Children’s author sends message in a bottle for a real-life treasure hunt

	Photo: Ira Reer @ Flickr

Children’s author Max Elliot Anderson (Secret of Abbott’s Cave, Mountain Cabin Mystery) released a bottle with a message in it into Rock River, Illinois. The clear plastic bottle is decorated with blue tape–perhaps to make it stand out–and inside is a card, instructing the finder what to do. When the person returns the card to Anderson, Anderson will send a set of his children’s mystery and adventure books to the person who found it. The bottle also includes a forever stamp, so that it won’t cost the finder anything to claim the prize, no matter when they find it.

I think this is a really neat idea on a lot of levels. It may get some children who live in the area interested in finding the bottle and going on a real-life treasure hunt–which seems perfect for children who enjoy adventure and mystery novels. It is also a fantastic and innovative promotional idea, which may help Anderson get some new readers or people interested in his books. And it may encourage some children to hear about it to read Anderson’s, or other authors’, adventure novels. What great summer fun! I know I would have loved to find such a bottle when I was a kid. Or any bottle with a message in it.

You can read more about it here.

May 31st, 2008