The Crystal Cave Adventures novel series kids is a time-travel, science adventure series for readers aged 8-13. The series follows 13-year-old best friends Emma and Brody as they travel around the world and through time to help their neighbor, Mr. Heath Matthews, a.k.a. Mr. M.
When Mr. M’s famous rock and mineral collection is vandalized in his home just before its exhibition at the West Virginia Natural History Museum, the geologist turns to his two young neighbors for help. Emma and Brody jump at the chance to help their neighbor restore his collection of rare specimens not realizing that the magical Crystal Cave is the secret to his prized collection.
While on their missions, Emma and Brody meet Max, a young girl who has a secret of her own. As they travel around the world collecting samples for Mr. M, Emma and Brody try to solve the mystery of who destroyed Mr. M’s collection and why. Little do they know that the answer may be closer to home than the imaging.
Diamond Falls, West Virginia – Home of the Crystal Cave
Diamond Falls is a beautiful town in West Virginia nestled in the Allegheny Mountains. This cute town of 65,000 people is home to Brody and Emma. Brody grew up in Diamond Falls, but Emma is new to town. When they are not traveling through time in the Crystal Cave, these two kids love to visit one of the many hot chocolate shops or doughnut shops in town.
On hot days, the ice cream and frozen yogurts trucks troll the neighborhoods hoping to find kids willing to spend their dollar bills.
Diamond Falls has no shortage of fun with a water park on one end of town and a movie theater on the other. The town planners took the name seriously and patterned all of the roads in a diamond shape because they thought it was funny.
The Crystal Cave is tucked into the forest, past the playground near Mr. M’s house on the eastern side of town. You will learn more about the pretty town of Diamond Falls as you read more in the series.
Aspen the Time Traveling Samoyed
Samoyeds, also called “Sammies,” are medium-sized herding and sledding dogs with thick, white, double-layer coats that love people and shedding their beautiful fur. Aspen, Mr. M’s Samoyed, loves to jump into the Crystal Cave and travel with Emma and Brody, just like he did with Mr. M years before.
Samoyeds are great sledding dogs are often part of teams in winter sledding races, like the Iditarod.
Aspen is a typical sled dog and uses her skills to help Emma and Brody on their missions. Plus, she likes to try special pastries, er…treats, on each of their journeys.
Samoyeds, also called “Sammies,” are medium-sized herding and sledding dogs with thick, white, double-layer coats that love people and shedding their beautiful fur. Aspen, Mr. M’s Samoyed, loves to jump into the Crystal Cave and travel with Emma and Brody, just like he did with Mr. M years before.
Sammies are known for their smile which helps them when they are in the mood for a little cuddling or some pets. Aspen loves to be with her people and thinks time travel is great fun!
The Magic of the Crystal Cave
The Crystal Cave is a mysterious place in Diamond Falls, West Virginia. In Blue John’s Cavern, the cave is described like this:
“A huge cave entrance was standing against a rock cliff. The entrance was ten feet tall and over eight feet wide. The rock walls surrounding the cave were a weird mix of granites, gneisses, sandstones, shale, and basalt that were twisted like rigatoni. This odd combination didn’t usually occur in nature.
These rocks represented sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous classes. Caves were often made of sedimentary limestone rocks that were super high in calcite content, which easily dissolved into massive open areas. Something was obviously weird about this cave, thought Brody.
The rock wall seemed to come out of a mountain, hidden so deep in the forest that no one could see it from the surrounding area. The vine mat hid the cave entrance completely, and unless you knew the exact spot to get around the mat, you would walk directly by and never know it existed. The entrance to the cave was not dull like most caves Brody had seen in pictures. A mass of large, medium, and small perfectly formed, clear quartz crystal points outlined the immediate opening to the cave-like a diamond band. Inside, long stalagmites and stalactites joined the floor and ceiling of the cave. The remaining interior wall space was decorated with massive crystal shapes, some taller than the kids.”
Brody thought that standing inside the cave felt like standing inside a huge, weird geode. The outside of the cave is made of a twisted mixture of sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks, something that you would never normally find in nature. Is that where the magic comes from? Maybe so. Maybe not.
Mrs. M gave Emma two quartz crystals to activate the cave. One worked inside the cave wall and the other worked on Aspen’s collar. Maybe the quartz crystals are the secret to the cave. One thing is for sure, the cave has many more powers than Emma and Brody know about now. Keep reading the Crystal Cave Adventures to learn more about this fantastic and magical cave!
Find out more about the Crystal Cave Adventures novel and their companion activity books today.
