The Mechanical Mind of John Coggin

by Elinor Teele (Author)

The Mechanical Mind of John Coggin
Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade
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.
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School Library Journal

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 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

"A charming fantasy/adventure to add to larger middle grade collections."—School Library Journal
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780062345103
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Walden Pond Press
Publication date
April 12, 2016
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV001000 - Juvenile Fiction | Action & Adventure
JUV013070 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Siblings
JUV031010 - Juvenile Fiction | Performing Arts | Circus
Library of Congress categories
Brothers and sisters
Orphans
Circus
JUVENILE FICTION / Action & Adventure / Gener
Runaways
Family-owned business enterprises
JUVENILE FICTION / Family / Siblings
Great-aunts
Runaway children
Engineering
JUVENILE FICTION / Performing Arts / Circus

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