Word Travelers and the Taj Mahal Mystery

by Raj Haldar Narrated by Vikas Adam

Overview

Are you ready for adventure? The first book in a new action-packed series from bestselling author Raj Haldar follows two best friends as they race to different parts of the world to solve mysteries and uncover lost treasures!


It's a Super Saturday sleepover! That means best friends Eddie and Molly-Jean (who prefers to be called MJ) are going to play outside, create obstacle courses for MJ's newts, and watch their favorite movies-and then they'll travel to India to solve a mystery and help save a school-all before bedtime!
 
This action-packed mystery story is perfect for anyone looking for:

A wild adventure around the world that middle school kids will love!

A story of two best friends solving mysteries with a little magic!

Cool, new knowledge tucked inside an epic chapter book!

A journey to India to learn the Hindi roots of the English language

Magically travel around the world along with two best friends who decipher clues and uncover mysterious secrets. Can you help them find the golden key?
 
"Reminiscent of Mary Pope Osborne's "Magic Tree House" series...contains the same mix of fantasy, adventure, and cultural discovery. Etymology is the distinctive feature here, and its importance is reflected in every part of the text."-School Library Journal, starred review

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"A fast-paced mystery… reminiscent of Mary Pope Osborne’s "Magic Tree House" series…. Etymology is the distinctive feature here, and its importance is reflected in every part of the text. The cultural awareness implicit in the book’s themes is reflected in the diversity of its characters as portrayed in both text and illustrations. The work as a whole feels very child centered, and is likely to appeal to a broad range of readers. This winning series opener is full of fun and facts." — School Library Journal, STARRED review

"The characters are likable and realistic... and the reader is guaranteed a happy ending." — School Library Connection

"Fast-paced and fun, this word-lovers adventure will immerse growing readers in both a puzzling mystery and the origin of English words that come from India." — Imagination Soup

Kirkus Reviews

2021-08-11
Two best friends have an etymological adventure.

Normally, Eddie, a White boy, and MJ, an Indian American girl, spend their sleepover Saturdays playing and watching movies. One special Saturday, however, they uncover Eddie’s grandfather’s tome on word origins. When they open what they call the Awesome Enchanted Book, it magically whisks them away to the Indian city of Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. There, they meet a young Rajasthani prince named Dev who needs to find his family’s ancestral treasure to rebuild a village school destroyed in a typhoon. But Dev isn’t the only one after the treasure: A mustache-twirling White man named Mr. Raffles wants that money too. Together, the three kids race to solve the word-related clues in order to find the treasure first. While this etymologically themed series opener’s premise is promising, its execution oversimplifies India's complexity. Dev, for example, comes from a Hindu dynasty even though the book takes place largely in and around a city and monument constructed by ancient Muslim rulers, who are never mentioned as such. Additionally, the words tufan (source of typhoon) and pajama are identified only as Hindi in the glossary despite their journeys through Arabic and/or Persian; the phrase Holy Cow is introduced with no explanation of its colonialist origins. These choices shortchange both readers and premise. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

This word-based adventure falters in its oversimplification of a complicated place. (Fantasy. 8-10)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940172874642
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	10/05/2021
Series:	Word Travelers , #1
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

Videos