Doctoroo (also known as Dr. Marsha Roo) and her team Kirby Koala, Louie Llama and Terence Toad may live in Australia, but they travel the world solving medical mysteries. In Doctoroo & the Case of the Picnic Pirates, they fly to the United States to find out why bear cubs in the Tumbling Potomac Pirates won’t practice their somersaults, cartwheels, or handsprings. Will Doctoroo discover what is wrong? Will she have the answer in time for the cubs to perform on the Fourth of July, America’s Independence Day?

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*Interview with Dr. Rachel Wellner*

Dr. Rachel Wellner is a board-certified general surgeon, Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and a Society of Surgical Oncology-trained breast oncology surgeon.

Connect with the Author: Website ~ Facebook ~ Instagram ~ Goodreads

What inspired you to create the Doctoroo series?

When I was in medical school, I did a rotation in Pediatrics. It was always a challenge to find a way to talk to these very young patients about medical topics. I love kids and began to dream up stories to teach them about their own conditions and how to stay healthy. Those stories became the Doctoroo series.

Your series features locations in Washington DC, Sydney, Australia and Hawaii. Why those three places?

The subject matter of each book helped to dictate the locations. This new book, Doctoroo & the Case of the Picnic Pirates, nutrition was the topic. I wanted to talk about picnic foods and good nutrition and the 4th of July is the perfect time for a picnic! And what more patriotic location can beat Washington DC?

My last book, Doctoroo and the Case of the Hacking Hippo is set in Sydney, Australia at the famous opera house. I wanted to set a book in Doctoroo’s home country.

The first book, Doctoroo and the Case of the Red Hot Hawaiians is, of course, in Hawaii. When you’re talking about the need for sunblock you go for the sunniest place you can think of! I also try to feature native animals for each location.

Your main characters are a kangaroo, a koala, a toad and a llama. How did you choose what animal characters to do and why?

All of them are native to Australia!  I’ll bet you didn’t know that llamas are also native to Australia.

Why do you think you were the best person to write these books?

As a physician, I know a great deal about health problems, how to diagnose them and solve them.  Basically, the mystery is a “differential diagnosis” as Doctoroo first rules out other causes of the problem at hand until the clues lead her to the right conclusion.  I love kids and want to see them grow up healthy and happy, especially in these precarious times of pandemic- I chose to focus on what we CAN do, not what we can’t, to help maintain and improve our health, starting with the youngest young.  

What do you enjoy the most about being an author?

I truly enjoy spreading positive messages.  I’ve done many television spots about breast cancer (my specialty), and I’ve always loved delivering a message to the public in a digestible way so that everyone can understand a complex medical issue. 

*Review*

Doctoroo & the Case of the Picnic Pirates was a fun, educational and brightly illustrated children’s book.

I loved the message behind this book. If you eat nothing but junk, you’re going to feel like junk. It written is a cute, friendly way children can easily understand. While the pages are filled with lots of words, it’s not one my younger child wanted to read by himself, but listened while I read it to him.

They mystery factor of “whodunnit” was really fun as well. My kids liked trying to guess who was eating all the Independence Day snack.

I really liked the illustrations. They are all brightly colored and reminiscent of older cartoons. The characters are all so cute; I really liked that they are of animals local to where the book is set, as well as where our good DoctoRoo originates. It’s another fun educational element to the story.

Book Title:  Doctoroo and the Case of the Picnic Pirates

Author: Rachel B. Wellner

Category:  Children’s Fiction (Ages 3-7), 43 pages

Genre: Children’s Picture Book

Publisher: Wellner Media

Release Date: January 9, 2023

Content Rating:  G – No profanity, sex or violence

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Enter to win a $50 Sephora Gift Card courtesy of the author of Doctoroo & the Case of the Picnic Pirates.

One (1) winner will receive a $50 Sephora Gift Card courtest of Dr. Rachel Wellner, author of Doctoroo & the Case of the Picnic Pirates! (US Only)

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Doctoroo & the Case of the Picnic Pirates Book Tour Giveaway