Melina, the Spy & the Secret Code

Season 1, Episode 1

Meet Melina, a nine-year-old kid who loves reading, writing, playing with her little siblings, and learning how to be a spy. When Melina joins the Page Flipper Club, she gets to interview a spy novelist and save the day by cracking a secret code!

Grab your grownup for these extra resources!
  • Our grownup moment on this episode was all about going fine free at the library. You can read more about our policy here ... and apply for a library card if you don't already have one!
  • Do you want to be on our Ooh Song? Record yourself on a smart phone or computer saying something you like to do, and have your grownup email the audio file to podcasts [at] bklynlibrary [dot] org. Oh, and tell us your name so we can give you a shoutout!
  • Read more books about spies and writing, or check out City Spies by James Ponti, the book that the Whoa Gizmo found for Melina.
  • Want to use our podcast episode in your library or classroom? We've created a Story Time Program and a School Age Program tied to this episode! 
  • Lauren Wilkinson book (for grownups!) is American Spy. You can check it out from the library, or read more about Lauren on her website.

The Whoa Gizmo (aka our fantastic children's librarians) created a book list about spies and writing to go along with this episode! Plus, if you're a teacher or a librarian, we created a story time and an activity for school-age kids that you can use in your own library or classroom, with this episode as starting point.


Episode Transcript

Meet Melina E. and Lauren Wilkinson!
Lauren Wilkinson (left, photo credit Niqui Carter) is the author of American Spy and the guest on this episode.
Melina E. (right) is the Star Page Flipper. She wants to be a spy or a Pre-K teacher when she grows up. 

Sheneatha You’re listening to Page Flippers Take on the World from Brooklyn Public Library: a podcast where kids save the day by exploring their interests, discovering new books and talking to real live experts! If you can take over the show, you can take on the world!   

[Sounds of library and then a door opening]

Sheneatha Hey, Rachel!  

Rachel [In British accent] Why hello, Sheneatha! 

Sheneatha Uh, Rachel? Why are you wearing a trench coat and moustache in the library? 

Rachel [In British accent] Shh! I don’t know what you are talking about. I’m absolutely not Rachel at all. So strange that you would think that! 

Sheneatha Your Brooklyn Public Library ID is around your neck. It says you’re a children’s librarian and your name is Rachel ...

Rachel [In British accent] Who put that around my neck? Perhaps it was when I was busy writing this super secret message that I have right here ...

Sheneatha A secret message? [Sound of paper crackling] This paper is blank. 

Rachel [In British accent] A-ha! That’s what you think! [Whispering] I have written it in white crayon! Take these watercolors here and paint over the letters and, viola! A secret message, revealed! 

Sheneatha Okay ... if you say so. I’ll paint bit of purple, a splash of blue … wait, I can see the message through the paint! It says… "Brooklyn Public Library is now fine free!” Rachel, this shouldn’t be a secret message, everyone should know this! 

Rachel [In British accent] They should indeed! [In regular voice] Brooklyn Public Library is now fine free for all. Check it out, kids and grownups! [In British accent again]  I was just practicing my spectacular stealth and super secret spy skills! Say that three times fast. How do you think I did? 

Sheneatha I think you might need to work on it just a bit. Maybe read a spy book, or talk to an expert? You know what? We need a Page Flipper meeting and we need one now. 

Rachel [In regular voice] How should we get there? Book Chute? Tunnel? Secret Staircase? 

Rachel and Sheneatha Book chute! 

Rachel Hey! You all out there ... want to come with us? Just close your eyes and ...  

[Sliding sound as we travel down the magic book chute] 

? Theme Song Lyrics ?

Kid I'm really good at cooking!

Rachel That's so cool. Maybe one day you'd like to work as a chef. Or own a restaurant. Or write cookbooks!

Kid I can draw a really amazing monster.

Kid I'm really good at painting.

Sheneatha Wow! Maybe you'd like to be an illustrator for books. Or work as a computer animator for movies or video games!

