Hi.

Who am I?

I'm Trixie O'Toole: maker of machines, dreamer of dreams! I come from a small town called Lower Nowhere but I have Big Plans for the future. I love all things animal, mechanical, creative and innovative. This world is full of surprises and I can't wait to discover them all!

I'm pretty good at a lot of things, but I still have a long way to go. I can't wait for you to come along with me!

This chart describes what I'm made up of:

Engineer 44%
Mathematician 17%
Artist 31%
Writer 8%
Girl 100%
homepage

My World

Welcome to
Lower Nowhere!

Click on a place
to see more about it.
Portfolio Image
Hide

Phyllis Witt Nollidge Elementary

10 School Street

Welcome to Phyllis Witt Nollidge Elementary - home of the Mighty Narwhals! I'm in the second grade and my teacher is Miss Wysiwyg. With her, what you see is what you get — she’s so awesome. I like all my subjects except for art. I LOVE art! I just made a clay narwhal sculpture for our school library.

My best friend is S.O.S. — that’s not her real name but we call her that because she’s always there when you need her.

Portfolio Image
Portfolio Image
Hide

My House!

2468 Eureka Lane

This is my house. It’s pretty ordinary, except for my room. My mom and dad let me design it however I wanted, so I went with an Underwater Research Station theme with a surprise element of rain forest plants and a primary color scheme of teal and green (and a pop of tangerine). Typical stuff.

Our neighborhood is full of interesting people — and I can walk to school when it’s nice outside!

Portfolio Image
Portfolio Image
Hide

Lower Nowhere Museum of Science

43 E. Emcee Square

The LoNoMoS is currently under construction but if it was open you would be able to see all sorts of wonderful things. Take a trip to the moon, journey through the past 20 million years, sit back and watch the constellations fill the sky.

The best part, though, is the cafeteria! The food is amazing and has names like the “Neptuna Sandwich,” “Basket of Saturn’s Rings,” “Tricera-Pops,” and “The Gray Matter Platter.”

Portfolio Image
Portfolio Image
Hide

Nowhere Free Library

10 Dewey Drive

The library is my second favorite non-home place after my lab. So many books!

There are picture books, computer books, algebra books, physics books, chemistry books, history books, drawing books, nature books, spelling books, music books, calculus books, adventure books, plant books, fish books, bird books, dinosaur books, dragon books, how-to books, how-not-to books, books about cooks, books about books…
and more.

Portfolio Image
Portfolio Image
Hide

Nucleus Park

14 Park Ave.

Nucleus Park is in the center of town between the fire station and the police station. It has walking trails, climbing structures, fields, woods and a HUGE hill right in the middle. It’s perfect for taking Gilbert for exercise — he loves to show off his catching skills.

In the summer, they have all sorts of festivals and events. The Lower Nowhere Fresh Air Nightmare is my favorite. It’s an obstacle course for the best of the best!

Portfolio Image
Hide

Professor von Junk

Brilliant & Mad Scientist

Okay, he's a little scary at first. He's serious about his work but really exciting and fun to watch. It seems like he's always working — drawing, thinking, building, inventing. But somehow he finds time to have fun too.

We've become pretty good friends and I like to run ideas past him before starting on my own projects.

Age: 8

Sign: Do Not Disturb

Likes: Messing with Science

Dislikes: Busywork

Portfolio Image
Hide

The Lab

My home away from home

The Lab! The Lab! This is the fabulous Lab! I designed it and saved up my allowance to buy all the equipment. Beakers and tweezers and gauges and dials. Tables and cables and piles of files.

I spend most of my free time exploring, creating — discovering things that I find fascinating. Some of my favorite gadgets were invented here, like the Underground Rubber Band Brand Left-Handed Instrument Stand.

Portfolio Image
Portfolio Image
Hide

Gray Acres

Grandpa Noodles’ retirement village

My Grandpa is Noodles O’Toole, the world-famous inventor and thrill-seeker. He’s climbed Mt. Gloom, gone diving with Sup-Sup the Super Squid, and traveled to the farthest reaches of human civilization. He invented a travel toilet paper for the Go-On-The-Go No-Nonsense Go-Getter. And a really good hand sanitizer.

He lives here at Gray Acres - right down the street from my lab!

Portfolio Image
Portfolio Image
Hide

Castle von Junk

Home of the illustrious Professor

“High on a mountaintop, up on a ledge and leaning uneasily over the edge, with towers and banners and walls made of stone, stands Castle von Junk on a cliff all alone.”

Complete with a laboratory, theater, game room, studio, and all sorts of resident monsters, the castle is a sight to behold!

Excerpt from A Fungus Among Us, the Forgotten Tale of Ebeneezer Gore
Portfolio Image

Write Me

Tell me your story!
What do you like to do?
Who’s your favorite inventor?

Here's my email.
trixie@trixieotoole.com

The Authors

Kevin & Rebecca Kelly

Portfolio Image
Hide

Kevin & Rebecca Kelly

readers, writers, kid chasers, game players, design snobs, punctuation police, bad cooks, ping pong all-stars

We live in Central New York with our two kids and a shaggy black dog. I own a small graphic design shop and Rebecca teaches design at Syracuse University. When we’re not working, Rebecca likes to start complicated projects that I have to figure out how to finish. We also spend our free time playing, hiking, and vacationing off-the-grid in Coastal Maine —and napping.

Friends: 25 years

Favorite Season: Fall

Likes: Seafood

Dislikes: Weird seafood

Portfolio Image
Hide

The Awesome, Impossible, Unstoppable Gadget

A mad scientist story

Trixie O’Toole is super-excited to be at Camp C.R.E.A.T.E., where she can invent whatever she likes. But when a boy nicknamed “Professor” von Junk gets all the attention, Trixie feels left out. Still, she persists in following her own inspiration. When von Junk’s Invention Inventor goes out of control, everyone is horrified. Is Trixie’s own invention sufficiently awesome, impossible, and unstoppable to save the day? Trixie’s triumph will inspire future inventors and mad scientists to believe in themselves, and show that all good ideas deserve a chance.

Portfolio Image
Portfolio Image
Hide

Blackberry

the dog

She’s big and she’s hairy. A little bit scary. Part wrestler, part herder, her breath can be murder, this dog is a mess but she’s dressed to impress.

Breed: Bouvier des Flandres

Birthday: 7/27/14

BFF: any random tennis ball

Portfolio Image
Hide

Finn & Harper

the children

One is a blonde, the other red-headed. One is high octane, the other unleaded. They both have a problem with ice cream and treats. One likes the butter, the other the meats. But no matter what drama might happen to happen, or who might get trapped in an undersized cabin, or who makes a face in a middle school picture, these two are quite likely the perfect(ish) mixture.

Like: Reading

Dislike: Chores

Like: Snow Days

Dislike: Talk Radio

Portfolio Image
Hide

West Quoddy Lighthouse

Lubec, Maine

So it turns out, building a cabin can be fun...and televised. After 10 years of being proud owners of waterfront land on the Bay of Fundy, we were finally ready to build a small, off-the-grid modern cabin. So, naturally, we had to be on an episode of Building Off the Grid! A beautiful location, colorful personalities, New England weather and hard work collide in this drama-packed episode. Curl up by the fireplace and enjoy!

Year: 2018

Network: DIY Channel

Episode: The Edge of Maine

Sequel: Possibly?

Top