Turkey Trouble on the National Mall

"Overnight, carpenters built a pen on the lawn in front of the Smithsonian Castle on the National Mall.

On Tuesday, the vice president told KC and Marshall that their campaign was off to a huge start. "It's catching on!" she said. "I'm getting dozens of phone calls and emails. People stop me on the street. They want to pardon their turkeys this year!"

Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, more and more live turkeys were delivered to the pen on the Mall. The vice president ordered ten sacks of turkey feed.

Two park rangers were assigned to take care of the turkeys. Both of the rangers decided they would pardon their families' turkeys, too."

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Ron Roy

Roy is the author of dozens of chapter books in the A to Z Mysteries, the Capital Mysteries, and the Calendar Mysteries series. Before publishing his books, Roy was a fourth grade teacher.

The Capital Mysteries follow the exploits of two fourth-grade detectives, KC Corcoran -- the President's step-daughter -- and Marshall Li who solve mysteries around the monuments in Washington. D.C.

Relevance

Turkey Trouble on the National Mall is a fun -- completely improbable! -- read but it assumes the reader knows about the Thanksgiving turkey and why it is given a Presidential pardon.  There is also the assumption the reader is somewhat familiar with the National Mall. Learning about these things will make the story even more enjoyable.

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Summary

The annual Presidential Turkey Pardon goes haywire when KC and Marshall convince Senators and Congresspeople to add their turkeys to the pardon list.  But the EET -- Everyone Eats Turkey - protests and advertises a turkey dinner for everyone.

The night before Thanksgiving, the turkeys penned in front of the Smithsonian Castle are stolen -- 117 raucous birds!  KC and Marshall uncover the thief and help the FBI retrieve the turkeys.

Learning Connections

• Wild Turkey, Guide to North American Birds, Audubon
  
• Wild Turkey, National Geographic
• Wild Facts About Wild Turkeys, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services
• Why Do We Eat Turkey on Thanksgiving?, Encyclopedia Britannica
• Pardoning the Thanksgiving Turkey, White House Historical Association
• Ben's Guide, Learning Adventures - U.S. Monuments page, Government Publishing Office
• National Mall
• Travel and Teaching: Washington, D.C. Part 1, National Mall Virtual Tour and Lessons, Teaching the Teacher

Middle chapter books, 98 pages. The annual Presidential Turkey Pardon goes haywire when KC and Marshall convince Senators and Congresspeople to add their turkeys to the pardon list.