Secret Project Notebook

Moving with his parents to a remote New Mexico location in the 1940s, twelve-year-old Fritz becomes suspicious about his father's secret work and begins to keep notes about events unfolding at the end of World War II.

The Secret Project Notebook by Carolyn Reeder humorously and realistically weaves the history of the bomb project with the daily life of twelve-year-old Fritz, his family, and his friends. Of course, Fritz is interested in finding out what's really going on, and he keeps the information he and his friends collect in a secret notebook. He also gets into trouble. A prank he and some friends play on the mail censor goes a little too far, but that's nothing compared to what happens when he and a friend go horseback riding in a restricted area . . . . --Thereby Hangs a Tale

Along with a colorful cast of friends that includes Kathy, a smart but emotional girl whose brother is fighting in Europe; Manny, a Spanish-American boy who knows the local traditions; and Jacob, a Jewish boy whose family escaped the Nazis, Fritz discovers a number of clues that he carefully records. . . . Eventually, the truth about the Secret Project is revealed as the kids experience a unique and controversial piece of American history . . . --Children's Literature