Maddie And Mook And The Magic Of The Message In The Bottle

$Text Box: Chapter 1: Maddie Miss Davis rambled on in the front of the classroom. “Blah, blah, blah… fraction. Blah, blah, blah… Australia.” The stale air gave Maddie a foul taste in her mouth. She held her breathe for minutes at a time sitting there in the cold concrete block room. Hazy dust and dirt dulled the view of the green grass beyond. Thin wire, laced through the window glass, formed little shapes of diamonds. The room seemed so tiny compared to the bigness of outside. On the other side of the dismal window laced with prison bars, the sun sparkled and shined. The deep green grass formed a perfect picnic blanket around the Palmetto trees. A gentle breeze carried the palm fronds back and forth. The large Live Oak stood in the empty field. No children played on the thick limbs or the two tires that hung on the thick ropes. Through the dirty windows, the leaves on the tree wilted from loneliness. Maddie tried to breath in the fresh air, but almost coughed on the smell of chalk dust and old school books. The classroom had Maddie trapped like a goldfish in a tiny bowl. She wondered if the outside would shine brighter if someone would just clean the windows. Then she thought the teachers just kept the windows dirty so the kids felt trapped inside. She stared hard through the grime to keep the picture of the outside fresh in her brain. She’d never forget how good the outside made her feel, but being locked inside so late in the afternoon felt unbearable. She just stared out into her dream world, longing to be part of it. “Madison!” Miss Davis called out. Maddie gasped and sat up straight. She snapped out of her daydream. “Is there something outside that we need to point out to the rest of the class?” Caught again! Something about the spring weather made it easier for Miss Davis to catch Maddie. Class just did not interest her. It was boring. “No, Miss Davis. I’m sorry. I thought I saw a fox.” Maddie lied. She had to come up with something though. If it was too much of a fib, then she would end up in the principal’s office. Her mom or dad would have to get a phone call. That would not be a good thing. She knew foxes were always scurrying around Edisto. “Madison, would you like to come up here and refresh us a little on the continent of Australia?” Miss Davis, knew Maddie’s game. Last week Maddie stayed after class twice to discuss her lack of interest in school work. The thunderstorms two weeks before that, saved her from staying late more than once. It rained hard almost everyday. The dark clouds made the dirt on the window darker. She could not see the outside that week. Maddie understood all the class work. It just bored her most of the time. She did better than most of the others on the quizzes. Her mom made sure she would have her homework done. When her dad was home, he sat with her and they did the homework together. But to sit in that dismal, cold classroom while the sun was shining outside, always made Maddie long to be out there, in nature. Maddie stepped from behind her metal desk and walked to front of the classroom with her head hung low. Miss Davis grinned through her frown. This was her little punishment for Maddie. Miss Davis would embarrass her in front of the class. Miss Davis would be in for a shock this time, though. In front of the chalkboard, Maddie raised her head and scanned the class from side to side and front to back. Damon and Roger made faces at her. Eddie hid behind Monica, his head leaned down like he was taking notes. Maddie could see the shiny leash of drool that connected his chin to the desk. Most of the other kids looked bored and sleepy as well, except maybe, Mary. Mary sat with her little, gold braided pony tails, right in the front of the class. She was Miss Davis’s pet. She grinned at Maddie. She always had the answers and if she didn’t, she always had an excuse that would satisfy Miss Davis. Well, Miss Davis wasn’t going to catch Maddie this time. Maddie loved the Pacific Ocean, from Hawaii to Australia. Maddie just loved islands, and tropical places. She was just like her mom. She looked back at Miss Davis, sitting at the teacher’s desk, with the apple from Mary perched upon the front corner. She looked back at Mary and stuck her tongue out. “Miss Davis!” Mary shouted out. “Maddie just…” “Mary, not now. If you have something to add you may raise your hand after Madison is done telling us all about Australia.” Damon and Roger giggled from the back of the class, but Miss Davis gave them both a cold teacher look and they quieted right down. Maddie spoke before any other kids could join in. Mary sat with her mouth open in shock. “We have learned that Australia is the only country that is a continent, and because Australia is in the southern hemisphere, they have different seasons than we do. Their winter is our summer, and also…” Maddie hesitated because she knew she had said enough, but this time she was gonna show off and surprise Miss Davis a little bit. “…also their weather is different than in the United States. Our southern coast has warmer temperatures and our northern border has colder temperatures, but in Australia, their northern coast has the warmer temperatures, and their southern coast has the colder temperatures.” Maddie finished. “Thank you very much.” She added. Maddie turned towards Miss Davis. The corners of her mouth turned up just barely forming a smile, but just short of being rude. She was sure to be as polite as possible so Miss Davis would not get angry with her for being rude. She thought about doing a little curtsy, but instead she walked steady and silent back to her desk. She sat as nicely as any other student, ready for the next lesson. It took Miss Davis a minute or two to gather her lesson plan back together. When she was ready, she stood and made sure Maddie understood what had happened. She may know the lesson, but Miss Davis caught her and punished her for daydreaming. That would not be tolerated in this class. Miss Davis cleared her throat as she stood. “It appears that you can stare listlessly out the window and still pay attention.” She lowered her bi-focal glasses and stared at Maddie over the bridge of her crooked nose. “Be sure to keep your attention focused on the lesson and not the swing set in the future Madison.” Just at that moment the school bell went off. It was three o’clock!! Friday!! School was out for the weekend. Everyone jumped at once and scurried around their desks gathering their backpacks and supplies. Miss Davis shouted out some last minute instructions over the ruckus. Nobody seemed to pay any attention. Maddie heard her remind the class of the homework assignment, but she too, did not pay much attention. She had written the assignment down earlier. She would get it done sometime over the weekend.$

Text Box: Middle grade readers experience an adventure with 12 year old Maddie and her spunky puppy Mook.

MADDIE lives in a southern beach town, but the ocean she visits every day makes her want to know about the places she only gets to see in her moms pictures.

UNTIL Maddie and Mook find the mysterious message in a bottle.

The Adventure Begins.

Where did the bottle come from? Who wrote the message? Maddie and Mook will find out in a way they could never imagine possible. Travel with Maddie and Mook to islands far away.

Is it the message or the magic of the bottle that take Maddie and Mook on the adventure of their dreams?: