High Voltage Danger Labby "Science Bob" Pflugfelder, Steve Hockensmith
Published by Quirk Books
Published on November, 2013
Genres: Children, Mystery
Pages: 240
Source: complimentary review copy
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Eleven year old twins, Nick and Tesla, have been sent to stay with their “eccentric” uncle in Half Moon Bay, CA for the summer while their horticulture scientist parents go to Uzbekistan to work on “soybean-irrigation.” Starting with being stranded at the airport on to pulling up in the taxi in front of their uncle’s drive to see a lawn mower pushing itself right into the neighbor’s perfectly manicured lawn, things just don’t seem to be going that well for Nick and Tesla. Both are terribly disappointed their summer vacation plans were changed overnight from trips to Disney, family time and long lazy days with friends to being sent across the country to the uncle everyone snickers about behind their hands. Nick and Tesla soon learn how eccentric their inventor uncle can be when they cross the threshold into his ramshackle home and discover he has glued himself to the floor with one of his own inventions!
Things look up a bit after Uncle Newt tells the twins his basement laboratory is theirs to use minus this corner, that corner, that corner, this corner. . .but otherwise, it’s all theirs! So the following day, Nick and Tesla build a rocket with just a couple of supplies and take it to an abandoned field nearby. When the rocket goes off and takes Tesla’s unique necklace given to her by their parents {to not ever take off} before they left things begin to get quite mysterious for the twins.
Written by popular “Science Bob” Pflugfelder and Steve Hockensmith, Nick and Tesla’s High Voltage Danger Lab is filled with wry jokes, sibling teasing, funny one-liners and lots of very cool “MacGyver” science experiments along with clear, detailed directions for building and experimenting! This is one of those books I wish had been around while I was growing up. . .has enough of a story line to grab my attention along with experiments that make me think. What a fabulous idea! I can see where Science Bob would be quite the popular teacher! Looking back through the book I’m trying to decide which is my favorite experiment that I’m going to try. It’s a toss-up between the “Christmas-Is-Over Intruder Alert System” and the “Mints-and-Soda-Fueled Robot Dog Distractor.” Be on the lookout next week for pictures on Facebook of this grand experiment! {yup! I’m reliving my childhood!}
Highly recommended for upper Elementary/early Middle Grades, both boys and girls. On a side note, I want to point out that Tesla, especially, is written to be as smart, as talented, as EQUAL to Nick ~ LOVE, love, love that aspect of these books (among many other great attributes of the Nick and Tesla series). Oh, I did mention this is a series, right?
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