• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 7

The year is 1938—two years since Sophie, Molly, Mark, Harriet, Leticia, and Posy made international headlines when they uncover the buried treasure of the notorious Brother XII. Since then, life has been decidedly un-exciting for the adventure-loving crew, who feel more at home on the rolling deck of a sailboat than in their stuffy boarding school. But once again, Uncle Bert (a.k.a. Captain Gunn) comes to the rescue when he invites the whole gang on another holiday abroad.

The kids trade in their pirate capsfor cowboy hats and head off on a cattle drive in Interior BC. But when they run into a familiar villain, the trip takes an ominous turn culminating in a dangerous mission to an old mine. Will their adventurous ways get the better of the kids this time, or will fortune smile upon them yet again?

Born and raised in England, Amanda Spottiswoode has a lifelong love of outdoor adventure, history, horses, sailing, and storytelling. As a child, she was taught to sail by the Royal Navy on the River Thames. After moving to Salt Spring Island, she finally realized her dream of sailing and exploring the rugged BC coastline by boat. Her first children’s book, Brother XII’s Treasure, was shortlisted for the Chocolate Lily Award. She followed this with two sequels: The Silver Lining, set in the BC Interior, and Up in Arms, set on the west coast of Vancouver Island. She lives with her husband, Tom, and lots of pets on Salt Spring Island, BC.

Amanda Spottiswoode's profile page

Molly March is an accomplished painter and set designer. She is the illustrator and mapmaker of Brother XII's Treasure and its sequel, The Silver Lining.

Molly March's profile page

“Young readers will have fun discovering some of their favourite locales in kids’ historical novel...The adventure takes readers to Douglas Lake Ranch, Fintry and O’Keefe Ranch, all locales that many will recognize and quite possibly have visited themselves.”

Vernon Morning Star

“Spottiswoode excels at describing BC landscapes in rich detail, allowing readers to be transported from the sparkling shores of English Bay, to the dusty expanses of Merritt while reading this book. Molly March’s charming black and white illustrations lend additional visual context to the narrative, acting as detailed snapshots of important plot points.”

Resource Links

The Silver Lining picks readers up at page one and drops us into a different time. From BC's stunning coast to the hot, dry cattle country of the Okanagan, we are treated to the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of the late 1930s. With a gang of English children as our guides, we meet real cowboys and join a cattle drive through the dusty, rolling hills of BC's Interior.

Dayle Campbell Gaetz, author of Taking the Reins