The Big Kerplop!: The Original Adventure of the Mad Scientist's Club (Mad Scientist Club) [Hardcover]

Bertrand R. Brinley (Author), Charles Greer (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: Mad Scientist Club

The whine of jet engines thunders from above as the giant Air Force bomber makes its approach to Westport Field. Suddenly, the citizens of Mammoth Falls are startled to see the bomb bay doors open and an object drop down, down, directly into Strawberry lake. Splash!

And what is that object? Why a bomb, what else? Not just a common, ordinary, conventional bomb, but an atomic bomb! That's just the beginning of the latest (actually the first) madcap adventure - book-length this time - of that outrageous, notorious threat to municipal sanity known as The Mad Scientists' Club. As you know, with these boys anything can happen, and it does!

Editorial Reviews

Review

...fast-paced...realistic dialogue and action, likeable characters who use brains and logic to solve their problems, lots of humor. -- Christian Library Journal, April 2004

For better or worse (better, I think) the Mad Scientists' Club was a major influence in my youth. -- Glenn H. Reynolds -- InstaPundit.com, October 11, 2004

May there always be Mad Scientists among us! -- Homer Hickam, author of October Sky

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 238 pages
• Publisher: Purple House Press; 1 edition (May 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1930900228
• ISBN-13: 978-1930900226
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #591,164 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Adventure - for kids or adults, August 8, 2003

By 

Michael Harbour "mharbour" (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Big Kerplop!: The Original Adventure of the Mad Scientist's Club (Mad Scientist Club) (Hardcover)

I'm so glad this is finally available.

I fondly remembered the Mad Scientist's Club stories which a teacher read to our fifth grade class in the early seventies. I soon bought the books for myself and read them several times over the years.

When my daughter was seven (just a couple of years ago) I read them to her and she (more accurately we) enjoyed them thoroughly. While browsing eBay one day I discovered there existed a "prequel" novel - The Big Kerplop - which was published in a very limited edition (1000 copies if I remember right).

I eventually obtained one at the "bargain" price of $$$ - by far the lowest price I found in 6 months of searching. I gave it to my daughter for Christmas (it's well cared for and stored safely) and read it to her over the next week.

Amazingly enough it surpasses the quality of the short stories and I felt it was worth every penny.

Now that it's available at one tenth what I paid for it I recommend it unreservedly. It's self contained and doesn't require familiarity with the other stories but I still recommend you read The Mad Scientist's Club and The New Adventures of The Mad Scientist's Club first so you can really savor The Big Kerplop. All high quality youth literature.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A dream come true, September 15, 2003

By 

Nicholas Jong (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Big Kerplop!: The Original Adventure of the Mad Scientist's Club (Mad Scientist Club) (Hardcover)

The magic of Brinley's Mad Scientists' Club is its combination of adolescent fantasy with the real world. Where else can a bunch of brainy small town kids become heroes not by stepping through a portal to some fantasy world but by knowing more about our world's natural laws than the adults who surround them? This novel works best as a prequel to the collections of tales found in Brinley's first two books, which are childhood favorites of mine. However, the story stands on its own, and its scope eclipses those earlier short stories. The Air Force has lost an atomic bomb in the town's Strawberry Lake, and only the Mad Scientists' ingenuity can save the day! At first this gang of adolescents can't get the grownups to listen, but they soon prove their worth. Likewise, I recommend that you give them a chance. They won't let you down.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars These guys are great! I love it!, July 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Big Kerplop; A Mad Scientists' Club Adventure (Hardcover)

This is a great book, just like all their other stories. I like the way when they have a problem they just think up a way to solve it, and then they think up a way to do that. And they're not afraid of the army or anybody, they just do what they have to do. I know this book was written a long time ago, but they sound just like guys I know. (only smarter) I wish there were more books like this out there because I would sure read them too! The mad scientists club is great!