Megan Bennett

Norma Jean and the Mystery of the Midnight Tea Party Megan Bennett

It's been a full summer at the Nielsen family grain farm, in central Alberta, Canada. Swathing has finally began and the farm is in the full-swing of harvest. Twelve-year-old Norma Jean, and her eleven-year-old brother, Howard, discover a stranger has been coming into their close-knit farm community and stealing purple gas. Little do they know that the thief has deeper, more sinister motives that have to do with an old man, a dark and dank school house basement, and a British Home Child's travel trunk. When Violet, with her strong British Cockney accent, comes as a domestic helper to the farm next door, the children befriend her and discover a world of Canadian secrets, stories, and mysteries. Together, they solve the riddle of the hidden Barnardo Home Child trunk and learn about the thousands of children that immigrated from England to Canada to work on farms, and as domestic servants. Using their notebook to keep track of clues, Norma Jean and Howard help to bring happiness and closure to a sad chapter of an old man's life.