ALSO BY SARA SHEPARD

  Penny Draws a Best Friend

  Penny Draws a School Play

  G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS

  An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, New York

  Produced by Alloy Entertainment

  30 Hudson Yards, 22nd floor • New York, NY 10001

  First published in the United States of America by G. P. Putnam’s Sons,

  an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2024

  Copyright © 2024 by Sara Shepard and Alloy Entertainment LLC

  Excerpt from Penny Draws a Class Trip © 2024 by Sara Shepard and Alloy Entertainment LLC

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Shepard, Sara, 1977– author.

  Title: Penny draws a secret adventure / Sara Shepard.

  Description: New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2024. |

  Series: Penny draws |

  Summary: “Penny and her friends find an old map that takes them on a search through their town for hidden treasure”—Provided by publisher.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2023009463 (print) | LCCN 2023009464 (ebook) | ISBN 9780593616833 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780593616840 (epub)

  Subjects: CYAC: Treasure hunt (Game)—Fiction. | Friendship—Fiction. | Diaries—Fiction. | LCGFT: Diary fiction. | Novels.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.S54324 Pde 2024 (print) | LCC PZ7.S54324 (ebook) | DDC [Fic]—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023009463

  LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023009464

  Ebook ISBN 9780593616840

  Design by Marikka Tamura and Suki Boynton, adapted for ebook by Michelle Quintero

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  pid_prh_6.3_146382206_c0_r0

  Contents

  Cover

  Also by Sara Shepard

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Keys

  Fly to the Moon

  Super Riley Crisp™

  The Witch’s House

  Mission Lockbox

  What Was Inside

  The Babysitter

  A Deck of Pennys

  The Land of Hopes and Dreams

  Enchanted Muffins

  The Bird

  Bob the Potato

  Worry Grahams

  Barbershop Quartet

  Chainsawing Meh

  Missed Connections

  The Confrontation

  Face Masks

  The Witch’s Yard

  The Note Writer

  The Treasure

  Time Capsule

  So Many Boxes

  Epilogue

  Excerpt from Penny Draws A Class Trip

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  _146382206_

  To Mindy

  KEYS

  Dear Cosmo,

  So much is new! Well, I’m sure you know—you can tell by all the strange smells and sounds that are suddenly everywhere in our house. That’s right: Mom, Dad, and the twins came home from the hospital this morning!

  I leaned in and looked at the babies. They were pretty wrinkly. But they smelled good, and they were so sweet and little. I was their new big sister! I was so excited.

  But then this happened.

  It was the girl baby. I was confused. Did I breathe on her wrong or something? Did I break her?

  Both Grandma Mimi and Grandma Anne were there when Mom and Dad came home. No surprise, they had different opinions about the reasons the baby was crying so much.

  Don’t worry, Cosmo. No one else is blaming you.

  The trouble is, the girl baby didn’t stop crying, long after Grandma Anne and Grandma Mimi left. She kept it up for hours.

  And hours.

  And hours.

  I have to admit, Cosmo, it was sort of stressful. I wanted to talk to someone to take my mind off it. So I tried calling Maria. She’s one of my best friends. But I wasn’t able to get her on the phone.

  I had to hang up then because I felt like I was yelling at Maria’s mom over the sound of the crying.

  Next I tried Chloe. Chloe lives across the street from me, and she’s also a close friend.

  I finally went back downstairs to see how everything was going. Mom and Dad had a surprise task for Juice Box and me.

  The Disaster on Wheels is the name of one of Juice Box’s favorite monster trucks.

  Then Juice Box and I brainstormed other names.

  Then it was time for my parents to feed the babies. The boy drank from a bottle like a champ. The girl ate, too—and quieted down. Finally. It was nice to have a few moments of peace. I felt like the house hadn’t been quiet in years.

  Then my mom said something that pretty much broke my brain.

  Mom thought the magical swing was in the shed. Dad put on his shoes, but for some reason, he seemed hesitant to go and get it.

  I followed Dad outside because I needed a break from the crying, which had started again as soon as the baby stopped eating. The storage shed was at the back of our yard near the fence. It had an old creaky door and was crammed with stuff.

  It took some time, but Dad was actually able to find the miracle baby swing Mom was talking about. It was shoved way into the back—almost like it didn’t want to be found.

  He brought it out and dusted it off a little.

  Lucky for Dad, the batteries were dead, so we couldn’t play the song right then.

  We went to lock up the shed. Then Dad’s flashlight shone on something on a high shelf with a strange label. Was that . . . an eyeball?

