The mechanical mind of John Coggin

Format:

Book

Title:

The mechanical mind of John Coggin

Author:

Teele, Elinor author

ISBN:

9780062345103

Edition:

First edition.

Publication:

New York, NY : Walden Pond Press, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2016]

Physical Description:

337 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

Summary:

"When Great Aunt Beauregard announces her intentions to bring budding engineer John into the family business of coffin manufacturing for the rest of his natural life--and, worse, to teach his sister Page to embalm--John decides enough is enough, and the two of them head out on the lam, maybe joining the circus"-- Provided by publisher

Program Information:

Accelerated Reader MG 5.2 10.0 Quiz No. 182293 EN Fiction

Subject(s):

Siblings -- Juvenile fiction.

Runaway children -- Juvenile fiction.

Great-aunts -- Juvenile fiction.

Orphans -- Juvenile fiction.

Circus -- Juvenile fiction.

Family-owned business enterprises -- Juvenile fiction.

Engineering -- Juvenile fiction.

Siblings -- Fiction.

Runaways -- Fiction.

Great-aunts -- Fiction.

Orphans -- Fiction.

Circus -- Fiction.

Family-owned business enterprises -- Fiction.

Engineering -- Fiction.

Genre:

Added Author:

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Monmouth Public Library	J Fic Teele, E. 2016	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Salem Main Library	J Teele, E.	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Roald Dahl meets The Penderwicks in this quirky, humorous, whimsical, and heartwarming middle grade debut about two siblings who run away from home to escape working in the family coffin business.

John Coggin is no ordinary boy. He is devising an invention that nobody has ever seen before, something 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.

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 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 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.

Reviews (3)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 4-6-Since the death of their parents, John and Page Coggin live with their Great-Aunt Beauregard, who is obsessed with the family business: coffin-making. After many grueling hours at this trade, John develops some sharp coffin-making skills but is thwarted in his true ambition of engineering fantastical machines. His great-aunt finally pushes things too far by suggesting that young Page can help prepare the corpses for burial and insisting that John sign a mysterious contract pledging himself to the family business for life. The siblings make a daring escape with the help of an accident-prone circus acrobat, and so the adventures begin. Teele has populated her fictional world with whimsical characters who would easily be at home in a Roald Dahl book: prickly circus performers, a sweet but overtaxed baker, friendly railcar hoppers, and an ardent archaeologist-to name a few. Even those with the crustiest exterior have hearts of gold, except, of course, the bad guys, who are truly horrible in the grand tradition of melodrama. John and Page have a realistic and compelling sibling relationship-they annoy each other but care for each other deeply-but most of the other characters are too archetypical to be relatable. The combination of many characters and plot twists may leave some young readers confused, but those who can embrace the madcap without worrying about the details will find some measure of magic in this title. VERDICT A charming fantasy/adventure to add to larger middle grade collections.-Gesse Stark-Smith, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Review

The dreary prospect of spending a lifetime making caskets instead of wonderful inventions prompts a young orphan to snatch up his little sister and flee. Where? To the circus, of course. Fortunately or otherwise, John and 6-year-old Page join up with Bozsometime human cannonball for the seedy Wandering Wayfarers and a "vertically challenged" trickster with a fantastic gift for sowing chaos. Alas, the budding engineer barely has time to settle in to begin work on an experimental circus wagon powered by chicken poop and dubbed (with questionable forethought) the Autopsy. The hot pursuit of malign and indomitable Great-Aunt Beauregard, the Coggins' only living relative, forces all three to leave the troupe for further flights and misadventures. Teele spins her adventure around a sturdy protagonist whose love for his little sister is matched only by his fierce desire for something better in life for them both and tucks in an outstanding supporting cast featuring several notably strong-minded, independent women (Page, whose glare "would kill spiders dead," not least among them). Better yet, in Boz she has created a scene-stealing force of nature, a free spirit who's never happier than when he's stirring up mischief. A climactic clutch culminating in a magnificently destructive display of fireworks leaves the Coggin sibs well-positioned for bright futures. (Illustrations not seen.) A sly, side-splitting hoot from start to finish. (Adventure. 11-13) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

When the family business is coffin-making, chances are your childhood is a bit bleak. This is certainly the case for John and Page Coggin: John has been forced to work making coffins since he was quite young. Now his nasty great-aunt Beauregard the siblings' guardian wants Page to earn her keep by dressing and applying makeup to the customers. When a mysterious stranger offers John a way out, he and Page take it, encountering a circus, a bakery, and, ultimately, an archaeological dig. But Beauregard always seems to be right behind John and Page, ready to enslave them forever in the coffin business. Adventures, high stakes, and risks propel this debut novel forward at a breakneck pace. Eccentric characters, mean guardians, and improbable situations, many involving poop, will appeal to middle-grade readers. Pair this with The Doldrums, by Nicholas Gannon (2015), and Circus Mirandus, by Cassie Beasley (2015), for readers who enjoy the unexpected in offbeat adventures.--Lesesne, Teri Copyright 2016 Booklist