The 12-chapter mystery story is being written as a serialized e-book by 24 local authors and illustrators, including two from West Hartford, and is being released through the Connecticut Humanities website.

Gillette Castle is missing! That’s the starting point for ‘The Great CT Caper,’ a serialized mystery e-book now in progress. Courtesy image

By Ronni Newton

Eight chapters have been written, but no one knows how close Thomas and Li-Ming are to solving the mystery of Gillette Castle – the East Haddam landmark that has vanished. That’s because the rest of the book hasn’t been written yet.

In the serialized e-book, The Great CT Caper, 12 local authors and 12 local artists are combining forces to solve the mystery, through the adventures of sixth graders Thomas and Li-Ming.

The first chapter was published by Connecticut Humanities (CTH) on Jan. 4, 2o15, and successive chapters are published every two weeks – with only the chapters that have already been written as their guide. The mystery should be solved in the final chapter, just as the school year comes to an end in June.

Two West Hartford women are writing chapters in the Center for the Book’s serialized children’s book, The Great CT Caper. Melanie Pappadis Faranello, of West Hartford, left, who will write chapter 9, chats with West Hartford resident Yelizaveta P. Renfro, who wrote the first chapter, and Melissa Crandall, of Hebron, who wrote chapter 6. Submitted photo

West Hartford author Yelizaveta (Lisa) Renfro started off the mystery with “Chapter 1: All Aboard the Becky Thatcher” – as a class of sixth graders are shocked to discover that the imposing Gillette Castle has completely and mysteriously vanished from the banks of the Connecticut River.

Renfro, her daughter Kate, and many of the other authors recently attended a party at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History to celebrate the success of the serialized book. West Hartford author Melanie Pappadis Faranello, who will write chapter 9, also attended.

Connecticut is the only town to have two authors participating. Both Renfro and Faranello are building on the experience and success of The Great CT Caper, working with their own children’s West Hartford elementary schools, Morley and Bugbee, to guide writing of The Great West Hartford Caper.

Connecticut, according to CTH, is the first state to create a “state-specific, collaborative mystery story, tapping into the skills of its own writers and artists.” The serial suspense story, written for a fourth through seventh grade audience, is being published with help from the University of Connecticut as well as a NewAlliance Foundation grant.

“Connecticut has a rich cultural heritage along with significant literary and artistic talent,” Amanda Roy, program officer for Connecticut Humanities, said in the release. “We want to share all of this with the young people of Connecticut. So what better way than a mystery story?”

Kate Chritton, 10, of West Hartford (left) joined others in the dinosaur room of the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History to read the first chapter of The Great Connecticut Caper, a serialized e-book being released through Connecticut Humanities’ website. Chapter 1 was written by West Hartford author Lisa Renfro, Kate’s mom, pictured in the blue sweater. Submitted photo

The Great CT Caper is being modeled after The Exquisite Corpse Adventure, a serialized episodic book released in 2011 by the national Center for the Book office at the Library of Congress and read by hundreds of thousands of children and adults from across the country and abroad.

According to CTH, the Connecticut version has captured national attention. “The Library of Congress is thrilled to see that one of our affiliates, the Connecticut Center for the Book, has embarked on this exciting project,” said John Y. Cole, director of the National Center for the Book in the release. “Our ECA [Exquisite Corpse Adventure] reading-promotion partner, the National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance, was key in getting this project off the ground.”

CTH selected five Connecticut landmarks for potential disappearance, and according to the news release Gillette Castle, a 24-room mansion reminiscent of a medieval castle, was chosen by an online vote. Gillette Castle, in East Haddam, is a national historic landmark owned and managed by the state.

CTH is partnering with other organizations as the story moves from Gillette Castle to other Connecticut locations.

In addition to the story, the website includes online puzzle games and interactive maps, to provide background information and give children additional educational opportunities. CTH said that an audio recording of the story will be available after the book has been completed.

To keep up to date on the latest Caper clues and chapter releases, please go to: http://ctcaper.cthumanities.org.

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