Chorus Page Flippers take on the world! x 4

Sheneatha I can do so many things! I read about the things I dream. I flip pages like a chef flips pancakes. I'm a Page Flipper, I can do anything!

Chorus Page Flippers take on the world! x 2

[Theme song fades out to sound of kids talking, running around]  

Sheneatha Hi, everyone! Welcome to the Page Flippers Club!  For those of you who are here for the first time, I’m librarian Sheneatha.  

Rachel And I’m librarian Rachel! And I hereby call to order this meeting of Page Flippers: kid book lovers who want to be the best readers … and the best people they can be!  You know what we love to say, we flip pages like a chef flips pancakes.    

Sheneatha That’s right!  To start off our Page Flipper meeting, let’s do our Imagination Recitation!  

Rachel Everybody join in!  

[Librarians lead chant, with kid voices echoing the lines]  

Wanna travel the world? Just flip a page!  

Wanna save the day? Just flip a page!  

The story I make is up to me.

We’ll make our world what we want it to be. 

When we meet in this library space,  we change it to a magical place!

Sheneatha Now the magic can really start!   

[Shaking, tinkling, ringing ... sounds of Whoa Gizmo appearing]

Melina What is THAT?  It looks like some crazy magical machine!  

Jack It's got lots of buttons and levers.

[Whoosh sound] 

Kid voices Whoa!  

Sheneatha Whoa is right ... it’s the Whoa Gizmo! 

Jack What does it do?  

Sheneatha Some incredible things!  But it can’t do anything until it gets to know our Star Page Flipper.  

Rachel So let’s get to it! Today’s Star Page Flipper is Melina! 

Kid voices Yay!

Rachel Melina, would you like to introduce yourself?  

Melina My name is Melina and I’m nine years old. My pronouns are she / her. I live in Brooklyn, New York.  

Sheneatha Woohoo! Today, Page Flipper Melina is leading the show. During the Page Flipper meeting, we’ll find out more about her interests.  

Rachel Oh! And then we get to find her the perfect book! That’s my favorite part.  

Sheneatha Mine too. Because when we read, we go on adventures and learn more about the things that interest us. You know, things that make you go “ooooooh.”  

Melina I still don't get it. What do you mean, "things that make you go ooh"?

Sheneatha I have a song about that! 

? Ooh Song Lyrics ?

Sheneatha Tell me the things you like that make your heart sing! Stuff that makes you happy, your favorite things. 

Vivienne I like to do arts and crafts.

Sheneatha Things you love to do and learn about, things that make you shout! Ooh. Oh. Things that make you go ooh ooh ooh. 

Sofia I like to sing.

Twyla And I like to play with my cat.

Euna Jo I like to make up tricks and I'm really good at the monkey bars.

Rachel Ta da da da ta!

Sheneatha Uh, Rachel?? 

Rachel Sorry! I was just feeling that song so much I had to start dancing. 

Sheneatha Oh, go right ahead! Go Rachel! Get your groove on! Go Rachel! I’ll just give a shoutout to the Page Flippers on this week’s Ooh Song! Vivienne, Sophia, Twyla, and Euna Jo.  

Rachel Thanks, Sheneatha. And any Page Flipper can be part of our Ooh Song. We’ll tell you more about how you can do that at the end of our meeting.  

Sheneatha So, Melina, what are some things that make you go “ooh"? 

Melina I like to play hide and seek, tag, and my favorite things to do is maybe … write? That’s my favorite subject. I like tablet time and also reading. 

Rachel What kind of books do you like to read?  

Melina The Baby-Sitters Club by Ann M. Martin. I like another book … yeah, Dog Man. I like that they’re graphic novels, because I like to read graphic novels.  

Rachel You seem like a pretty smart kid, Melina! If you could do anything when you grow up, what would you do? 

Melina Being a Pre-K teacher or being a spy. 

