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Sep 4, 2012 
The Templeton Twins Have an Idea, by Ellis Weiner, book one in a series, is due on shelves this month and has already caused a bit of a stir! Thank–or blame–The Narrator. When The Mixed Up Files asked him for a comment on the book, he sent us the following crisp reply:
MEMORANDUM
To: Whom It May Concern
From: The Narrator
Re: The Templeton Twins Have an Idea “Contest” “Giveaway”
It has come to my attention that a copy of the abovementioned book, mentioned above, is to be awarded to some middle-grade literateur, savant, devotee, or pedagogue. (These are French words which mean various things.)
The book, as every schoolchild knows (or will soon know), concerns John and Abigail Templeton, the clever and resourceful12-year-old twin children of Prof. Elton Templeton, an inventor. Common responses to this information include, “Wait–why does John, the boy, have to be mentioned first? Isn’t that just more of the same old sexism that has held hegemonic sway over Western (and, let’s not kid ourselves, Eastern) civilization from the very beginning?” and “How come all of a sudden there are all these ‘Eltons’ everywhere?”
I am equipped neither intellectually nor temperamentally to reply to such queries. I can, however, answer other questions, including, “Does the text feature a ridiculous dog,” “Are a pair of adult twins assigned the role of the twins’ nemeses,” and “Does the narrative include–as I have been waiting all my life for a narrative to include–a perfectly decent recipe for meatloaf?” The answer to these is, in each case, “I’m not telling. You’ll have to win, and read, the book itself to find out.”
I trust this settles the matter. Good luck to all entrants, or whatever you are.
Good luck indeed! Please enter your comment below to win a copy of this sly and hilarious middle grade novel!
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