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The Library Mystery, an Adventure Mission story cover

Mission 18

The Library Mystery

Something odd is going on at the town library. A favorite book is not on its shelf, the returns are in a muddle, and notes keep turning up between the pages. Follow the clues, put things in order, and work out what really happened. Nobody is in trouble: every mystery here ends with something found.

  • 5 parts
  • 15 to 20 minutes
  • Grades 6 to 8

Who is playing?

Each age gets its own version of the story. Any of them is fine to play.

Grades 6 to 8

The Note on Page 212

The job: Work out which book a lost family note fell from, and write an account that claims only what the evidence shows.

  1. Five Books, One Note With a PlayOwl plan
  2. The Returns Log With a PlayOwl plan
  3. Said, Shown or Supposed? With a PlayOwl plan
  4. The Clear Account With a PlayOwl plan
  5. The Pressed Violet With a PlayOwl plan
For grown-ups: what this mission practices

Sorting by a picture or a first letter, alphabetical order to the second letter, following written directions, reading and keeping a borrowing record, ordering shelf codes with decimals, ruling out possibilities until one remains, and, for older children, telling what a source says from what someone guessed and justifying a conclusion.

Ages
Five versions, from Preschool to Grade 8. They are different designs, not the same task with other numbers.
How it is checked
Every answer is checked by rules the child can see at work on the screen. Any answer that meets them is right.
Help
Olly can read any line aloud, give a hint that points at where to look, or show one way. A report says where help was used.
Time
Nothing is timed. A part takes a few minutes and progress is saved after each one for a signed-in child.