When this peculiar ad appears in the newspaper, dozens of children enroll to take a series of mysterious, mind-bending tests. (And you, dear reader, can test your wits right alongside them.) But in the end just four very special children will succeed. Their challenge: to go on a secret mission that only the most intelligent and resourceful children could complete. To accomplish it they will have to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules.
As our heroes face physical and mental trials beyond their wildest imaginations, they have no choice but to turn to each other for support. But with their newfound friendship at stake, will they be able to pass the most important test of all?
Escapes and Returns
Pencils, Erasers, and Disqualification
Buckets and Spectacles
Squares and Arrows
The Trouble with Children Or, Why They Are Necessary
The Sender and the Messages
The Men in the Maze
Codes and Histories
The Thing to Come
The Naming of the Crew
Nomansan Island
Traps and Nonsense
Beware the Gemini
Lessons Learned
people and Places to Be Avoided
Logical Conclusions and Miscalculations
Poison Apples, Poison Worms
A Surprising Suggestion
Tests and Invitations
Everything As It Should Be
Acknowledgments
For Every Exit, an Entrance
Escapes and Returns
The Best Medicine
Stands and Falls
The Great Kate Weather Machine
Sticky’s Discovery
Bad News and Bad News
Sacrifices, Narrow Escapes, and Something Like a Plan
The Mouse in the Culvert
A Chess Lesson
Know Thine Enemy
Practice Makes Perfect
Open Sesame
The Whisperer
Half a Riddle
Punishments and Promotions
The Waiting Room
Caught in the Act
Tactical Cactupi
