A tale that’s part high jinks, part detailed science lesson, which will appeal to a specific niche of young readers.
A young, smug scientist gets more than he bargained for in this middle-grade story.
Isaac Farmer is sure that he’ll win the school science fair. His “PTB Energy House” is mostly lifted from things he found on the internet, but he’s still able to charm the judges into thinking the project is a genuine example of a new alternative energy source. But when he includes a secret insult to alternative-energy technology in the project’s title, things go south. His science teacher arranges a meeting with his parents and the principal. If Isaac wants to attend the state science fair, the principal says, he’ll have to change his project, and to make that happen, he’s calling in help. Professor “Bowtie” Murphy agrees to mentor the boy while he builds real technology for the fair with the help of a former student who owns a solar-tech company. Soon, Isaac takes a shine to the project. When Isaac’s friend Jimi accidentally adds a gross ingredient to his solar panel, the result is electric—and the grown-ups are keen to figure out its secret. After further experiments and encounters with lawyers, there’s a public unveiling of the solar panel that’s also a test of Isaac’s social skills. Rink (Jimi & Isaac 3a: The Mars Mission, 2010, etc.) makes sure that there’s no shortage of tangible scientific information in this story, from an explanation of a matrix that Isaac creates to a discussion of photoelectric chemicals. The amount of technical jargon, though, may deter readers who aren’t already devoted to science. It’s also a little hard to believe that a key element of the story is Isaac’s smart-aleck behavior, as the most egregious act that he engages in is using the word “duh” as a constant retort. In addition, the chapters in which grown-ups do most of the talking tend to drag. However, those that feature Isaac and Jimi being giggling middle schoolers feel authentic.
A tale that’s part high jinks, part detailed science lesson, which will appeal to a specific niche of young readers.Pub Date: April 5, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4564-2254-7
Page Count: 130
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The author of The Snake Scientist (not reviewed) takes the reader along on another adventure, this time to the Bay of Bengal, between India and Bangladesh to the Sundarbans Tiger Preserve in search of man-eating tigers. Beware, he cautions, “Your study subject might be trying to eat you!” The first-person narrative is full of helpful warnings: watch out for the estuarine crocodiles, “the most deadly crocodiles in the world” and the nine different kinds of dangerous sharks, and the poisonous sea snakes, more deadly than the cobra. Interspersed are stories of the people who live in and around the tiger preserve, information on the ecology of the mangrove swamp, myths and legends, and true life accounts of man-eating tigers. (Fortunately, these tigers don’t eat women or children.) The author is clearly on the side of the tigers as she states: “Even if you added up all the people that sick tigers were forced to eat, you wouldn’t get close to the number of tigers killed by people.” She introduces ideas as to why Sundarbans tigers eat so many people, including the theory, “When they attack people, perhaps they are trying to protect the land that they own. And maybe, as the ancient legend says, the tiger really is watching over the forest—for everyone’s benefit.” There are color photographs on every page, showing the landscape, people, and a variety of animals encountered, though glimpses of the tigers are fleeting. The author concludes with some statistics on tigers, information on organizations working to protect them, and a brief bibliography and index. The dramatic cover photo of the tiger will attract readers, and the lively prose will keep them engaged. An appealing science adventure. (Nonfiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-618-07704-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In this glossy photo essay, the author briefly recounts the study and exploration of the moon, beginning with Stonehenge and concluding with the 1998–99 unmanned probe, Lunar Prospector. Most of the dramatic photographs come from NASA and will introduce a new generation of space enthusiasts to the past missions of Project Mercury, Gemini, and most especially the moon missions, Apollo 1–17. There are plenty of photographs of various astronauts in space capsules, space suits, and walking on the moon. Sometimes photographs are superimposed one on another, making it difficult to read. For example, one photograph shows the command module Columbia as photographed from the lunar module and an insert shows the 15-layer space suit and gear Neil Armstrong would wear for moonwalking. That’s a lot to process on one page. Still, the awesome images of footprints on the moon, raising the American flag, and earthrise from the moon, cannot help but raise shivers. The author concludes with a timeline of exploration, Web sites, recommended books, and picture credits. For NASA memorabilia collectors, end papers show the Apollo space badges for missions 11–17. Useful for replacing aging space titles. (Nonfiction. 8-11)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 1-57091-408-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2001
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