The Spotlight Clubbers create stone rubbings of Civil War–era tombstones for a summer school class on the Civil War. Cindy has chosen the tombstone of Serafina Winslow, who died in 1862. Then, at the neighborhood yard sale, Cindy locates a box of interesting-looking old photos and frames and miscellaneous papers. When she takes it home with her, she discovers Serafina Winslow's journal inside! Things get even more mysterious when Cindy finds a sketch of her neighbor’s missing locket in the journal. What does the long-deceased Serafina Winslow have to do with the recent disappearance of the locket? Leave it to the Spotlight Club to dig up the answers!

Between 1849 and 1859, Virginia raced to pierce the Blue Ridge Mountains by rail and reach the Ohio River. At least 300 enslaved people labored involuntarily toward that goal, along with 1,500 Irish immigrants. The state leased the labor of enslaved Virginians from local slaveholders, including four connected with nearby University of Virginia. Blue Ridge Tunnel and Blue Ridge Railroad historian Mary E. Lyons explored hundreds of primary documents to write the first nonfiction book about slave labor on a specific antebellum railroad. She shares hundreds of enslaved people's names, traces where they toiled along the line and describes their backbreaking--and sometimes fatal--tasks.

Ghost stories from Virginia's Blue Ridge Highlands have never been so creepy, fun, and full of mystery! The haunted history of the highlands comes to life--even when the main players are dead. Visit the Bolling Wilson Hotel in Wytheville to meet its charming elderly ghost. Or head to the Inn at Wise to play with the fun-loving boys whose spirits linger in the halls. Perhaps you'll spot the ghost horse in Abington as it gallops across the grounds of the Martha Washington Inn! Dive into this spooky chapter book for suspenseful tales of bumps in the night, paranormal investigations, and the unexplained; just be sure to keep the light on.

A story of the famed Thomas Jefferson Beale ciphers that has been aired on national TV by the news media, various programs, and can be reviewed on the Internet is given renewed attention. Three sets of numbers are in the code, and until recent years, only paper number 2 had been deciphered. However, a new story emerges in the deciphered papers 1 and 3. It is the journal of Gilbert Bean, a young Scottish minister living in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. Mystery Beneath the Baneberry Bush is the story of this frontier and enterprising Bean family based on the journal. During the American Revolution, Gilbert Bean served in the Rawlings Regiment under Capt. Thomas Beal, founder of Cumberland, Maryland. Gilbert, Beau he was often called, made an effort to destroy all his personal public records, but his records from the National Archives state that he deserted. Did he desert the very cause that he was fighting for? Why was it necessary to code his journal? What is the strange “ark” Bet Bean stole from a British boat? Is there a treasure trove in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, more precious than silver and gold that will shock America?

This book tells the true story of the people who had made their homes for many generations in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, the hardships and sorrows the mountain people endured for being poor and secluded for living their way of life in the mountains. They were put out of their homes and put off their land to make way for the Shenandoah National Park. Memories linger in their minds of days gone by—what it was like not to have enough food on the table, hard work every day, thinking what the next day might bring. The history that has been left behind by the mountain people should never be forgotten. Oh, what secrets those Blue Ridge Mountains hold.

Who will put the dead back to rest? It's the Great Flood of 1993, and much of the Midwestern U.S. is covered with water. But tiny Hardin, Missouri, is covered with something much, much worse: dead bodies. High-interest topics, real stories, engaging design, and astonishing photos are the building blocks of the XBooks, a new series of books designed to engage and motivate reluctant and enthusiastic readers alike. How can DNA help a convicted person prove their innocence? How did a burglar steal from a store without leaving any fingerprints? Why was the tiny town in Hardin, Missouri, awash with skeletons after a huge flood? With topics based in science, these action-packed books will help students unlock the power and pleasure of reading... and always ask for more!