Middle-graders who are fascinated by science, nature and the world around them will devour these chapter books. Each one makes some aspect of science not only accessible, but very entertaining!
The Great Trouble: A Mystery of London, the Blue Death, and a Boy Called Eel (4.5/5 stars, currently priced at $5.99)
“A delightful combination of race-against-the-clock medical mystery and outwit-the-bad-guys adventure.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred
Eel has troubles of his own: As an orphan and a “mudlark,” he spends his days in the filthy River Thames, searching for bits of things to sell. He’s being hunted by Fisheye Bill Tyler, and a nastier man never walked the streets of London. And he’s got a secret that costs him four precious shillings a week to keep safe. But even for Eel, things aren’t so bad until that fateful August day in 1854—the day the deadly cholera (“blue death”) comes to Broad Street.
Everyone believes that cholera is spread through poisonous air. But one man, Dr. John Snow, has a different theory. As the epidemic surges, it’s up to Eel and his best friend, Florrie, to gather evidence to prove Dr. Snow’s theory—before the entire neighborhood is wiped out.
“Hopkinson illuminates a pivotal chapter in the history of public health. . . . Accessible . . . and entertaining.”
—School Library Journal, Starred
“For [readers] who love suspense, drama, and mystery.”
—TIME for Kids
What We Found in the Sofa and How It Saved the World (4.5/5 stars, currently priced at $6.99)
The adventure of a lifetime begins between two sofa cushions….
When River, Freak, and Fiona discover a mysterious sofa sitting at their bus stop, their search for loose change produces a rare zucchini-colored crayon. Little do they know this peculiar treasure is about to launch them into the middle of a plot to conquer the world!
The kids’ only hope is to trap the plot’s mastermind when he comes to steal the crayon. But how can three kids from the middle of nowhere stop an evil billionaire? With the help of an eccentric neighbor, an artificially intelligent domino, a DNA-analyzing tray, two hot air balloons, and a cat named Mucus, they just might be able to save the planet.
This clever comic adventure from debut author Henry Clark is a truly original and utterly wacky story about the importance of intelligence and curiosity in a complacent world.
Pi in the Sky (4.5/5 stars, currently priced at $7.99)
Joss is the seventh son of the Supreme Overlord of the Universe, and all he gets to do is deliver pies. That’s right: pies. Of course these pies actually hold the secrets of the universe between their buttery crusts, but they’re still pies.
Joss comes from a family of overachievers, and is happy to let his older brothers shine. But when Earth suddenly disappears, Joss is tasked with the not-so-simple job of bringing it back. With the help of an outspoken girl from Earth named Annika, Joss embarks on the adventure of a lifetime and learns that the universe is an even stranger place than he’d imagined.
Entertaining, unexpected, and irreverent, and yet packed with information about elemental physics and the contents of the universe.
– School Library Journal
A Mango Shaped Space (4.5/5 stars, currently priced at $6.99)
Thirteen-year-old Mia Winchell has a secret: sounds, numbers, and words appear to her in color. Mia has synesthesia, the mingling of perceptions whereby a person sees sounds or tastes shapes. This coming-of-age novel chronicles Mia’s developing appreciation for her gift.
This contemporary novel does for synesthesia what Terry Hesser’s Kissing Doorknobs (1998) does for obsessive-compulsive disorder: the lively personal story demystifies a fascinating condition…Mass beautifully integrates information about synesthesia with Mia’s coming-of-age story, which includes her break with her best friend and her grief over her grandfather’s death…References to a comprehensive Web site and bibliography about synesthesia are included.
– Booklist
* * *
Tech Tip of the Week: Revisiting FBI/Moneypak on Fire Tablets
* * *