Totem Magic: Going MAD

Enrique Salazar and Jasmine Ejeekwa seem like normal sixth-graders.

They attend a regular public school, with the usual assortment of friends and bullies. But the two friends share a secret. They are members of Magic User families, which have been entrusted for generations to help the Earth's endangered species without anybody else discovering their special role. These unusual "totem mages" embody the spirit of whatever animal they are born to represent and protect. Jasmine's totem animal is the mountain lion, and Enrique's is the commonturkey vulture, which is not actually endangered -- yet.

When Jasmine's father, a leader in the Magic User community, is kidnapped by an evil witchdoctor, the two budding totem mages set out to rescue him, and possibly the entire planet. Their journey begins with a dreadlocked, high-spirited, taxi-driving witch who can be instantly summoned -- at great risk -- to provide a wild ride through a magical world at war.

Jasmine and Enrique will have to be brave and extremely clever if they hope to survive vicious attacks from the witchdoctor's powerful gang members and the various monsters lurking in the dark corners of this supernatural world. Itdoesn't help that the only two weapons they possess are Jasmine's oversized, all-seeing glasses and Enrique's magicallymalfunctioning flip-flops. Even worse, both are on the verge of an abrupt and mysterious preteen mental and physical change that the adult totem mages call going MAD ...

About the Author

John "Griff" Griffith spent his childhood along the creeks and rivers of Northern California catching and releasing turtles, tadpoles, crawdads, and frogs. He has spent his adult life working to keep those creeks and rivers healthy so future generations can enjoy the same discoveries. When he turned eleven, John began his career as a naturalist. He volunteered at the Suisun Wildlife Care Center near Fairfield, California, where he cleaned the cages of injured animals, fed baby birds, and assisted older volunteers in general care-giving to the furred, feathered, and sometimes scaled patients. Caring for wildlife that was injured and/or orphaned due to human activities opened John's eyes to the plight of animals and their habitats and eventually inspired him to write Totem Magic: Going MAD.

Today he is the host of Animal Planet's Wild Jobsan online show that features people who have dedicated their lives to working with animals. He is also a crew supervisor for the California Conservation Corps, a state youth program that employs young people to plant trees, create salmon habitat, and build trails in the wilderness. When he's not working, reading, or writing, John can be found snorkeling in the nearby Eel River. He still catches and releases turtles, tadpoles, crawdads, and frogs.

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