Blog Tour: THE TREASURE OF MAD DOC MAGEE

Welcome to our humble Walden Tumblr stop on the official blog tour of The Treasure of Mad Doc Magee!  An intriguing title, no?  Read on for the juicy details:

The small, run-down town of Eden is the only place Jenny Burns has ever called home. The roots of the trees are in her bones, the air of the mountains is in her breath, the lakes and rivers are in her blood. And that’s why, when her father loses his job and tells Jenny that they may have to move on from Eden, she knows she can’t let that happen.

The fever of New Zealand’s Central Otago gold rush still runs in the veins of Eden, and everyone knows the legend of Doc Magee: how he found the largest gold nugget anyone had ever seen and hid it somewhere in the hills before he disappeared. Jenny and her best friend, Pandora, know that if they can find the gold it’ll solve all their problems. But the way is fraught with mysteries, riddles and danger—and those are just the threats they know about. Before her quest is over, Jenny will have to face challenges from within as well as from without.

If you loved the charm of The Mechanical Mind of John Coggin, author Elinor Teele’s latest tale will become a fast favorite.  The Treasure of Mad Doc Magee takes place in the wake of the New Zealand gold rush, an endlessly fascinating setting that carries echoes of the American west in a land that many of us associate more with hobbits these days.  Teele’s spunky heroines, best friends Jenny and Pandora, are each other’s true complements: where Jenny is loud and dramatic, Pandora is quiet and calm, promising a capable duo that can overcome any and all obstacles together.  The Lum brothers, Lok and Kam, highlight the diversity of nationalities that were attracted to Jenny’s little town during the height of the gold rush, and add to the rich story of identity that surrounds Jenny and her friends as descendants of the fortune-seekers whose migration put their hometown on the map.  And of course, who doesn’t love a classic treasure-hunting adventure, complete with a mysterious map, a local legend, and a perilous path ahead?

To read more about The Treasure of Mad Doc Magee, and to purchase your own copy, head on over to walden.com here, where you can also download the official educator’s guide.

You can follow along with the rest of the blog tour with the schedule below:

Monday September 10 Novel Novice Wednesday September 12 Book Monsters Friday September 14 Walden Media Tumblr Saturday September 15 Maria's Melange Monday September 18 Writer's Rumpus Thursday September 21 Bluestocking Thinking

Happy trails!

The Mechanical Mind of John Coggin

(Art by Ben Whitehouse)

Honk honk!  The Mechanical Mind of John Coggin Blog Tour is rolling in (astride a “borrowed” firetruck no less) after a long week and a half cruising around the web, hitting up a slew of wonderful blogs, stirring up mechanical mischief, and reminding readers to “seize the carp.”

Reminiscent of childhood favorites by Roald Dahl, The Mechanical Mind of John Coggin chronicles the exciting journey of coffin-maker-turned-adventurer John Coggin and his little sister Page as they, erm, “take leave” of their domineering Aunt Beauregard in search of brighter horizons.  An odd companion by the name of Boz enlightens the dimmed spirits of John and Page along the way with regular doses of quirky, Yoda-esque charm, and no shortage of daring and dangerous exploits.

“Colorful” is as weak a term as “extraordinary,” “vivacious,” and “effervescent” to describe the remarkable characters you’ll meet in Elinor Teele’s debut novel - though with a vocabulary as varied and vibrant as Ms. Teele’s, one may just find the very perfect word to do her cast justice.  So grab a dictionary (or pull up that dictionary.com app) and hunker down for a delightful story from a truly talented imagination.

But first, we at the Official Walden Media Tumblr have a special surprise from the Tour caravan!  Author Elinor Teele has delivered to us an exclusive interview with esteemed archaeologist Miss Patricia M. Doyle, whose work can be found in the pages of John’s and Page’s adventures.  Read on, and prepare to be blinded by intellect!

Much thanks to For Those About to Mock for this particularly complimentary review of The Mechanical Mind of John Coggin!  Stay tuned for the Mechanical Mystery Blog Tour’s next stop at yours truly tomorrow...

Discover you mechanical mind with John Coggin author Elinor Teele, April 20, 2016 at Blue Bunny Books & Toys in Dedham, MA!

Visit elinorteele.com for more info.

^Illustration by Ben Whitehouse

Grab your board and get ready to surf the web - The Mechanical Mind of John Coggin is going on tour in a browser near you, April 11 - 29, 2016!  See the full tour schedule below, and keep an eye out for the April 21 stop at yours truly ;)

Netflix & chill is so 5 minutes ago.  Cool kids these days spend their Saturday nights catching up on Walden TV!  Check out an all new Read This! Watch That! featuring our dazzling hosts Mike and Ashley, then download some fabtastic educational resources over at WaldenTV.com

Celebrate the launch of The Mechanical Mind of John Coggin with author Elinor Teele, April 16, 2016 at Sawyer Free Library in Goucester, MA!

More info at elinorteele.com

Coming April 12th, 2016...

John Coggin is no ordinary boy. He is dreaming up inventions that nobody has ever seen before, ideas that just might change the world, or at least make life a little bit better for him and his little sister, Page. But that’s only when he can sneak a break from his loathsome job–building coffins for the family business under the beady gaze of his cruel Great-Aunt Beauregard.  Having lost their parents when Page was a baby, how else are they supposed to survive?

Perhaps by taking an enormous risk–a risk that arrives in the form of a red-haired scamp named Boz.  When Great-Aunt Beauregard informs John that she’s going to make him a permanent partner in Coggin Family Coffins–and train Page to be an undertaker–John and Page sign on with Boz and hit the road.  Before long, they’ve fallen in with a host of colorful characters, all of whom, like John and Page, are in search of a place they can call home.  But home, they realize, isn’t something you find so much as something you fight for, and John soon realizes that he and Page are in for the fight of their lives.

Walden Pond Press brings you Elinor Teele’s picaresque debut novel, a rollicking tale filled with wild adventures, daring escapes, and–thanks to Boz–more than a little catastrophe.

Stay tuned for more news and updates on The Mechanical Mind of John Coggin - including activity kits, author visits, and the upcoming Blog Tour!