Book 1 · Midnight's Moment in Time

Charlie Marley is about to trip over history.

Two sixth graders, a goofy inventor, his dog Albert, and a time machine called the Flogtrac. Next stop: the greatest moments in sports!

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Albert is hiding 6 times, in new spots every visit. Look closely! 0 / 6
10/10!BookLife
Prize
"I didn't mean to… but what if it works?!"Charlie Marley
Midnight McLean with swept-back silver hair, forehead goggles, a big mustache, red bow tie, lab coat and his gadget backpack with a glowing bulb Charlie Marley grinning with his arms crossed, in his red-and-white striped shirt, cuffed jeans and red high-tops Emma Mayfield, ace reporter, taking notes in her notepad, with her satchel, tie-dye shirt and purple high-tops Albert, Midnight's black-and-white dog, wearing a collar with an A tag
Midnight's invention of the momentTECHTOCK 2000Tap it for another one. Tap a character to see what they say.

The Arcade

Games, quizzes and a new question every day. Earn points and climb from Benchwarmer to Legend!

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100 points to Rookie
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Trivia Blitz

Eight questions. Can you make the Hall of Fame?

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Meet the Crew

An accidental hero, a reporter with a plan, and an inventor who lives in a janitor closet.

Charlie Marley grinning with his arms crossed
The accidental hero

Charlie Marley

12Age
4'11"Height
6thGrade
  • Kindhearted
  • Clumsy
  • Always gets in trouble
  • Big imagination
  • Loyal friend
  • Tries his best

"I didn't mean to… but what if it works?!"

Emma Mayfield writing in her reporter's notepad
The reporter. Keeps them on track.

Emma Mayfield

12Age
4'8"Height
6thGrade
  • Smart
  • Natural reporter
  • Organized
  • Brave
  • Sees the big picture
  • Always has a plan

"Okay… here's the plan."

Midnight McLean, hands on hips, wearing his gadget backpack
The inventor

Midnight McLean

42Age
6'2"Height
∞Gadgets
  • Brilliant inventor
  • Time-travel expert
  • Goofy
  • Big heart
  • Lives in the janitor closet at school
  • Always tinkering

"Where there's a problem, there's an invention!"

Albert, a black-and-white dog with an A on his collar
Midnight's dog

Albert

  • Loyal
  • Always with the crew
  • Goofy
  • Sniffs out trouble
  • Gets them out of trouble
  • Loves the Flogtrac

Good dog. Good adventures.

Colonel Kernel in a red uniform and a striped popcorn hat, pointing
Small in size. Huge in charge.

Colonel Kernel

  • Mysterious
  • From the past
  • Knows more than he lets on
  • Guides Charlie (in his own way)
  • Loves baseball

"History has a way of showing up."

Mrs. Cooper wagging her finger over her walker, with her frying-pan-shaped Board of Education paddle tucked into it
The strictest teacher in school

Mrs. Cooper the Pooper Scooper

  • Strictest teacher at Eureka Elementary
  • Favorite hobby: assigning impossible homework
  • Hiding a secret from 1932

"Or else!"

Trouble, Coming Right Up

The Oakley triplets: Buster with spiky red hair and a black hoodie, Rocky with a blond mullet and red varsity jacket, and bald Dizzle rubbing his hands
Same trouble. Different flavors.

The Oakley Triplets

BusterThe leader. Tries to act tough, always has a plan, and can't stand Charlie.
RockyThe lisp. Loves to tease, thinks he's hilarious, and follows Buster everywhere.
DizzleThe spitter. Spits when he talks, has a quick temper, and is always down to cause trouble.
Uncle Riggo in a sharp pinstripe suit and gold chain, holding up his Chronos Almanac with a sly smile
The Oakleys' uncle

Uncle Riggo

  • Time-traveling troublemaker
  • Sharp pinstripe suit
  • Carries the Chronos Almanac
  • Flashy and dangerous
  • Uses the Oakley triplets
  • Wants the Flogtrac

"Time is valuable. Don't waste it."

The Ride

The Flogtrac, a four-door time machine cart covered in antennas, dials, a satellite dish and fuzzy dice
Four doors. Two rows. Anywhere in time!

The Flogtrac

  • Midnight's invention
  • Rugged and quirky
  • Holds the whole crew
  • Seats six (mostly)

Floor it into a pile of mops and SHWOOP! You're in another year. Bonus: it disguises itself as a car from that era.

