Freak, River, and Fiona find an abandoned sofa on the sidewalk near their bus stop. The sofa has dragon claw feet, a slash along its back, and a red stain that looks suspiciously like blood. The kids postulate about the sofa's history and search its interiors for found objects. This yields one zucchini crayon and a two-headed coin among other things, fueling other speculations. Fiona does Internet research on the crayon and discovers that during World War II Crayola made a box of 16 crayons called Victory Garden. All were vegetable colored. During manufacture, the zucchini crayons were left out and two rutabagas were put in instead. The zucchini became collector's items and extremely valuable. Fiona decides to put the crayon up for auction and is astounded by the $7000 bid. River's conscience tells him the crayon is not theirs but belongs to Mr. Underhill who put the sofa out. When the three friends visited Underhill Mansion, they discovered that the 97 year old Mr. Underhill died in a tobogganing accident. (The toboggan fell on his head.) Alf had bought the mansion and its contents, so the crayon was his. He enlists the kids to help him trap Dissan, a fugitive with a compulsive collecting disorder... and ties to other worlds. This is a zany kind of tale involving aliens, orphans, underground fires, flashmobs of citizens who spontaneously burst into singing show tunes... It's hyperdiculous!
Mark Twain Award Preliminary Nominee 2015-16
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