Stairway to Doom Read online

  About the Author

  ROBERT QUACKENBUSH is the author and illustrator of more than two hundred books for young readers. He has been awarded honors and prizes for his work, including a gold medal from the Holland Society of New York for distinction in art and literature. His art is in the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Smithsonian Institution. It is also on display in the gallery/studio he owns and runs in New York City. The place is fairly quacking with activity, for, in addition to creating books and paintings there, Mr. Quackenbush teaches writing and illustrating to children and adults.

  Mr. Quackenbush, who is a native of Arizona, now lives in New York City with his wife, Margery. Their son, Piet (rhymes with “neat”), was the inspiration for many of the author’s books when he was growing up. Now Aidan and Emma, the children of Piet and his wife, Teresa, are the inspirations.

  ALADDIN QUIX

  SIMON & SCHUSTER, NEW YORK

  Visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids

  Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Robert-Quackenbush

  Read more ALADDIN QUIX books!

  Our Principal Is a Frog!

  by Stephanie Calmenson

  Our Principal Is a Wolf!

  by Stephanie Calmenson

  Royal Sweets 1: A Royal Rescue

  by Helen Perelman

  Royal Sweets 2: Sugar Secrets

  by Helen Perelman

  A Miss Mallard Mystery: Texas Trail to Calamity

  by Robert Quackenbush

  A Miss Mallard Mystery: Dig to Disaster

  by Robert Quackenbush

  A Miss Mallard Mystery: Express Train to Trouble

  by Robert Quackenbush

  Welcome to ALADDIN QUIX!

  If you are looking for fast, fun-to-read stories with colorful characters, lots of kid-friendly humor, easy-to-follow action, entertaining story lines, and lively illustrations, then ALADDIN QUIX is for you!

  But wait, there’s more!

  If you’re also looking for stories with tables of contents; word lists; about-the-book questions; 64, 80, or 96 pages; short chapters; short paragraphs; and large fonts, then ALADDIN QUIX is definitely for you!

  ALADDIN QUIX: The next step between ready to reads and longer, more challenging chapter books, for readers five to eight years old.

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  ALADDIN QUIX

  Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020

  www.SimonandSchuster.com

  This Aladdin QUIX paperback edition September 2018

  Copyright © 1983 by Robert Quackenbush

  Also available in an Aladdin QUIX hardcover edition.

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

  ALADDIN and the related marks and colophon are trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or [email protected].

  The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.

  Series and cover designed by Nina Simoneaux

  Interior designed by Tiara Iandiorio

  The illustrations for this book were rendered in pen and ink and wash.

  The Library of Congress has cataloged a previous edition as follows:

  Quackenbush, Robert M. / Stairway to doom

  Summary: As one of thirteen guests invited to historic Duckinbill Castle to hear the will of her late great-aunt, Miss Mallard finds the other guests have disappeared overnight and it is up to her to solve the mystery.

  [1. Ducks—Fiction. 2. Mystery and detective stories.] I. Title.

  PZ7.Q16St 1983 [Fic] 82-21484

  ISBN 978-1-5344-1316-0 (hc)

  ISBN 978-1-5344-1315-3 (pbk)

  ISBN 978-1-5344-1317-7 (eBook)