[Sound of the Whoa Gizmo shaking, rattling] 

Sheneatha It sounds like the Whoa Gizmo is excited about that idea! Go ahead and pull the lever.

Melina I gotta admit, I was really looking forward to the Whoa Gizmo! Here we go ... 

[Sounds of Whoa Gizmo coming to life]  

Sheneatha The Whoa Gizmo is moving and shaking! Let’s see what it comes up with ... 

Rachel It’s a book! City Spies by James Ponti!  You know what it’s time for …?   

Chorus of voices Book talk!   

This is the story of Sara Martinez, a twelve-year-old girl who lives in Brooklyn ... someone just like you! 

The only difference is that Sara has a talent for computers … and specifically, hacking into government databases! She uses her spy skills to save herself and her foster siblings from a terrible foster family, attracting the attention of a super secret spy agency. 

Soon, Sara joins a team of young spies, all recruited for a top secret mission that will take them to Scotland, Paris, and beyond!  

You’ll love this action-packed story about a group of kids who each have a special spy skill and who work together to save the day. 

Sheneatha Woo! What do you think, Melina, want to check it out? 

Melina Yes, that's so cool!

Lauren Wilkinson Hi guys, is this the Page Flipper meeting? 

Sheneatha Oh, hi there! Yes it is. I’m Librarian Sheneatha. 

Rachel And I’m Librarian Rachel. 

Lauren Wilkinson Hi, nice to meet you! I’m actually looking for someone named Melina ... 

Melina Here I am! 

Lauren Wilkinson Hi, Melina, I received a secret message from the Whoa Gizmo about you. The message said that you’re a great writer and you want to be a spy when you grow up. Is that right? 

Rachel [Gasps] The Whoa Gizmo knows all!

Melina Yeah, that is right I love to write.

Lauren Wilkinson Well, I’m a novelist and I just wrote a book about being a spy.  

Melina You did? Can you tell me more about what you do? 

Lauren Wilkinson Of course! Well, two years ago, a novel I wrote was published. And since then, I have been doing a different kind of writing. Now I write mostly for television.

Melina Why did you decide to write a spy book?

Lauren Wilkinson Well, I decided to write a book because I love to read books. So I wanted to try to write one. And then a spy book specifically... I had read quite a few spy books for grownups and I didn't really see any characters that looked like me, in those books. So I wanted to write one. And that's why I ended up writing a spy book about a Black woman.

Melina What did you have to learn about before you could write a spy book?

Lauren Wilkinson I had to learn so much! [Laughs] I didn't know anything about spying. So I did a lot of research on what it's really like to be in the CIA and in the FBI.

Melina What is it like being a spy? Is the job fun?

Lauren Wilkinson Well, from my reading -- and I will not admit to being a spy, because if I were a spy, I would be too good to admit to it. In my book, the job is fun, but it's also complicated, I would say. The job requires my spy, her name is Marie, it requires Marie to make a lot of very difficult choices. And so that part, I think is hard.

Melina In your book, if there's criminals, do the criminals scare you?

Lauren Wilkinson There are technically criminals, but they don't scare me.

Melina Would you ever write a book for kids?

Lauren Wilkinson Yeah, I would love to write a book for kids. Because I loved the books that I read so much, when I was a kid, that I would love to one day be able to write something that has that same impact on another kid out there.

Melina How do you help the community?

Lauren Wilkinson I try to write things that I think are helpful to my community. I try to tell positive stories about people who, maybe they don't have as many positive stories being told about them. I try to tell stories where young people can see someone to look up to in them, and I think that that is a way to be helpful in my community. Because I know how it is when I was younger. Sometimes, it's hard to know that I could do something. That I could do anything that I wanted to do, if I hadn't seen someone who looked like me doing it. Can I ask you a question, Melina?

Melina Yeah, you can ask me a question.

Lauren Wilkinson What are two jobs that you want to be again? 

Melina A Pre-K teacher or a spy. 