Also starring: Cornelius

A 457-year-old travel troll with enormous feet. Every step goes FLIP FLOP DOINK.

Don Ginmaster

Leader of the Time Travel Troop. Wants the kids locked in Dung Geon for a hundo.

Coach Stinkysox

Runs the smelliest equipment room in the universe. Rainbow visor. Talks like it's 1985.

Midnight's Workshop

Midnight McLean reacting to his inventionBehold!
1 / 8
Midnight's newest idea

The Popcorn Cannon

You're the Inventor!

Midnight needs a new gadget. Dream one up and send it to his lab!

First names only. Don't share your last name, school or address. If Andrew picks your invention, it may go up on Midnight's Lab Wall for everyone to see: its name, what it does, and your first name if you gave one.

Midnight's Lab Wall

Real inventions from readers, hand-picked by Andrew.

Nothing on the wall yet. Send Midnight your invention and it could be the first one up!

Fire Up the Flogtrac

Pick a year. Charlie's about to stumble into real sports history! Answer right to win a jersey number.

FLOGTRAC · TIME DIALTheory of Bop Mucket Continuumumum: ENGAGED

Crack the EMC2 Code

Find all six hero jersey numbers to crack the code and earn your Time Travel Wings!

E=MC²
0 of 6 numbers found

Official Time Travel Wings

The Einstein Institute for Extraterrestrial Integrity and Operations hereby awards Time Travel Wings to

Your Name Here

for cracking the EMC2 code: 3 · 26 · 10 · 42 · 5 · 23

🔓 Secret unlock

Code Cracker Exclusive Coloring Page

Only kids who crack the EMC2 code get this one. Can you spot your six secret numbers in the picture?

Exclusive coloring page: a winged pocket watch soaring through a time tunnel with a baseball, football, basketball, hockey puck and gold medal, each hiding one of the six code numbers Print My Exclusive Page

Snap a screenshot and show your class. Approved by Cornelius, Travel Troll, case #112679.

Where Should Charlie Crash Next?

Tap a moment to cast your vote! You can change it any time.

The winning moment becomes the theme of the next book in the series after Lake Placid. No closing date. Keep voting!

Albert the dog, ready to sniff out the next adventure

The Scoreboard

Pick a moment to get on the board.

    Book cover of The Adventures of Charlie Marley
    Book 1 · Ages 8 to 12

    The Adventures of Charlie Marley: Midnight's Moment in Time

    When two elementary school classmates take a time travel adventure to six huge moments in sports history, they find themselves on the run from the space police. Will Charlie and Emma change the course of history? Or will they get caught and sent to do hard time in a galaxy far, far away?

    10/10

    The BookLife Prize. "…a lively jaunt through space and time, and sports milestones, in this wonderfully-illustrated page-turner."

    Ask a grown-up before you buy anything.

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    Also sold at the National Baseball Hall of Fame shop in Cooperstown.

    The Time Travel Rules

    Tap a rule to flip it.

    Psst: the TTT can't stand sidewalk cracks, Jawbreakers, or tall redheaded women with pigtails. Nobody knows why.

    Coloring page: the Flogtrac time machine driving down the middle of the road under a swirling time tunnel
    Print this page

    Color & Share

    1. Pick a page and print it.
    2. Color it. Then ask a grown-up to post it with #charliemarleycontest, or have them email it to info@charliemarley.com.
    3. Every month, author Andrew Luria picks a favorite to be our Artist of the Month, shown right here (first name only). We only show a picture after a parent or guardian says yes by email.
    Artist of the MonthComing soon: our very first Artist of the Month!
    Midnight, your tour guide. Tap for a tip Albert. Tap him!
    MIDNIGHTWelcome aboard, kiddo! I'm Midnight. Albert and I will show you around.
    Author Andrew Luria at the anchor desk in a TV news studio

    Hi, I'm Andrew

    Andrew Luria is a 14-time Emmy Award-winning sports and news anchor and a dad of three kids who are just about your age. He played college baseball and football at Cornell University and has reported on just about every sport there is.

    He coaches baseball, basketball and football, and runs an elementary school broadcasting program in his "free time." He lives in Carlsbad, California with his family and their dogs Archie and Henry. Over the years the family has also had dogs named Charlie, Emma, Cooper, Oakley, Buster, Dizzle, Rocky and Midnight. Sound familiar?

    Questions, ideas or school visits: info@charliemarley.com