The Magic Belt

A mysterious string of earthquakes rocks the Midwest, and Donald Gardner senses all is not what it appears to be. At night, he hears crawling noises in the walls of his home and scratching sounds coming from the basement. Halloween is just around the corner, and an abandoned house in the neighborhood has a for-sale sign in the yard, piquing the curiosity of Donald and his friends. When Katie Samuelson, the pretty girl from Donald's sixth-grade class, presents him with a well-worn copy of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," she asks a series of suspicious questions about his recent trip to Germany. Donald soon discovers pencil markings in the book, made by a child decades ago. Some of them are in an ancient language, forbidden in the Land of Oz and used to forge the Silver Shoes. Tensions escalate when two bullies from school target Donald, now that he has gained sudden recognition, following the nationwide media coverage of his kidnapping. Duane and Tommy Wheeler are brothers from the wrong side of the tracks, notorious for picking on their classmates. Everyone knows to steer clear of the Wheelers. After Donald's parents leave for an extended weekend in San Diego, even stranger things begin to happen. A visit with his elderly grandmother leads to a shocking discovery about the past and a secret kept hidden in the family for generations. Join Donald and his friends Jon, Chris, and Katie for this third adventure in the series that began with "Silver Shoes,"* picking up just weeks after their extraordinary journey in "The Powder of Life." * Kansas Notable Book award-winner for 2010 - Kansas Center for the Book and the State Library of Kansas