Nelson Dellis - Memory Superpowers!: An Adventurous Guide to Remembering What You Dont Want to Forget

Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for and may be obtained from the Library of Congress.

ISBN 978-1-4197-3187-7

eISBN 978-1-68335-776-6

Text copyright 2020 Nelson Dellis

Illustrations copyright 2020 Steph Stilwell

Book design by Marcie Lawrence and Celina Carvalho

Published in 2020 by Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of ABRAMS. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

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TO MY TWO BOYS.
WHO WILL ONE DAY READ
THIS AND BECOME
MEMORIZING SUPERHEROES!

N.D.

TO KATHI AND SCOTT,
FOR ALWAYS BELIEVING IN MY SUPERPOWER

S.S.

Welcome, curious reader! Or should I say, curious explorer! My name is Nelson and Im going to be your guide in an epic, mnemonic adventure around the globe to the peak of Mount Foreverest. (Mnemonic is just a fancy word for memory trick, in case you didnt know, and is pronounced ni-MON-ik.) Let me tell you how this book works and what awaits you.

In these pages are some seriously crazy exploits that I will ask you to imagine. Each chapter will tell a story that is part of your fantastical journey, but along the way, Ill also be teaching you memory techniques and skills, some of which are thousands of years old. I want to challenge your memory and brain to do some exciting, and occasionally difficult, tasks. But dont worry, Ill make it as fun and easy as possible.

As your guide on our globe-trotting exploit, I will teach you the secret, long-forgotten practices of memorization with the ultimate goal of reaching the summit of Mount Foreverestthe mountain of remembering forever. And the best part? These techniques will help make learning and studying much easier. It will be like having your own memory superpowers! Imagine being able to remember morelike names and faces, lists of things, numbers, and important datesbut with less work. Think of all the free time you will have to go on other adventures with your friends!

Why Mount Foreverest? you may be asking. Well, my goal is to head to the top of that summit so we can confront and defeat the Memory Thief. It is high on that mountain where he recently began to rule, and its a mysterious place where few have gone. Since arriving there not too long ago, his powers have become so great that hes able to steal memories from anyone and everyone when theyre not looking! I have decided to stop him once and for all. But I cant do it alone; hes too powerful. Ill need your help. And if we dont stop him, more and more people will lose their ability to remember things.

Maybe youre a bit skeptical about this so-called Memory Thief. I bet youre thinking, Does he even exist? and Can he really steal our memories? Let me answer that by asking you a question:

What did you have for dinner five days ago?

You cant remember, can you? And think of all those other things you dont remember or the things youve forgotten over the years. Thats himthe Memory Thiefhard at work on his evil plans to plunder our memories. But I have a plan to stop him and save all the memories in the world so that people will be able to remember whatever they want, forever! But I need your help. Will you join me on this adventure? I would be incredibly grateful. Please oh please? Dont take too long to answer; time is running out.

You will? Oh, thank goodness! Everyone Ive asked so far has turned me down, telling me theyre too scared to face the Memory Thief. The only requirement I have for you is that you have a good memory.

Oh, you dont think you have one? Not to worry! Part of my plan is to train you along the way. Youre smart and I can tell youve got guts, so youll pick up these techniques in no time!

Heres the plan:

To get to the Memory Thief, well have to scale the summit of Foreverest, and get past some rather tall gates, which are locked. That scheming villain, however, has broken the key to the gates into three pieces and scattered them around the world, so well need to find them first. To secure each piece, well have to pass some short memory tests, but Ill do my best to prepare you in advance.

One more thing.

No matter how silly, weird, or strange our journey gets, you have to promise me that you will do what I ask of you... no matter what! Its the only way well succeed in getting all the pieces of the key. So, whether I ask you to recall a hilarious image in your mind so you can pass a ferocious yeti guard at the foot of the Himalayas, or to answer bizarre questions from a pirate in order to open up his secret treasure chest, you have to do it. Promise? The fate of human memory depends on it!

With all of that out of the way, let us begin our journey...

Chances are youve never gone on an adventure quite like this, so well make sure that youre well equipped. That means knowing all the necessary things you need to bring along, but maybe more important is knowing what to leave behind. Our adventure is going to be long and hard, so we must get rid of unhelpful concepts that will slow us down. Mostly, these are ideas you may already have about memory that you think are okay but are actually wrong. They need to be thrown out immediately so you stand a chance on Mount Foreverest!

Some people are born with horrible memories.

I hear this one all the time. Many people think that a bad memory is something youre either born with or youre not. They believe that if youre lucky enough to have been gifted with a