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Roanoke, the Lost Colony

An Unsolved Mystery from History

Illustrated by Roger Roth

About The Book

In this spine-tingling book from the nonfiction An Unsolved Mystery from History picture book series, journey to colonial America and discover the enduring mystery of the missing Roanoke Colony.

In 1587 John White was chosen by Sir Walter Raleigh to lead a new colony at Roanoke off the Atlantic coast. After bringing many men, women, and children to the new land, White went back to England to gather supplies for the long winter. But when he finally returned to the fort almost three years later, he found that all of the colonists had vanished.

The only signs of life left were the letters CRO carved into a tree and the word CROATOAN carved into one of the fort’s posts. Did the Spanish army capture the colonists? Did the colonists get in a battle with the native people—or join them? Did they try to follow John White to England and get lost at sea?

Become a detective, study the clues, and see if you can help solve this chilling mystery from history!

About The Authors

Photograph by Jason Stemple

Jane Yolen is an award-winning author who has written more than 380 books for children, including the bestseller How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? and the 1988 Caldecott Medal winner Owl Moon. She is known for her beautiful poetry, picture books, fairy tales, novels, and nonfiction, and has even been called “the Hans Christian Andersen of America” (Newsweek). She lives in Hatfield, Massachusetts. Visit her at JaneYolen.com.

Photograph by Heidi E. Y. Stemple

Heidi Elisabet Yolen Stemple is the author of more than thirty books for children, some of which she coauthored with her mother, Jane Yolen, including Not All Princesses Dress in Pink. Heidi lives in Hatfield, Massachusetts.

About The Illustrator

Roger Roth has been an illustrator since graduating with a BFA from Pratt Institute in 1980. Roger’s work appears regularly in The New York TimesThe Wall Street JournalBarron’s, and other publications. His work is also used by advertising companies for national and international campaigns. Roger has illustrated more than fifteen children’s books (two of which he also wrote). He also serves as senior lecturer at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia and is a frequent presenter at area schools.

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More books from this illustrator: Roger Roth

More books in this series: An Unsolved Mystery from History