Folk Secrets is more than a book, and more than an interactive app. Instead, think of it as an invitation for your students to engage with historical fiction on their terms. It’s like Oregon Trail for the 21st Century—but with a way better plot.
Native American resettlement. The post Civil War Freedmen's Bureau. The birth of the U.S. Patent Office. Historical figures from American folk spinner Washington Irving to rough and tumble U.S. Marshall Bass Reeves. From the outsized legends of female outlaw Belle Starr, to the misappropriated pirate William Kidd. From early space travel to railroad expansion across the west. From Cold War double agents to black ops conspiracies. From ancient Egypt to “Twittering on TikTok.” All these themes and so many more create “an ambitious and epic saga,” according to Kirkus Reviews. And that’s just the novel.
Folk Secrets is free for educators and their students. Throughout the 2026/27 school year, any educator can request a free PDF version of the book and a license to share it with their students at no charge (the app is already free in the Apple and Android stores).
The book/app treasure hunt serves as an exciting side project for students to tackle. They can join the hunt on their own, or collaboratively with their class. Educators can integrate it into their gifted-and-talented class, history class, literature class, math class, or let students join the adventure on their own time. Either way, the educator is the key to launching the adventure.
Now wrap all of that into an app with diabolical puzzles, cryptic clues, and 3D augmented reality animations that delve into history, math, and science—and anchored with a wild treasure hunt that jumps from the book to the app to real life. It all starts when you scan the cover of Folk Secrets at the stroke of midnight. Engaging with history has never been like this.
Challenge Curious Kids
What Educators are Saying
"I just finished reading an advance copy of Folk Secrets - a new mystery, written by Brent Wheelbarger and illustrated by David Lee Anderson. Folk Secrets is a fantastical mystery that links an archaeological dig in Baghdad, Iraq, a palatial fortress in Granada, Spain, a family farm in central Indian Territory/Oklahoma (and other locations) with a variety of historical personalities and situations (high ranking political leaders, pirates and old West outlaws, Cold War espionage, Indian Removal) … all of which are interconnected with the intrigue surrounding a secretive and powerful hidden treasure. I’m honored that Brent shared his advance copy with me and I’m looking forward to more ways to help share this exciting read with others.
While you might argue that this book isn’t a history book, I made a lot of mental notes about all the credible nuggets of history that were put in this book. That might spark people to go, I want to know more about Belle Starr for example. Most of those Wild West outlaw characters were men. And here you have this very strong woman as one of those outlaws. She didn’t take anyone’s crap. She caused a lot of stuff, and she was wild.”
- David Burton, Curriculum Coordinator for Elementary and Secondary Social Studies, Moore Public Schools
“I think there’s an audience for that, especially with young people. Because you know they’re reading Harry Potter and Hunger Games. So I think they’ll be excited about this book. I'm going to have my geneology groups start reading it.”
- Dr. Pam Black, Geneologist and Retired Teacher
“I think it has the Oklahoma connection really dialed in. That idea of Oklahoma legends or stories that have been passed down, I think that’s really powerful. It’s very, very real. And so I really liked that. I also really liked the cultural connection between things happening in the world in other countries and how they connected with things that were happening here.”
- Dr. Patricia Cook, Educator, Administrator, Teacher
"What an amazing story. I loved how you wove history into the story...It would be a great book for a fifth grade teacher to read to her class after lunch each day and then they could discuss all the historical facts in it."
- Oklahoma Writers' Federation Reviewer
"Librarians will appreciate the engrossing interplay between generations and special interests, and will want to highly recommend Folk Secrets to a large audience of time travel enthusiasts of all ages."
- Diane Donovan, Sr. Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
Every class that completes the entire hunt will unlock a free pizza party and author-talk with Folk Secrets author Brent Wheelbarger. A seasoned innovation educator having worked with hundreds of students across Oklahoma and
*Folk Secrets does not share your information with anyone.
Free for Educators
In Class or On Their Own
Complete the Hunt = Meet the Author
around the world, Brent tackles writing, technology, “applied imagination,” and alternate-history while playing the part of historian, technologist, treasure hunter, and storyteller—all in the span of an hour! Click here for more about Brent.