Andrew North Blows Up the World [Hardcover]

Adam Selzer (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 2 and up

A dynamic and hilarious new hero for early middle-grade.

Andrew "Danger" North is no ordinary third-grader. He, his brother, Jack, and his father are spies. That is what Jack has always told him, and everything Andrew has learned from his dad’s favorite spy movies tells him it must be true. When Andrew comes across his brother’s graphing calculator, he’s sure it’s a communication device that will put him in touch with the secret spy headquarters. But instead of punching in a greeting to the spy society, Andrew accidentally punches in a code that might blow up the world! And if that isn’t bad enough, his math teacher then confiscates the top secret communication device and takes it to the mysterious Storage Room B. Now Andrew is on a spy mission to find his brother’s communicator and save the world from mass destruction. Will he be able to save the world?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4–6—Andrew "Danger" North is a spy-in-training who must overcome the evil Dr. Cringe (his school's janitor) to steal back a spy machine (a confiscated calculator) that might blow up the world. Only then can he become a professional spy like his father and brother. Or at least that's what he believes since his older brother has been telling him all about the spy world for years. In the midst of this, the boy must sing a solo at his school music recital, which he believes the head of the undercover organization will be attending. It will be obvious to readers that Andrew's dad is actually an insurance salesman and that the boy attends a normal school. Selzer's plot plods a bit, and it is unclear in the end whether the protagonist has finally realized that his intrigue is made up or whether he still believes that there are real spies at his school. Still, Andrew has a great imagination, and his friends and moody teenaged brother are interesting characters whom kids could see as being part of their own worlds.—Clare A. Dombrowski, Amesbury Public Library, MA END

About the Author

Adam Selzer is the author of How to Get Suspended and Influence People, Pirates of the Retail Wasteland, and I Put a Spell on You. In addition to his work as a tour guide and assistant ghostbuster (really), he moonlights as a rock star. Check him out on the Web at www.adamselzer.com.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (September 8, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385736487
• ISBN-13: 978-0385736480
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.6 x 8.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,227,314 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Adam Selzer is the proud coiner of the immortal phrase "you don't have to be smart to be a smartass, but it helps." He writes humorous books (both fiction and non) for readers of all ages by day and runs ghost tours in Chicago by night. If you can find two cooler jobs than that, take 'em! He is one of those people you hear about on the news who has to choose between paying off student loans and having a health care plan, and occasionally claims to be the third cowboy from the left in the famous "lost thunderbird photo." He is also credited by film historians as having inspired the film "Bedtime for Bonzo," which starred Ronald Reagan and a chimp. People who point out that said movie was released decades before he was born just don't know enough about quantum physics. Adam enjoys standing in long lines for tickets, and hopes to one day travel back in time to wait in line overnight for tickets to see a Charles Dickens reading. See him online at http://www.adamselzer.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Selzer Knows Kids, April 3, 2010

By 

David Johnston (Cumming, GA United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Andrew North Blows Up the World (Hardcover)

Young Andrew knows he is from a family of spies because his older brother told him so. Andrew can't wait to join his father and brother in the family spying business, which presumably means he needs to at least finish third grade. When a teacher confiscates the "calculator" Andrew borrowed from his brother, he is certain that catastrophic results may ensue -- like the Earth blowing up.

Grade school readers -- especially boys -- will relate to Andrew North and his imagination. And if you think back on your elementary school days, you'll also relate to Andrew and his overactive, Thurberesque imagination.

5.0 out of 5 stars Crazy dangers make for a fast-paced, fun plot!, November 21, 2009

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Andrew North Blows Up the World (Hardcover)

Adam Selzer's ANDREW NORTH BLOWS UP THE WORLD tells of a third grader whose father and brother are spies - or so he thinks. When he mistakes his brother's graphing calculator with a communication device to the secret spy society, trouble emerges when he punches in a code to blow up the world. Crazy dangers make for a fast-paced, fun plot!