  I asked Dad to bring the box down so I could get a better look. Dad wasn’t sure what it was. He said the people who owned this house before us probably left it behind.

  This was amazing, Cosmo! A few weeks ago, my friends and I found something in the attic that needed a key to unlock it.

  Maybe the key was here.

  FLY TO THE MOON

  Dear Cosmo,

  Well, we got through the first night of the babies being home in one piece. That rocket swing from the shed really is a miracle, because once my mom installed new batteries, turned the thing on, and put the crying baby in it, she fell straight to sleep for two whole wonderfully quiet hours.

  Although . . . Dad is kind of right about the song. It does get stuck in your head.

  I was finally able to get to sleep, too—though I couldn’t stop thinking about those keys in that weird eyeball box. This morning, I laid out all the keys on the kitchen floor. I held up a few to the keyhole on the mysterious box from the attic, just to see if they were the same general shape. I found a lot that didn’t look like they fit in normal locks at all.

  There was part of me that wondered if maybe the family who used to live here was missing those keys. Like, what if they owned a taxi service and there were a bunch of taxis sitting around without keys? But Dad said most of them seemed really old. Most likely, no one was looking for them. Still, I really, really hoped one of them opened our mystery box.

  On the sidewalk outside school, my friends gathered around me.

  Do babies have fish gills? I wasn’t sure about that one.

  What I really wanted to talk about, though, was the keys I’d found. Everyone was excited. We’d all been wondering about that box in the attic.

  One thing was for sure: We were all certain there was something amazing in that box. Something that might even change our lives! It felt exciting and a little dangerous. Locked boxes usually meant secrets.

  Then we noticed someone lurking behind us.

  I didn’t want to give Riley Miller the satisfaction of telling her that yes, my house was extremely noisy. Riley’s mom is pregnant. She’ll find out soon enough. And also, I didn’t know if we should share the whole box-in-the-attic and keys news. It felt like our private thing.

  Luckily, Riley noticed her crush, Michael McMinnamin, so she ran off. I turned back to my friends. We needed to figure out a time to meet up and go through the box of keys. We ran into a few scheduling problems, though.

  I couldn’t believe people were actually letting Kristian walk their dogs. He told me that he has a bad habit of losing things. Homework, books, shoes . . . an
d one time, he even lost his little sister. It was only in his grandmother’s backyard, though, and they found her pretty quickly. Still, I hope that doesn’t go for dogs, too.

  I suggested Wednesday for Mission Lockbox, as I’d begun to call it. But then Maria said something that totally surprised me.

  I wondered if Maria and Chloe were together last night when I’d tried to reach them. It seemed kind of . . . weird that they were hanging out without me. But, I mean, of course Maria and Chloe could practice Spelling Bee words together. Spelling Bees are their thing! Why should I care? I’m fine with it! Really!

  We settled on Thursday after school instead . . . but that’s so many days away. It’s going to be really, really hard to wait. And lots of questions swirled in my brain without answers. Will we find the key? What will be in the box? Why did Maria and Chloe get together without me?

  Never mind that last thought. I’m fine about it. Really.

  Totally nothing to worry about.

  SUPER RILEY CRISP™

  Dear Cosmo,

  When I got to my classroom, my teacher, Miss Kettle, and her hippo hand puppet, Steve, led us through “morning yoga.” It’s this new thing Miss Kettle started to get our day going.

  Here’s the problem, though. The stretches they have us do kind of hurt. The only person who is really good at them is my old friend Violet, who has taken gymnastics since she was practically my new brother and sister’s age.

  After morning yoga ended, my brain didn’t feel very boosted, and I was pretty sure I’d pulled a few muscles. Everyone else around me seemed equally sore and uncomfortable.

  Then Miss Kettle and Steve played this doorbell sound, which meant they wanted our attention. First, they went through some boring stuff: the lunch menu, upcoming homework dates, and the fact that school would be closed in the morning next week because of some important teacher meetings.

  But after all of that was over with, Miss Kettle got this excited look on her face. She announced a brand-new project the three fifth-grade classes were going to start working on. Miss Kettle had come up with the idea, and she was very proud.

  Cereal boxes? Um, okay. Then it got even weirder.

  We had a lot of questions.

  Miss Kettle (well, mostly Steve) explained that there wouldn’t actually be any cereal inside the box. It was symbolic. The purpose of the activity was to advertise what was interesting about each of us in a fun way. What made us special? Did we have unique talents? What did we want people to know about who we were or what hobbies we were into? And when we were finished, all of the fifth graders would present their projects, and we’d learn all kinds of new things about each other.

