The Case of the Gasping Garbage (Doyle and Fossey, Science Detectives) [Paperback]

Michele Torrey (Author), Barbara Johansen Newman (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 7, 2009 | Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: Doyle and Fossey, Science Detectives (Book 1)

Doyle and Fossey are on a mission—a monster mission! It seems there’s a giant bloodsucking monster gasping and gurgling in their friend Gabby’s garbage can. Can they figure out what’s up before the creature gobbles Gabby for lunch? This and four more cool cases will have kids checking out the clues—and learning great science too, including facts about the life cycle of a frog and chromatography.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 3-5-When one of their fifth-grade classmates finds a monster in her garbage can, science detectives Drake Doyle and Nell Fossey rush to the rescue. After discovering that the receptacle is in a warm place and smells like bread, they have the solution. The pair go on to save local frogs from a gruesome death on the highway, free a truck stuck under a bridge, and reveal the identity of another classmate's secret admirer. The first in a new series, this book will appeal to fans of short mysteries and kids with an interest in science experiments. Torrey's style is light and funny, and the stories move at a rapid pace. Newman's quirky drawings appear throughout the text. While readers may quickly guess the cause of the "gasping garbage," the other mysteries and solutions are clever, and are explained in the "Activities and Experiments" section. Kids will enjoy reading about these young scientists who sometimes outsmart adults.

Ashley Larsen, Woodside Library, CA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 3-5. Move over, Einstein Anderson,. You have competition. Whether the "case" is a baker's unusually noisy garbage pail or a sudden wave of frog road kill, fifth-grade sleuths Drake Doyle and Nell Fossey are on the job. Doyle and Fossey have competition of their own in classmate James Frisco, a "bad, mad" scientist who fudges his experiments. Still, thanks to a combination of sharp observation, scientific method, careful thought, and decaf coffee ("Real scientists don't drink hot chocolate. Ditto for detectives."), the good guys always win out. Tongue firmly in cheek, Torrey bases the four problems and their solutions on basic, well-articulated scientific principles and techniques, reinforced by several related experiments or activities at the end to keep fans of this hardboiled series opener busy as they pine for the next installment. A scattering of small ink-and-wash illustrations by Barbara Johansen Newman adds comic details. John Peters
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Sterling; 2 edition (July 7, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402749600
• ISBN-13: 978-1402749605
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #85,839 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #88 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Fiction

More About the Author

Michele Torrey first became a published author at age ten, when her story about a dinosaur egg popping out of the kitchen sink appeared in the Seaview Heights Elementary newspaper. Her fifth grade class, located in Edmonds, Washington, wrote, edited, and published the newspaper.

While Torrey has lived most of her life in Washington, she has traveled throughout the world. As a child, she lived overseas in England and France, and spent most of her junior high and high school years in Heidelberg, Germany. At the age of four, she lived in Cockfield, England, where she first attended grammar school. She remembers the handbell calling the children in from recess, the morning's recitation of the Lord's Prayer, hot custard for lunch, and the bratty girl Rosemary who stuck out her tongue at Michele and got a spanking for it. When Torrey temporarily moved back to the United States and her classmates asked how English people spoke, she promptly responded in all seriousness and with a thick country accent, "Cheerio, ol' chap!" All in all, Torrey spent ten years of her childhood overseas. She returned to the Seattle area in her senior year, after which she completed a degree in microbiology and immunology from the University of Washington.

For the past sixteen years, Torrey has explored the depths of her imagination while writing novels for adults, young adults, and middle-grade. Her books include the CHRONICLES OF COURAGE seafaring series for middle-grade (Knopf), and the DOYLE AND FOSSEY: SCIENCE DETECTIVES chapter book series (Sterling). She is a two-time Thurber House Residency in Children's Literature nominee, plus a two-time winner of PNWA's Zola Award. Among other honors, her books have been chosen by the Junior Library Guild, named by VOYA as "Top Shelf Fiction for Middle-Grade Readers", and nominated for the Sakura Medal. Most recently, her book VOYAGE OF PLUNDER was a WA State Book Award finalist. Torrey is a regular presenter at writers' conferences and schools. She lives in South Bend, Washington, with her husband. They have three grown sons, two granddaughters, and a calico cat.

In addition to her writing and traveling, Torrey is a director and co-founder of Orphans Africa, a 501 c 3 nonprofit charity (www.orphansafrica.org). Orphans Africa works primarily in Tanzania, building boarding schools for children orphaned by AIDS.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Torrey is great!, October 15, 2006

By 

reading geek (Providence RI, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Case of the Gasping Garbage (Doyle and Fossey, Science Detectives) (Hardcover)

Doyle and Fossey are really busy. They have tons of scientific mysteries on their hands and they know how to solve them! One of their client's garbage cans are gasping and gugling, frogs need to be saved and secret admirers need to be found. I like this series of short science fiction books because they show you how to do some nifty experiments.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An up and coming author - put on your "watch" list, January 2, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Case of the Gasping Garbage (Doyle and Fossey, Science Detectives) (Hardcover)

Once again Michele! Artfully done. A wonderful children's book that is not only fun to read, but (gasp) you learn something too.
Michele is an author you want your children to read. I've placed her on my Amazon notification list for each new published novel.