Serious Science: An Adam Joshua Story

Grade 2-4-- Adam Joshua is excited when his class is allowed to participate in the school's science fair--until his model of the solar system is eaten by his dog and his little sister. He substitutes a more imaginative (and useful) entry: an alarm system called "The Really Big Pest Alert" that is the hit of the exhibits. Various complications along the way involve a skeleton named Mortimer, an obnoxious classmate named Elliot, and a volcano that won't stop erupting. This is a fast-paced, smoothly written story. Most of the humor is right on target (especially those incidents involving the son of a surgeon who wants to do volunteer operations on people). Gackenbach's usual lively ink drawings add zest, and help break things up for those not yet ready for longer chapter books. On the whole, this is not quite as effortlessly charming as the first Adam Joshua book (HarperCollins), but where others in the series are popular, this is definitely worth adding. --Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.