Born on November 1, 1872, Helen Fuller Orton lived most of her life in New York state. She was homeschooled until she was almost eight years old, and after that, she attended country and small town schools in upstate New York until her high school graduation. Helen’s parents were schoolteachers, and she became a schoolteacher herself for a couple of years until she met and married Jesse Orson, a lawyer and economics instructor. Helen Fuller Orson began writing at the age of forty-eight, after her children were grown, and she incorporated her love of history into the mystery and adventure books that she wrote for children.

I have recommended Ms. Orton’s books before. Similar in style and reading level to The Boxcar Children series, the mysteries by Helen Fuller Orton are more intriguing and more varied in characters and plot than The Boxcar Children mysteries.

Mystery in the Pirate Oak by Helen Fuller Orton tells the story of Chad and Ellie Turner and their search for a missing silver box hidden long ago in the old oak tree in the nearby meadow. Grandmother Hale is hopeful that if the box could be found it might have something in it that would provide enough cash to fix her leaking roof and have the old house painted. Can Chad and Ellie find the sixty year old silver box before someone else does and before summer vacation is over?

Other books by Helen Fuller Orton, worth searching for if you have or know any young mystery fans:
Mystery of the Hidden Book.
Secret of the Rosewood Box.
Mystery of the Secret Drawer.
Mystery of the Lost Letter.
Mystery in the Apple Orchard.
Mystery Up the Winding Stair.
Mystery at the Little Red School-House.
Mystery in the Old Red Barn.
Mystery over the Brick Wall.