Lauren Wilkinson That is very, very cool. I like how different those jobs are from each other. and I hope that you think that you can be anything that you want to be, which is pretty exciting.

Melina Okay. Last question: Do you know anything about secret codes?  

Lauren Wilkinson Well, I know codes can be made of letters, symbols or numbers. If you can crack the code, you can crack the message.  

Melina Wow. So, anyone could make up a code? 

Lauren Wilkinson Exactly! 

Melina Thanks so much for talking with me! 

Lauren Wilkinson You’re welcome! I’ve got to get back to my writing now. 

Rachel Bye, Lauren, thank you so much for coming! 

Melina Bye!

Sheneatha Now it’s time for our last segment of the show! Grab a grownup! 

? Grab Your Grownup Lyrics ?

Shake your head up and down. 

Snap your fingers with us now.

If you can't snap, clap your hands! 

Side to side, just do your dance.

Grab your grownup! x 3

Just do your dance and take them by the hand! 

Rachel And if your big sister, or your uncle Joe, or your cousin Sue is cooking dinner or something, just turn up the volume on this one!  

Sheneatha Our grownup moment for today is about going fine free at the library!

Rachel It’s true! Brooklyn Public Library is fine free and we want everyone to know about it! [Cheering] You no longer get fines for returning your books late! Now, if your books are a month or more overdue you will be charged a replacement fee for the book and not be able to check out more books until you bring the book back, or pay for it if it’s lost. But once you bring the books back for other kids to enjoy ... there are zero fines or fees ... it's like it never happened. It's easier than ever to take home your next favorite book! 

Sheneatha Plus, did you know that the book we shared with Melina, City Spies, is a book you can check out from your local public library? We’ll put links to that book, plus a list of even more books about spies and writing on our Page Flipper website. Grownups, head to BKLYN Library [dot] org [slash] Page Flippers to learn more. 

[Grab Your Grownup song finishes]

Sheneatha Oh and kids, if you want to join our Ooh Song, ask your grownup to use their smartphone or computer to record you saying something that makes you go “ooh” …   

Rachel  Like, “I’m really good at playing pretend” or … “I like doing dishes!"

Sheneatha Rachel, does anyone like doing dishes?  

Rachel They might if they had fun dish gloves like I do! Meet Chester and Florence, my dish gloves! 

Sheneatha Ha! You’re right. These guys would make dish washing fun. Well – whatever it is you like to do, record yourself and then have your grownup email it to podcasts [at] B K L Y N Library [dot] org.  

Rachel That’s it! Page Flippers, see you next time, on our podcast feed … or any time at the library!

**AD BREAK Every year, the president goes up to congress to tell them what he wants them to do. It's called the State of the Union address. But, something strange happened. [bird sound] In the middle of the speech, a bird pooped on the president's head and everyone in Washington went out to find that bird. Even me! My name is Fina Mendoza. I solve mysteries in the US capital. I get some help from a big orange dog named Senator Something. [Dog panting] Together, we are on the train of this mysterious bird that might be a mythical creature from the Caribbean called a chickcharney. You can follow Fina and Senator Something on the new season of The Fina Mendoza Mysteries, starting May 3rd wherever you listen to podcasts.**

[Sound of the library, footsteps]

Sheneatha Well, that was an amazing Page Flipper meeting as always! Oh, Rachel ... we have that top secret appointment we have to keep! 

[Sounds of walking down stairs]

Rachel Babbling books! I nearly forgot! 

Sheneatha Hey Melina, want to walk with us down the main staircase? Your mom is going to meet you outside the main doors. 

Melina You bet! 

Melina So what’s your top secret appointment anyway? 

Rachel Well, if we told you, it wouldn’t be top secret, now would it? [Whispering] But let’s just say the entire library summer reading program hinges upon it! Oh, I’ve said too much! 

Melina That’s okay, you don’t have to share. 

