Fans of James Patterson’s Treasure Hunters series have a chance to land booty of their own by entering a contest with a grand prize that is grand indeed: $10,000. Launched this week by Little, Brown’s Jimmy Patterson Books, the Secret Hideout Contest ties into the fourth installment of this middle-grade series, Treasure Hunters: Peril at the Top of the World, released on July 4 with a 400,000-copy first printing.
The novel, written by Patterson and Chris Grabenstein and illustrated by Juliana Neufeld, sends the adventure-seeking, globe-trotting Kidd siblings to Russia, where priceless paintings by Leonardo da Vinci and Rembrandt have gone missing. Hot on the trail of the thieves, the kids race along the streets of St. Petersburg and through the Arctic tundra to track down the stolen treasure.
Real-life kids won’t have to venture to exotic lands to have a crack at winning the real-life treasure. The terms of the contest, a joint initiative between Hachette Book Group and James Patterson, are outlined at the conclusion of Peril at the Top of the World. Exclaiming that “It’s time to think like a Kidd!” the instructions direct readers to fill out an entry form, found online, between now and October 4.
On the form, contestants provide the answer they’ve decoded, using clues found at the end of the novel, to the location of the “secret base” of the art thieves, who are known as the “Enlightened Ones.” They also are asked to come up with an original idea for a secret base, whose location must be related to museums like those featured in the Treasure Hunters series. Using their knowledge about the museum they choose, kids create a clue to that location in 25 words or fewer for a chance to win the prize money. Judges will select the top entry based on humor, creativity – and correct spelling.
Sabrina Benun, marketing manager of Jimmy Patterson Books, noted that the contest’s premise has triple appeal. “There is an educational component, since kids are creating their own clues based on research they’ve done on an actual museum,” she said. “And there’s also a creative component, since they have to provide a clever, well-written clue, and an answer, to the location of the secret base they’ve chosen. And of course there’s the chance at winning $10,000 – that’s exciting for both kids and their parents!”
Treasure Hunters: Peril at the Top of the World by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein, illus. by Juliana Neufeld. Little, Brown/Jimmy Patterson, $14.99 July ISBN -0-316-34693-1
