, and smart fun. He has worked on projects for a wide variety of organizations, corporations, and publications, including Sesame Workshop, Girl Scouts of America, Nintendo, and \u003ci\u003eScientific American\u003c\/i\u003e. Russell lives and writes in Washington, D.C. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eSamantha Spinner and the Super-Secret Plans\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSamantha Spinner and the Spectacular Specs\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eSamantha Spinner and the Boy in the Ball\u003c\/i\u003e. To learn more about him, visit samanthaspinner.com and follow @rginns on Twitter.“Look here!” Samantha shouted from under the kitchen table. “Now!”\u003cbr\u003e She shoved a chair out of the way with one foot to make room for her brother.\u003cbr\u003e “What? Where?” said Nipper, bending down quickly.\u003cbr\u003e He misjudged the height of the table and banged his head.\u003cbr\u003e “That hurt,” he said, rubbing his forehead and inching in beside her. “You forgot to say duck.”\u003cbr\u003e “All right,” she replied. “ ‘Duck.’ Now look here.” Samantha removed the purple sunglasses Uncle\u003cbr\u003e Paul had given her. She put them on Nipper’s face and pointed at a table leg.\u003cbr\u003e “PSST?”  Nipper asked.\u003cbr\u003e  “That’s right,” she answered, taking the glasses from him and putting them on again. Through the octagonal lenses, she saw four yellow letters glowing on the leg:\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e P S S T\u003cbr\u003e “And watch this,” she told him.\u003cbr\u003e She reached out and grabbed the leg where it met the table.\u003cbr\u003e “Gotcha,”  said Samantha.\u003cbr\u003e Click!\u003cbr\u003e A section slid downward, revealing an opening. It hissed as a stream of air rushed into the hollow leg.\u003cbr\u003e “Whoa,” said Nipper. “A second secret pneumatic tube.”\u003cbr\u003e Samantha nodded. They had already found one pneumatic tube under the table when she’d gotten the glasses. She pointed at that hissing table leg on her right with one hand.\u003cbr\u003e “Into Seattle,” she said.\u003cbr\u003e She pointed at this new opening with her other hand. “Out of Seattle,” she said, and let out a big, satisfied\u003cbr\u003e sigh.\u003cbr\u003e At long last, this was a major breakthrough.\u003cbr\u003e When Samantha’s uncle Paul disappeared, he left presents for his nieces and nephew. Samantha’s sister, Buffy, got $2,400,000,000. Samantha’s brother, Nipper, got the New York Yankees. Samantha got an old rusty umbrella. Of course, it seemed terribly unfair— until Samantha started taking a closer look at things. She discovered that the umbrella was a super-secret map of the world! Samantha and her brother traveled to France, Italy, and Egypt, and defeated the RAIN—the Royal Academy of International Ninjas. They even rescued the Mona Lisa. But Uncle Paul was still missing.\u003cbr\u003e Then a mysterious pair of sunglasses arrived with a note.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Watch out for the SUN.\u003cbr\u003e —Horace\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e For Samantha, this was proof that Uncle Paul was alive.\u003cbr\u003e She also had a sketch of an obelisk that she’d copied from a picture she found in the Temple of Horus in Egypt. When she discovered the obelisk was a monument in\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e New York City called Cleopatra’s Needle, Samantha suspected that Uncle Paul was alive and also in New York.\u003cbr\u003e Then a message came from her older sister. Buffy had written to tell the family that she had moved to Manhattan to work on a play with help from “the famous Broadway producer Horace Temple.”\u003cbr\u003e After that, Samantha knew that Uncle Paul was alive, in New York . . . and with Buffy Spinner.\u003cbr\u003e Unfortunately, Samantha couldn’t get there. The magtrain she’d found with the Super-Secret Plans didn’t go to New York, or anywhere near it. Her parents promised they would visit New York after school ended in a month, and no amount of asking could make them go sooner.\u003cbr\u003e So, since she couldn’t explore New York, she explored Seattle with the purple glasses.\u003cbr\u003e First, she’d used them to inspect her umbrella—the Super-Secret Plans. They didn’t do anything special. She’d searched Uncle Paul’s apartment above the garage, and around the house. Nothing. Everywhere she’d stared, things turned purple, but that was it.\u003cbr\u003e When she went to the mailbox at the end of her street, she’d found her first clue. She stared at the outside of the box through the glasses and saw glowing yellow letters just like the ones on the legs of her kitchen table:\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e PSST\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e But that was a dead end, too. Next, she’d spent days searching the secret magnetic railway station beneath the mailbox. She’d found nothing. She’d doubled down and explored every wall, floor, and object in their house. Still no clues.\u003cbr\u003e Why did Uncle Paul have to be so mysterious about everything? And why didn’t he just come home?\u003cbr\u003e Which had brought her back to the kitchen table, where she’d received the glasses in the first place.\u003cbr\u003e “We’re going to find Uncle Paul now,” she told Nipper. “I’m sure of it.”\u003cbr\u003e Samantha took out a slip of paper and scrawled a note with a pen.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Paul\/Horace: Where are you?\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e She stuffed the note into the opening in the “out of Seattle” leg. A gust of air caught it, and it shot down and out of sight.\u003cbr\u003e “Where do you think it went, Sam?” Nipper asked. “I’m not positive,” she answered. “But my guess is\u003cbr\u003e that—”\u003cbr\u003e Crack!\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Samantha looked over. A plastic sea salt grinder hit the kitchen floor and started to roll across the tiles.\u003cbr\u003e Cra-tack!\u003cbr\u003e A pepper mill dropped on the floor and shattered.\u003cbr\u003e Samantha looked up. Their pug, Dennis, was walking along the kitchen counter, sniffing everything in his path. “Uh-oh,” said Nipper, pointing at the chair Samantha had shoved across the kitchen so she could inspect the\u003cbr\u003e table legs.\u003cbr\u003e She looked at the chair, then back up at Dennis. He approached the open waffle iron.\u003cbr\u003e “Watch out!” Samantha shouted. “What? Duck?” asked Nipper.\u003cbr\u003e “Not you,” she replied, pointing to the counter. “Dennis!” she shouted, even louder. “Get away from\u003cbr\u003e that!”\u003cbr\u003e The dog turned quickly, bumping into the hot breakfast appliance.\u003cbr\u003e Ka-snappp!\u003cbr\u003e The waffle iron closed on his tail. Dennis howled in pain.","brand":"Yearling","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46305259061477,"sku":"NP9781524720070","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781524720070.jpg?v=1767736078","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/samantha-spinner-and-the-spectacular-specs-isbn-9781524720070","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}