Capture The Flag

Capture the Flag by Kate Messner is a middle-grade mystery novel that centers on three kids from diverse backgrounds—Anna, José, and Henry—who are all descendants of key figures in American history. Snowed-in together at a Washington DC airport, they race against the clock to recover the iconic flag that inspired “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which has been stolen from the Smithsonian. As they learn more about each other, including the fact that they all have relatives who are members of a secret society dedicated to protecting historical artifacts, their adventures illustrate the Need to Protect Artifacts That Shape Understanding of the Past, the Power of Teamwork and Diverse Perspectives, The Danger of Assumptions and Prejudices, and The Development of Civic Responsibility.

This novel is the first in Messner’s Silver Jaguar Society Mysteries series, which also includes the novels Manhunt and Hide and Seek. Messner is known for her middle-grade novels that center the perspectives of young people to explore the value of curiosity and cooperation through diverse points of view. She has won numerous awards for her novels, including the Nerdy Book Club Award for MG Fiction for Breakout (2018).

This Study Guide references the 2012 Scholastic edition.

Content warning: The source text refers to racial and anti-immigrant bias.

Plot Summary

On a trip to Washington, DC to attend a gala celebrating the restoration of the original Star-Spangled Banner, three 12-year-olds named Anna, Henry, and José find themselves sitting on the same bench at the Smithsonian while they wait for their guardians. Unbeknownst to them, the celebrated flag is, at that very moment, being stolen from the Smithsonian.

The next morning, a huge blizzard snows everyone in at the airport, including Senator Robert Snickerbottom, who hopes to become the United States’ next president. Anna, Henry, and José meet trying to occupy their time as they wait for the same flight to Burlington, Vermont. After a news broadcast reports the theft of the flag, Snickerbottom announces he has assigned his campaign workers to investigate. Anna, an aspiring reporter tries several times to interview Snickerbottom, but he brushes her aside.

While Anna, Henry, and José discuss the flag’s disappearance, they realize that Anna’s mom, José’s mom, and Henry’s aunt are all members of a secret group that works to protect and recover historic art and artifacts, known as the Silver Jaguar Society. During lunch at the Pickersgill Diner, Anna suggests they launch their own investigation. She’s suspicious of a man she calls “Snake-Arm” because of the snake tattoo on his arm, which is similar to a tattoo on the leader of the Serpentine Princes, an art theft ring that might be involved with the flag. Meanwhile, the police take José’s mom into custody, suspecting her involvement in the theft.

The trio meets a dog named Hammurabi and his owner, Sinan, whose parents are members of an international orchestra that played at the Smithsonian gala and is now headed to Vermont. Sinan and Hammurabi tag along with the older kids. When Snickerbottom gives a press conference that makes the orchestra members prime suspects, airport security restricts them to a small area, and Hammurabi is caged and sent down to the baggage area. When Sinan goes missing later that night, the trio realizes he has gone to free Hammurabi, and they set out to find him in the storage area underneath the airport.

In the search for Sinan, Anna records a group of suspicious men talking about the theft and realizes they’re framing the musicians. She and José are separated from Henry when they’re chased by Snake-Arm, and Anna loses her camera while trying to escape. Determined to retrieve it and discover what happened to Henry and Sinan, they go back to the maze of conveyor belts underneath the airport, though they know they are racing against the clock because the snow has stopped and flights have resumed. In their adventure, they discover that Snake-Arm is a member of the Silver Jaguar Society trying to recover the flag and that Snickerbottom staged the theft so he could find the flag and look like a hero, improving his chances of becoming president. With Snake-Arm’s help, they make it past Snickerbottom’s men and out onto the tarmac, where their flight to Vermont is about to take off. Though Anna’s camera is broken, Henry has cleverly recorded Snickerbottom’s confession on his game console. Police arrive to arrest Snickerbottom, and the kids are heroes.

After returning to Burlington, the kids’ parents agree to let them be junior members of the Silver Jaguar Society, setting the stage for the next book in the series.