A stranger gives them a free ticket, and Salim uses it to go on the ride. The ticket line is long, and Gloria and Faith wait in a coffee house while the kids stand in line. Salim takes pictures with his old-fashioned film camera he hands the camera to Ted, who takes a shot of the Wheel. Ted shares how his mind works, and Salim accepts him for the way he is without judgment.įaith, Gloria, and the three kids go downtown to ride the London Eye, a giant Ferris wheel that takes half an hour to complete one loop. Salim is quiet and intelligent, and he and Ted become friends. Ted’s father, a building-demolition expert, predicts disaster, but the family reunion goes smoothly.

She’s a bundle of energy and strong emotions, and she and her sister, Faith, were estranged for years. Gloria is moving from Manchester, England, to New York to work as an art curator. Ted’s Aunt Gloria and her son, Salim, arrive for a visit. He gets along poorly with Kat, who’s prone to impatience, but he has a powerfully logical mind, and his favorite pastime is studying the weather. Ted has trouble socializing and mentions that he has a “funny brain that runs on a different operating system” (4). Young Ted Spark lives with his father, Ben, his mother, Faith, and his big sister, Kat, in a small house in South London. Since the book’s publication, however, that term has fallen into disuse due to its potential insensitivity this study guide reproduces the language only within direct quotes. The ebook version of the original 2008 edition forms the basis for this study guide.Ĭontent Warning: In the source text’s implicit discussions of autism, the author uses the term “high-functioning” to describe the protagonist’s situation on the spectrum. The London Eye Mystery has a Lexile rating of 640L, suitable for 4th grade and above. An activist for literacy, Dowd founded or worked for programs that support children’s rights, reading in under-served communities, and the rights of writers worldwide. It was also shortlisted for many English awards, including the Red House Children’s Book Award, the Doncaster Book Award, and more. The novel was nominated for a Carnegie Medal, was listed as a 2008 Booklist Children’s Editors’ Choice title, and a School Library Journal Best Book of 2008.

The london eye mystery by siobhan dowd