Science Fair

March 1, 2009
Gr 5-8-When Grdankl the Strong, president of the small, but extremely unhappy country of Krpshtskan, declares war on the United States, no one is safe. Its agents are en route to Hubble Middle School where an operative has been working for several years to create award-winning science-fair projects for underachieving children and their overinvolved parents. This is the year that the top projects will be designed to work in concert to bring down the United States in one enormous, electromagnetic pulse strike. All that is standing in the way of this diabolical plan are three students, a science store operator, a handful of bumbling FBI agents, and a giant Weinermobile. Barry and Ridley have created a wild story of danger, espionage, stinky cheese, exploding vats of Coca-Cola, and one floating frog. This nonstop, action-packed novel will appeal to every kid who has ever had to do a science-fair project."Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage Public Library, AK"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2008
Grades 5-8 If there was any doubt that todays authors have acclimated themselves to writing in a post-9/11 world, Barry and Pearsons latest comedy revolves around a group of terrorists intent on attacking America. Fortunately, most of them are just good-natured bumblers, but one of them has an actual plan: use rich middle-school kids (and their grade-obsessed parents) to unwittingly build a super-weapon for the science fair. Eighth-grader Toby is sick of the same kids winning every year, and when he learns about the plot, its up to him and his friends to stop the cheatingand, while theyre at it, save the world. The humor is a mix of chuckle-worthy wordplay and dead-on-arrival groaners; a subplot involving thieves attempting to steal Tobys parents Star Wars memorabilia will generate the loudest laughs. Readers will appreciate the modern details (iPhones, Dance Dance Revolution, and Google all figure into the story), and the theme of overeager parenting will resonateeven through all the zany noise.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2009
When Hubble Middle School student Toby Harbinger becomes aware of cheating going on before the science fair begins, he tries to expose the culprits. This leads to his involvement in an international terrorist plot. Though the plot is far-fetched, there's plenty of situational and verbal humor that will appeal to reluctant readers and the authors' fans.

(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)