《The Hidden Ledger 系列英文繪本》The Vanishing Ledger

English Description

The Vanishing Ledger introduces Elara Quinn, a small but fearless young detective who walks the cobbled streets of a storybook-like city with a notebook in hand. The soft illustrations—such as Elara standing against castle-shaped skylines and pumpkin-lined streets (seen early in the book)—establish a whimsical mystery tone.

The Vanishing Ledger

News spreads quickly across the city:
The Sterling family ledger has disappeared.
A massive book of accounts—and whispered secrets.

Elara visits Reginald Sterling, the influential, silver-haired patriarch whose mansion is marked by a brass lion gate (depicted in the images). He fears not just the lost book, but the secrets inside it. When Elara examines his study, she notices what she calls “signatures”—the tiny traces every secret leaves behind:

a smear of blue paint on the desk

mud specks near the floor

a tiny green leaf

a thin ribbon caught on the curtain

droplets of blue paint on the window sill
These details appear in multiple illustrated spreads showing Elara inspecting the room with keen eyes.

The Vanishing Ledger

Her investigation leads her through the household:

Lila the maid, who saw blue paint on the gardener’s gloves

Tomas the gardener, gentle and earth-stained, who paints park benches blue

Henry the grandson, playful but innocent

Elara eventually follows the clues to the park bench under an old oak tree—shown in a warm, nature-washed illustration—where she finds a small wooden box containing the missing ledger, wrapped with a ribbon and marked with blue paint. A handwritten note rests atop it:
“For the soup and the seeds. —T.”

The Vanishing Ledger

This discovery reveals a touching truth: Tomas borrowed the ledger to help his sister’s soup kitchen count donations and supplies. His intentions were kind, but fear and shame kept him silent.

This story is also an excellent tool for learning English, offering simple yet expressive vocabulary and repeated patterns that reinforce comprehension. Young readers learn language related to:
• clues, secrets, and investigation
• emotions & motives
• everyday items and descriptive adjectives
• conversational English
• moral and reflective language

In the final scenes, illustrated with warm light and softened expressions, Reginald acknowledges that the ledger’s numbers never told the full story of real needs—soup, seeds, hungry families, small hands holding bowls. He donates generously, forgives Tomas, and thanks Elara for uncovering not just the what, but the why behind the secret.

Elara leaves with her rule shining in her notebook:
“Every secret leaves a signature.”
A gentle mystery reminding readers that truth, empathy, and careful attention can change a city—and help learners grow their English through story.

繁體中文內容簡介（Traditional Chinese）

《The Vanishing Ledger》以年輕偵探 Elara Quinn 為主角。她拿著筆記本走在鵝卵石街道上，城市裡瀰漫著麵包與雨的香氣；插圖中淡藍與米色的色調營造出溫暖又神祕的氛圍。

The Vanishing Ledger

城市傳出大新聞：
Sterling 家族的帳簿失蹤了。
這本帳簿不僅記錄金錢，也藏著許多不為人知的祕密。

Elara 前往 Reginald Sterling 那棟由黃銅獅子守護的大宅。在他的書房裡，她找到所謂的「祕密的簽名」——任何祕密都會留下微小痕跡：

藍色油漆汙漬

泥土顆粒

一片綠葉

被勾住的細緞帶

窗台上的藍色小滴痕
故事中的插圖清楚呈現她觀察、蹲下、記錄的每一瞬間。

The Vanishing Ledger

她詢問 Lila、Tomas 與 Henry，慢慢拼湊出真相：藍色油漆來自 Tomas 剛粉刷的公園長椅；泥土與綠葉來自他去餵鳥的路上；緞帶與紙條則透露了他的心意。

Elara 最終在老橡樹下的長椅底下找到失落的帳簿，木盒裡還有一張字條：
「為了湯與種子。—T」
原來 Tomas 只是借用帳簿，好讓他妹妹的愛心廚房能更精準地記錄捐款與食材。

The Vanishing Ledger

這本故事同時也是極佳的 英語學習繪本：
孩子能透過線索、物品、行動與對話，自然吸收英文詞彙，理解因果與推理句型，並練習閱讀情緒與動機的英語描述。

最後，Reginald 明白了：帳目只是數字，但需求與善意才是城市真正的重量。他不僅原諒 Tomas，還決定主動捐助。Elara 的調查讓祕密顯露，也讓善意流動。

她合上筆記本，寫下她最喜歡的句子：
「每個祕密都會留下簽名。」
一部溫柔、智慧且帶著道德光亮的推理故事。