  Miss Kettle showed us an example of a box she made about Steve.

  Sometimes I think Miss Kettle loves Steve a little bit too much.

  Miss Kettle passed out big pieces of paper so that we could draft a cereal box design. Today, we’d just sketch out our ideas. Later, we’d start work on the actual boxes. We’d also write an essay and give a presentation—which surprised no one. Fifth-grade teachers were obsessed with us writing essays and giving presentations.

  Some people knew exactly what to do for their box.

  I wasn’t sure where to start. What makes me special, Cosmo? What sets me apart from other people? If I were a cereal, would I be a puffed rice sort of shape or a sugary flake? Would I have mini marshmallows? Actually, marshmallows give me a headache, so I doubt it. I also read somewhere that artificial colorings in foods are very unhealthy, so I guess my cereal wouldn’t have any wacky dyes that turn the milk pink or green or purple. So if I were a cereal, I’d be pretty boring, then? Like one of those healthy, oat-based kinds your parents force you to eat with a sliced banana?

  That didn’t sound like much fun.

  My head felt fuzzy. I couldn’t form a thought. Then I realized why. There was a song stuck in my head. A familiar song.

  I think I know now why Dad didn’t want to find that swing.

  THE WITCH’S HOUSE

  Dear Cosmo,

  After school that same day, I came home. And guess what?

  That baby was still crying.

  When I went inside, Mom looked like she’d run two marathons back to back. And I found Dad doing this.

  Through our front window, I saw Chloe walking to her house from her school bus. I ran back outside. I hadn’t seen Chloe since the babies came home!

  Chloe was really excited to see me, too.

  I asked Chloe if we could take you on a walk, Cosmo. I sort of needed to get away from the crying, and I think you did, too. I’m not sure you’ve slept since the babies came home. All the crying makes you think people are in danger, so you’ve been constantly on alert.

  We set off on the walk. It was a nice day, so a lot of kids were out playing. I told Chloe about the big box of keys and how mysterious it all was.

  I really hoped aliens didn’t put the keys in the shed. Because if one of those keys opened the box in the attic, wouldn’t that mean that aliens put the box in the attic, too?

  Oh no. What if my house had an alien infestation?

  Chloe asked me when we were going to try out all the keys. I said we’d set a date for Thursday. Then I remembered how Maria said she and Chloe had been getting together all week to practice for the upcoming Spelling Bee. I don’t know why I kept thinking about that. It isn’t like they’re sneaking around or anything. I’ve had a lot going on with the twins coming home. I’m sure they just didn’t want to bother me.

  Chloe stopped in front of this house on the corner of Mulberry Street that I hadn’t noticed before. It was up on a hill and surrounded by spooky trees. I felt a chill run through my bones the moment I looked into the yard.

  And then Chloe said something very scary.

  I really hoped Chloe was kidding, but she seemed serious.

  I didn’t like the idea of a witch living in our neighborhood. What if she cast a spell on us just for standing at her curb? What if she decided to steal you, Cosmo, and make you her enchanted pet? Didn’t witches do things like that?

  And then this happened.

  It was the witch’s front door. She was coming out! I swear I could hear cackling.

  I ran home as fast as I could. I didn’t even say goodbye to Chloe, but I figured she’d understand. I was still screaming when I got back to my house—really loudly, actually. I was confused for a minute. I didn’t think I was able to scream that loud.

  Then I realized. I wasn’t the only one screaming.

  Huh. Our screams sound pretty similar, actually.

  I guess we’re related after all.

  MISSION LOCKBOX

  Dear Cosmo,

  My friends and I are so excited to start Mission Lockbox—testing out all of the keys from the box. It’s all happening later today, and I’m so excited.

  Although last night, something kind of weird happened. I was doing homework in my room . . . when I heard this coming from outside.

  Chloe was walking Maria to her mom’s car. I guess they’d been studying those spelling words. Which is fine! Really! Good for them and their spelling abilities!

  Though I wish I knew what was so funny. And also? I mean, they could have invited me. I like spelling! Really!

  Okay, spelling mostly makes me frustrated. But I could provide moral support. I could be their spelling cheerleader! Do they have those in Spelling Bees?

  Anyway, school went by in a blur. In our homerooms, all the fifth graders were working on their cereal box projects. Amazingly, most everyone else had come up with good first drafts already.