Fern and Newt and the Lost Loot

Fern is in big trouble. In this illustrated early chapter book, Fern and her friend Newt help a neighbor with weeding and butterfly-egg collecting so they can earn money for a metal detector to help them find a jewelry box they lost at the beach.

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?