In this fourth book in the popular series, Theodosia sets off to Egypt to return the Emerald Tablet—embedded with the knowledge of some of the ancient world’s most guarded secrets. Accompanied by her cat, Isis (smuggled along in a basket), Theo plans to return the artifact, then explore the mysteries surrounding her own birth and oh, yes—help her mother dig up treasures on her archeological expedition. But nothing ever works out as planned, especially when a precious treasure appears suddenly, and then just as suddenly disappears . . . When the Serpents of Chaos get involved, Theo finds she’s digging up a lot more than she expected! This highly praised, exciting middle grade series is a must for fans of mysteries, humor, and nonstop action. Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos – A BookSense 2007 summer pick – Starred reviews in Booklist and Publishers Weekly – A Junior Library Guild selection – Exclusive audio rights sold to Audible – Included in Target’s fall ’09 plan-o-gram – French, German, Polish and Italian rights sold – Nominated for the Agatha Award (mystery writing) in Best Childrens/Young Adult category – Selected for Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers (VOYA, 2007) – Selected as one of the Top Ten Crime Fiction for Youth 2008, Booklist on-line – A Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year 2008 "A sure bet for Harry Potter fans.” – Booklist, starred review "A perfect blend of mystery and humor.” – Publishers Weekly, starred review Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris by R. L. LaFevers – Selected for the Winter 2008-2009 Kid's Indie Next List – Exclusive audio rights sold to Audible – Enthusiastically reviewed for the Amazon Vine reading program – Polish and French rights sold – A Today Show Holiday Book Pick, 12/12/08 – Nominated for the 2009 Cybils awards “Clever and exciting, just like the previous book, this also features a layered relationship between Theodosia and her grandmother. Nonstop action in a delightfully English package.” - Booklist Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus (spring ’10) R.L. LaFevers lives in Southern California. Learn more at her website: http://www.rllafevers.com/ Yoko Tanaka lives in Los Angeles and Bangkok with her husband and three cats. In addition to illustrating the Theodosia books, she has also illustrated The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo and a picture book, Sparrow Girl by Sara Pennypacker. Her artwork can be found at yokotanaka.com Chapter One: The Wretched Reticule November 1907 Even with the windows closed, the sand still managed to creep into the railway car and find its way into the most inconvenient places. I shifted uncomfortably on the seat, blew the dust off the pages of my journal, and focused on the list I was composing. Seeing things laid out in black and white often helps me think better. Things to Do in Egypt - - Avoid the nefarious Serpents of Chaos, a secret organization determined to obtain any and all cursed artifacts and use them for their own ill gain. - 2. Locate Major Harriman Grindle, my contact at the Luxor branch of the Brotherhood of the Chosen Keepers, the honorable group of men dedicated to stopping the Serpents of Chaos. - 3. Help Mother find the temple of Thutmose III. While my research had indicated there might be such a temple, I had overstated the case in order to convince Mother to return to Egypt so I could— - 4. Return two powerful artifacts, the Orb of Ra and the Emerald Tablet, to the wedjadeen, a shadowy organization that not even the Brotherhood of Chosen Keepers had heard of. According to the Egyptian magician Awi Bubu, they are charged by the Egyptian gods to guard and protect the same magic and are just as committed to protecting ancient, powerful artifacts as the Brotherhood of the Chosen Keepers are. - Convince the wedjadeen that I should not be punished for having their powerful artifacts in my possession. - 6. Also convince them that since my friend Awi Bubu had sent me to return these powerful artifacts to them, he should be forgiven for his past mistakes that had caused him to be expelled from their ranks. - Learn the circumstances of my birth. Awi Bubu seemed to think my peculiar talents of being able to detect ancient magic and curses had been given to me for a reason. I studied the list. It didn’t look quite long enough, frankly. A mere seven things shouldn’t feel as if the weight of the known world were resting on my shoulders, should it? A low, unhappy warble emerged from the basket on the seat next to me. I glanced anxiously at Mother, who raised a warning eyebrow. Oh, yes. -      8.   Keep Isis out from under Mother’s feet at all times. - I slipped my pencil into my pocket, then put my fingers through one of the slats in the basket to reassure Isis that I was still there. When I felt the feather-light touch of her soft, warm nose, I inched my fingers around to scratch behind her ears. That seemed to appease her somewhat. She didn’t quite purr