Someone Was Watching

The first read aloud this year was Someone Was Watching by David Patneaude!

In one fleeting, sickening moment, the Bartons' precious 3-year-old girl, Molly, disappears, and judging from the coloring book floating down by the dock, she is lost forever to the river. One evening, about three months after "the Incident," 13-year-old Chris Barton watches the family-vacation video he made in the last hours of Molly's life. Clues in the background--including the appearance of a white ice-cream truck--don't add up, and Chris becomes convinced his sister is still alive. With the help of his best friend, Pat, he sets out to track her down, despite his parents' grief-weary refusal to even consider the possibility that little Molly is anywhere but in the river. What follows is a riveting journey, where the boys are on their own in a heroic, terrifying, nail-biting adventure. The events that unfold in this suspenseful mystery.

This is an excellent book that we enjoyed together. It has also been made into a movie which we also saw. We then discussed the differences between the book and the movie.

Teacher note: Other books by David Patneaude that 4th graders may be interested in can be found on the author's page. I have only read three other titles of his books: The Last Man's Reward, Haunting at Home Plate, and Deadly Drive. Someone is Watching is my favorite.