# The Great Gizmo Derby

When wheels start vanishing from every soapbox car in town, inventor Mia Ortiz has to clear her rival's name before the big race. Her homemade gadgets and a very unexpected suspect crack the case wide open.

Ages 6–9. 7 chapters, about 29 minutes.

## What happens

Mia Ortiz loves her garage workshop, which she calls the Lab, and this year she is determined to build a soapbox car with a real steering wheel for the Great Gizmo Derby, just five days away. Her best friend Jonah hunts down parts, and the plan is going well until Mia wakes to find her car's wheels gone, along with wheels and parts from racers all over town.

Suspicion falls on her rival Dev Patel, whose car is untouched, though Mia doesn't believe he would cheat. She follows the clues with homemade gadgets and careful thinking. Listeners get a funny, cozy mystery that celebrates curiosity, fairness, and teamwork.

## From Chapter 1

> Mia Ortiz's garage smelled like sawdust and hot glue, which was exactly how she liked it.
>
> Every wall was covered in her inventions. A mechanical arm that could fetch the remote control. A birdhouse with a tiny solar light. A bicycle horn that played four different songs, though two of them didn't work anymore. Mia called her garage the Lab. Her little brother called it the Junk Cave. Mia didn't mind. Junk was just parts that hadn't found their purpose yet.
>
> "Did you hear?" Jonah burst through the side door without knocking, the way he always did. Jonah was Mia's best friend, and he had a talent for finding things out before anyone else. "The Great Gizmo Derby is back. Five days from now, at the fairgrounds."

## Chapters

1. The Great Gizmo Derby
2. Something Is Missing
3. Clues in the Grass
4. The Tin Can Trap
5. The Shiny Den
6. Setting Things Right
7. Race Day