THE MAGNIFICENT GLASS GLOBE by N.R. Bergeson

Eleven-year-old Mary Tucker dreams of visiting the Amazon. But if her
father, a museum curator, has his way, she might be a grandmother before she
ever gets the chance.

One day, while mischievously exploring the museum’s warehouse with her
brother Ike and best friend Helen, Mary stumbles across an old travel trunk
belonging to her grandfather.

Inside, they discover an nondescript glass globe. Curious about the
simple object, Mary touches the globe, and is shocked when the room is suddenly
consumed by the most amazing view of Earth.

The magnificent globe lets the friends zoom closer and closer toward the
earth’s surface, eventually bringing them close enough to touch the trees.
That's when the globe entirely disappears, and they find themselves falling.

Suddenly, they're far from home, in place that's either a paradise, or
the place where they will die.

Sleep, water, and food become precious and scarce. A native tribe may
hold the keys to their survival as well as clues to help them get back home.
But it won’t be easy. The rain forest is a big place, and when others find out
what the globe can do, Mary, Ike and Helen will need a plan, allies, and a
little luck.

“Dad, I really want to go to the Amazon!” she blurted out. “You know my

twelfth birthday is coming up next year. Maybe we could make it a family trip?”

“Now hold on there, Mary,” Dad interrupted with a laugh. “We’ve talked
about this time and time again. You know how expensive and difficult it is to
take a big trip like that.”

“I know, but I’ll do anything you ask. I can do extra chores for a year,
or I could … ”

Mary could tell by the smile on his face that he wasn’t taking her
seriously.

“Dad, if we send Mary to the Amazon, can I have her room?” Ike asked.

“Nobody’s going to the Amazon,” said Dad. “For crying out loud, your own
father runs one of the biggest museums in all of South Carolina. We can enjoy
places without actually having to go there.”

“But Dad! Please? Will you at least think about it?” Mary begged.

“I’m sorry, my girl,” Dad said. “But the only place we’re traveling to
right now is home for dinner. If we don’t get there soon, your mother might
banish me to the Amazon. Let’s not hear any more about this traveling nonsense,
okay?”

“Yes, sir,” Mary said, deflated.

There had to be some way to convince him. Pestering Dad for months on end
to let her travel was clearly not working. “Not until you’re older,” she was
always told. But Mary didn’t think she could be that patient. It wouldn’t be
easy to convince Dad to change his mind, and she knew her dream was a big one.
But she was smart enough to find away. Maybe she was just going about all
wrong. Maybe if she started smaller …

“If we can’t go to the Amazon, could we at least go to Disneyworld?” she
asked, flashing her father a big smile.

“Oooohhh, I’d like to second that motion,” Ike said, also beaming.

“I volunteer to come as a chaperone,” Helen offered.

“Why me?” Dad said, raising both hands into the air while talking toward
the sky.

Mary and Ike laughed as they said goodbye to Helen, who waited as her
father, the museum’s head of security, locked up the building.

I’ll find a way to convince him, Mary told herself as she buckled her
seatbelt.

If there was a way, she’d figure it out. After all, she’d never given up
on anything before.

N. R. (Nils) Bergeson is the author of the “Magnificent Glass Globe”
series. Nils was born in California but spent his childhood at the foot of the
beautiful mountains of northern Utah. From an early age, he was fascinated with
the wider world, prompting him to earn a degree in international studies from
Utah State University, followed by a Master’s degree in Public
Administration/International Management from the Monterey Institute of
International Studies. He knew early on that his interests were as wide as the
world itself, and that he’d find real joy living overseas. Since 2002, Nils has
only spent four years living in the United States. He was a missionary in
Siberia, spent time in Romania as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer, and has worked
for several years in Colombia, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, and now Indonesia as a
U.S. diplomat/international development worker. He’s traveled to more than 60
countries with his wife, Emily, and their three young children. Nils’ love for
writing, which began in the second grade, complements his globetrotting ways
well. He hopes his writing will instill a desire in his readers to take
advantage of modern opportunities to see the world, learn new languages, and
expand their cultural experiences. We live in a wonderful world, and it’s just
waiting for us to see it.