Kayla nodded. “PAW has programs around the world. We try to save animal species, and that means we have to protect the land. After all, you can’t protect animals if they don’t have a safe and healthy place to live. Everything in nature is connected.”

  “What do you mean?” Benny asked.

  “Say a factory dumps chemicals onto the ground,” Kayla said. “The chemicals can wash into a river. They can flow into lakes or all the way to the ocean. What happens if you drop a plastic bag outside? It might blow miles and miles to the coast. It could get into the water and choke a sea turtle or seal.”

  “That’s terrible,” Violet said.

  “We’re always careful to throw away our garbage,” Henry said.

  “That’s important,” Kayla said. “Environmental groups like mine try to educate people on things like that. We work with local communities. We work with governments. Like I said, everything is connected. People are part of that web.”

  Violet looked back at the dolphin and drew in her sketchbook. It was hard to draw something that moved so quickly. “I hope more people come and see animals like the Hector’s dolphin,” she said.

  “Many people love dolphins,” Kayla answered. “Most people don’t know about all the different dolphin species. They don’t realize some are so rare they might disappear forever. Aquariums help teach people about all the animals in danger.”

  “It’s sad that there are so many of them that need help,” Violet said, putting down her pencil.

  Kayla put her hand on the girl’s shoulder. “It is sad. But isn’t it nice that people want to help? Come on to the next room. We’ll meet another species. This one is really cool.”

  Benny dashed ahead. “Penguins!”

  In the next room, penguins played in a large area behind glass. They waddled across rocks and dove into a pool of water. Through the glass, visitors could see them swimming underwater. Violet plopped down cross-legged. She held her sketchbook in her lap and drew.

  “We have African penguins and rockhoppers,” Kayla said. “These are the African penguins. Rockhoppers have funny yellow feathers on their heads.”

  “They’re adorable,” Jessie said. “Are they endangered?”

  “Sadly, yes,” Kayla said. “Of the eighteen species of penguin, ten are endangered. Others are vulnerable. That means they aren’t endangered yet, but there aren’t as many as we’d like. Rockhopper penguins are vulnerable. African penguins are endangered.”

  The group spent some time watching the penguins, then Kayla led them outside, where a railing surrounded a huge pool. Inside were the biggest animals yet. “These are beluga whales,” Kayla said. “They are found around Alaska and other northern areas.”

  The Aldens watched the three pale gray whales swim. One came close to peer at them. It had a bulging, rounded forehead. Its mouth seemed to be smiling.

  “I thought whales were really, really big,” Benny said.

  “These are one of the smaller whale species,” Kayla said.

  Jessie read the sign. “They’re still eleven to fifteen feet long. That’s twice as long as Grandfather is tall, and the adults weigh more than one thousand pounds!” She made notes.

  “I bet they have to eat a lot.” Benny rubbed his stomach. “Like me.”

  “They are so cute!” said Violet.

  Kayla leaned her elbows on the railing. “They sure are,” she said. “I love coming to the aquarium to see the whales. But we can’t forget about the animals that aren’t as popular or as cute. All species are important.”

  “Right.” Jessie looked up from her notebook. She thought she understood what Kayla was saying now. “Like you said, we are all connected. Bees pollinate many foods we eat. Snakes eat mice that would eat farmers’ grain. Some people don’t like bees or snakes, but we need those animals too.”

  “Every animal should be protected.” Henry agreed. “Not only the biggest or cutest ones. I’d like to know how to help those other animals too.”

  The other children nodded.

  Kayla smiled. “I have just the idea. But we’ll have to leave the aquarium. Are you ready for a new adventure?”

  “Always!” Benny said. “But maybe lunch and then an adventure, okay?” He rubbed his stomach again. “I’m hungry!”

  GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER discovered when she was teaching that many readers who like an exciting story could find no books that were both easy and fun to read. She decided to try to meet this need, and her first book, The Boxcar Children, quickly proved she had succeeded.

  Miss Warner drew on her own experiences to write the mystery. As a child she spent hours watching trains go by on the tracks opposite her family home. She often dreamed about what it would be like to set up housekeeping in a caboose or freight car—the situation the Alden children find themselves in.

  While the mystery element is central to each of Miss Warner’s books, she never thought of them as strictly juvenile mysteries. She liked to stress the Aldens’ independence and resourcefulness and their solid New England devotion to using up and making do. The Aldens go about most of their adventures with as little adult supervision as possible—something else that delights young readers.

  Miss Warner lived in Putnam, Connecticut, until her death in 1979. During her lifetime, she received hundreds of letters from girls and boys telling her how much they liked her books.

 

 

  Gertrude Chandler Warner, The Mystery in the Magic Shop

 

 

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