My teachers, librarians, and booksellers, for not only putting books in my hands but words in my heart.
Elizabeth Behrens, for being my one and only sister, as well as a great friend and teacher.
My grandmothers, Bette Behrens and Margaret Simpson, and the late Alice Stylianou, for the stories you’ve told me. I treasure them all.
My parents, Jim and Jane Behrens, for always believing in me. Thank you to my Behrens-Karsh family—Eyal, Ben, and Eva—and my Merriman family—Mark, Brigid, Elise, Grace, and Ben.
Always, thanks to Blake, for all the adventures shared and the many to come.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rebecca Behrens grew up in Wisconsin, studied in Chicago, and now lives with her husband in New York City. A former textbook editor, Rebecca loves writing and reading about kids full of moxie and places full of history. She is the author of the middle-grade novels When Audrey Met Alice, which BookPage called “a terrific work of blended realistic and historical fiction,” and Summer of Lost and Found, which Kirkus Reviews praised as “a good find indeed.” Visit her online at www.rebeccabehrens.com.
ALADDIN
Simon & Schuster, New York
Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Rebecca-Behrens
Visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids
ALSO BY REBECCA BEHRENS
Summer of Lost and Found
When Audrey Met Alice
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ALADDIN
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
First Aladdin hardcover edition March 2018
Text copyright © 2018 by Rebecca Behrens
Jacket illustrations and interior map illustrations copyright © 2018 by Robyn Ng
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or business@simonandschuster.com.
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Jacket designed by Laura Lyn DiSiena
Interior designed by Steve Scott
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Behrens, Rebecca, author.
Title: The last grand adventure / by Rebecca Behrens.
Description: First Aladdin hardcover edition. | New York : Aladdin, 2018. |
Summary: In 1967, unhappy with her newly blended family, twelve-year-old Bea agrees to accompany Pidge, her grandmother, to Atchison, Kansas, where Pidge believes her long-lost sister, Amelia Earhart, will meet them.
Includes historical notes, a brief biography, quotations from the Earharts, and resources for educators. | Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017019299 (print) | LCCN 2017036584 (eBook) |
ISBN 9781481496940 (eBook) | ISBN 9781481496926 (hc)
Subjects: | CYAC: Adventure and adventurers—Fiction. | Sisters—Fiction. |
Grandmothers—Fiction. | Earhart, Amelia, 1897-1937—Fiction. |
Divorce—Fiction. | Stepfamilies—Fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.B38823405 (eBook) |
LCC PZ7.B38823405 Las 2018 (print) | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017019299