Fern and Newt and the Lost Loot

It's Fern's birthday, and all she wants is a metal detector.

Instead, she gets clothes and a mysterious long box that turns out to be a gardening tool from her neighbor, Madame Musette, with a note about coming over to pull weeds. Sigh. Fern and her friend Newt lost her older sister Nicole's jewelry box when they buried it at the beach, playing pirates. If they can just find it before Nicole returns from camp, they'll be in the clear. But the quest is impossible without a metal detector!

Fern and Newt need to earn the money to buy one themselves. Luckily, Madame Musette offers Fern five cents for every root pulled and Newt agrees to help too. The money adds up--but very slowly--until the friends discover that Madame Musette will pay even more for butterfly eggs so she can let them hatch safely before releasing them outside. With the summer slipping away and Nicole due home at any minute, will the friends be able to earn enough for a metal detector and find the treasure before it's too late?

The epub edition of this title is fully accessible. Available in French as Fémi et Lou et le trésor perdu.

Mireille Messier is an awardwinning children's writer with a background in broadcasting and theater. Before becoming an author, Mireille worked as a television and radio host, a director, a researcher, a book reviewer and a voice actress. Mireille has published over thirty books, some in French, others in English, for children of all ages, including No Horses in the House! and Nevin Knows. Her books have been selected for many literary awards including a Governor General's Award, a Christopher Award, a Blue Spruce Award, a Rocky Mountain Book Award and a Hackmatack Award. In the summer, Mireille's mantel is often full of containers with cocoons!

Catarina Oliveira is a Portuguese Canadian illustrator currently based in Portugal. She started her career as a graphic designer but decided that her love of children's books was too strong to ignore. Since then, she has been published in Portugal and North America. When she's not working, she enjoys making paper collages, cooking, hiking in the woods and going on trips around the world.