Stranded in the D.C. airport in a snowstorm, three seventh-grade strangers meet. At first glance, Anna the reporter, Henry the gamer, and José the reader don't seem to have much in common. But all three attended a gala event at the Smithsonian the previous evening. And all are descended from historic American families who belong to a secret sleuthing society. When news comes through that the original "Star Spangled Banner" was stolen from the museum while they were there, the new friends deduce that the flag just might be trapped at the airport and set off to catch the culprit and restore the national treasure. Along the way, they encounter a comical variety of characters and ponder questions of immigration policy, campaign integrity, and national culture. With tidy detecting and earnest characterizations, this is a mystery that frolics more than it frightens. But the respectful integration of current events and the three heroes' thoughtful consideration of the cultural clues make the location of the flag just the beginning of the discoveries.

Seventh graders Anna, Josi, and Henry band together to uncover the truth behind the heist of the Star-Spangled Banner flag (Capture). In Hide the kids, now junior members of the secret Silver Jaguar Society, travel from Washington, DC, to the Costa Rican rainforest to track down the stolen Jaguar Cup. These breezy novels will draw in mystery and adventure fans.

When the Star-Spangled Banner is taken from its super-secure Smithsonian vault, three kids connected by their Vermont background and family membership in a secret artifact-protection society combine with a visiting fourth to find the irreplaceable national treasure. Messner launches her projected three-book Silver Jaguar Society series with a fast-paced mystery. It finds a diverse group of young people snowed in at an airport with an aspiring presidential candidate; they must engage in an improbable but gripping hide-and-seek game through the belts and tunnels of the baggage-handling system to find the flag and avoid the perpetrators. There's a character for every reader: Anna, an aspiring journalist; African-American Henry, facing big family changes; José, who loves books; and 8-year-old Sinan, Pakistani son of two traveling musicians. The frenetic action comes right out of Henry's beloved video games or José's well-thumbed Harry Potter volumes, but there are political overtones, too. The xenophobia behind some proposals for immigration reform is addressed directly when José suggests that Anna's family might be Malfoys, and again as candidate Snickerbottom accuses "artsy all-over-the-world orchestra types" of the theft. While the way the cast moves in and out of secure areas of the airport is improbable, readers caught up in the chase won't care. Just in time for the Fourth of July, a sparkling start for a promising new series. (Mystery. 8-12)

Messner (Eye of the Storm) opens a mystery series with a novel as cinematic in execution as it is patriotic in theme-at one point, a character compares this adventure to the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced film National Treasure, and that-s not a bad call (though this story is free of explosions). After the flag that inspired -The Star-Spangled Banner- is stolen during a gala at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C., three seventh-graders, stranded at the airport during a freak snowstorm, investigate its disappearance, guessing that the storm might mean that the flag is at the airport, too. Not only were all three children-Anna, José, and Henry-at the Smithsonian event, it turns out they all have family members in the secret Silver Jaguar Society, whose members -made a promise to protect the world-s artifacts, and passed that promise down through generations.- Readers with even a few mystery novels under their belts will have no trouble picking up the clues Messner drops throughout this entertaining if conventional escapade. Ages 8-12. Agent: Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (July)

Gr 4-6 Three preteens are in Washington, DC, to view the flag that inspired the "Star Spangled Banner," which had recently been restored. Anna Revere-Hobbs, a budding reporter and daughter of one of Vermont's senators, is looking for a scoop. She hopes to land an interview with presidential hopeful Senator Robert Snickerbottom, but he isn't interested. Henry Thorn doesn't want to be in DC at all, but he's stuck visiting his Aunt Lucinda while his newly married father honeymoons. Jos&3; McGilligan's scientist mother has been away for three weeks working on the restoration project. He has missed her terribly and he's hoping his life will return to normal now. Unfortunately, the flag is stolen during the night, and his mother has been detained since she was one of the last to view it. The three meet at the airport as they jockey for available outlets to recharge their electrical devices. A fierce snowstorm is about to strand everyone. As news dribbles in, Anna begins to suspect that the flag is somewhere in the airport and convinces the two boys to help her sniff out some clues. As they do, they learn that each of them has historical pedigree and a parent who is a member of a secret organization called the Silver Jaguar Society. Think of a "39 Clues"/ National Treasure mash-up. There's plenty of action, suspense, and red herrings to keep eager mystery fans turning pages despite a rather buffoonish presidential candidate and huge holes in security at our nation's capital no less. As usual, Messner creates believable characters, nails the dialogue, and deftly weaves history and humor into the mix. Brenda Kahn, Tenakill Middle School, Closter, NJ