Sheneatha I think we can let Melina in on the secret . We’re hoping to get the Magical Mephisto to perform for the summer reading kickoff! 

Rachel He says he can make library cards appear from under his hat … 

Sheneatha But he’s a hard guy to get ahold of … 

Rachel He’s always disappearing … 

Sheneatha So we finally got him to agree to a meeting. We’re supposed to meet him right now in our office! Well, here we are [door opens] … huh? NO MEPHISTO?

Rachel Oh no! He didn’t show?  

Melina But what’s that note on your door? 

Rachel You mean this ancient looking scroll stuck to our door with an arrow that looks suspiciously important? [Sounds of paper unfolding] These are just groups of numbers, not words.

Sheneatha I CAN’T BELIEVE WE MISSED THE MAGICAL MEPHISTO! 

Melina No, no, these numbers look set together like words somehow. What did Lauren say? Codes can use letters, they can use symbols, and they can use numbers! These numbers are all 1 through 26! There are 26 letters in the alphabet! Let’s see ... A is 1 ... B is 2 ... C is 3 ... N is 14 … 

[Pencil scratching sounds]

Rachel She really knows her letters! Listeners, if this kid doesn’t become a spy she’s got a real future as a librarian! 

Sheneatha Wait, I think she’s got it! Look at her go! Melina is cracking the code! 

Melina I’ve got it!  

Rachel Ooh, look! The secret message is from the Magical Mephisto! What does is say, Melina? 

Melina The secret message says: Abra Cadabra, Riddle Dee Dee, I’ll perform for Summer Reading, you can count on me! 

Rachel Yay!

Sheneatha Woohoo!  

Melina Oh, and he asks if you have any good books to recommend. 

Sheneatha and Rachel Yeah, we do!  

Melina He’s really into mysteries. 

Rachel Thanks, Melina. You really saved the day! 

[Theme Song instrumental]

Sheneatha Once again, our Star Page Flipper came to the rescue by reading the right books and asking the right questions!   

Rachel Page Flippers, there are so many things you’re good at, so many things you can learn, and so many great things you can do!  

Rachel and Sheneatha Page Flippers, unite!  

Rachel  Wait a minute. I think we surprised them.  They didn’t say it with us. Let’s say it all together …. all the Page Flippers listening out there, I’m looking at you!  

Sheneatha Okay, on the count of three we’ll all say, “Page Flippers, unite!”… 1, 2, 3 …  

Chorus of voices Page Flippers, unite!

[Theme song] 

Sheneatha Page Flippers Take on the World is brought to you by Brooklyn Public Library. It’s produced by Virginia Marshall and hosted by me and Rachel Tiemann.  Our script is written by Virginia, Rachel, and me, Sheneatha.

Rachel Original music from Ty Frison and melody and lyrics by Sheneatha Frison. Maddie Flythe and Meryl Friedman designed our logo. Page Flippers Take on the World is produced with support from PRX and is made possible (in part) by a Ready To Learn grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

Sheneatha Our team of fabulous children’s specialists and library professionals include Jessica Ralli, Rachel Payne, Fritzi Bodenheimer, and Kevin Kelley. Kimberly Behan was our program magician for this episode – she created book lists and programs that librarians and teachers can use for kids of all ages. Check that out on our website: B K L Y N library [dot] org [slash] Page Flippers

Rachel Special thanks to Lauren Wilkinson, a novelist in Brooklyn, New York! Her book is called American Spy and we’ll put a link to it on our website if any grownup listeners are interested in reading it! Extra kid lines on this episode were recorded by Jack and Melina E. Melina E was our Star Page Flipper. Jason Buturla and Ella Wren are part of our Imagination Recitation, and special thanks to Paul, Ava, Jack, Owen, Lilly, Avery, Oren, Noa, and Ella Wren for being part of our kid sound effects team! 

Sheneatha See you at the next Page Flipper Meeting – or wherever you get your podcasts!  

Subscribe to Page Flippers