A Nose for Adventure [Paperback]

Richard Scrimger (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

In this hilarious sequel to The Nose from Jupiter, Alan is to take his first airplane ride. He is off to New York, where his father will meet him for some “quality time” together. There are one or two snags, though. First, his father isn’t at the airport. Then there’s his cranky seatmate, Frieda, who is almost kidnapped while she’s waiting for her wheelchair at the baggage claim. Sally, an abandoned mutt, joins the scene. And finally, Norbert is back. He is an alien from Jupiter who had previously taken up residence in Alan’s nose when he was on a fact-finding mission to Earth. Alan had been, to say the least, an unwilling host to Norbert, but when you’re lost in New York City being chased by bad guys, you need all the help you can get!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 4-6-Norbert, the nostril-dwelling alien who starred in The Nose from Jupiter (Tundra, 1998), is back, along with 13-year-old Alan, his former "host." Alan, who lives in Canada, is flying to New York City to visit his father. He is convinced the plane is about to crash and his seatmate, Frieda, a 14-year-old girl who is on her way home, is alternating between making fun of his clothes and accent and trouncing him at arm wrestling. When they finally land, Alan's Dad fails to show up at the airport and Frieda is nearly kidnapped by crooks who seem unusually interested in her wheelchair. Alan helps her escape and the two kids find themselves adrift in New York. In answer to Alan's cries for help, Norbert magically appears on the scene; he has now taken up residence in the nostril of a street mutt. After a dramatic trek across the city, the alien and earthlings uncover a crime ring masterminded by a shady Egyptologist whose underlings have smuggled an artifact into the country by hiding it in Frieda's wheelchair, and Norbert tricks him into admitting his guilt. The pacing is lively and the dialogue is brisk and humorous, with Norbert's sarcastic comments adding spice. Familiarity with the first book is helpful but not necessary. Readers who like their science fiction mixed with a touch of whimsy will appreciate this Pinkwateresque story.-Elaine E. Knight, Lincoln Elementary Schools, IL

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 3-6. Timid 13-year-old Alan Dingwall is traveling alone to New York City, where his father is to meet him at the airport. Seated beside him on the plane is Frieda Miller, 14, a sassy, city-smart New Yorker returning from one of many visits to doctors in Toronto. Even though Frieda's "legs are a mess," she doesn't let her wheelchair stop her. Unfortunately, when the teens arrive at the airport, smugglers who have hidden a valuable Egyptian artifact in Frieda's wheelchair greet them. Also in the airport is Sally, a stray dog whose nose has become the new home of Norbert, the diminutive alien from Jupiter first introduced in Nose from Jupiter (1998). A hilarious, exciting roller coaster of evasions, captures, and escapes ensues, as Frieda, Alan, Sally, and Norbert take on the crooks. Snappy dialogue, humor, and clever plotting provide a rollicking adventure, with a subtext reminding readers to be sensitive to the feelings, concerns, and abilities of others. Ellen Mandel
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Tundra Books (September 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0887764991
• ISBN-13: 978-0887764998
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.4 x 7.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,405,388 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended, June 13, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: A Nose for Adventure (Paperback)

Fabulous. Scrimger not only has a nose for great plots and plot twists, his use of language is musical and his humor is magical. Great for kids but an enjoyable read for adults who want to share the experience with their children.

3.0 out of 5 stars okay book, September 1, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: A Nose for Adventure (Paperback)

This book was okay.It was really fun and exciting at the beginning but at the end it got really boring so I stopped reading it! I still think a lot of other people would like this book but its not really my type. I'd say its for age 8 to 13.

4.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable read for kids and adults alike..., June 26, 2002

By 

Jonathan Burgoine "bookseller" (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Nose for Adventure (Paperback)

"A Nose for Adventure" brings back Alan Dingwall and the alien from Jupiter who likes to live in noses. This time, Norbert is residing in the nose of a scruffy dog named Sally, and Alan is visiting his father in New York.

However, his father doesn't show up at the airport, and Alan finds himself lost and alone with the wheelchair-bound Frieda, a sarcastic and somewhat angry girl a year older than himself. The two end up smack dab in the middle of quite the adventure: thieves are smuggling in Egyptian artifacts on the very flight the two kids took, and it seems that Frieda - whose parents also neglected to show up - might hold the key to solving the mystery.

The strength of Richard Scrimger's writing is in his characters. Alan, the narrative voice of the book, is a completely realistic young man (or at least, as realistic a young man as one could be when caught up in an illegal Egyptian artifact smuggling right with a wheelchair-bound cranky girl and a dog with an alien in its nose). Reactions of both adult and child alike are done intelligently, and presented with a realistic emotional overtone: When Alan's father doesn't show at the airport, for example, Alan has a mental replay of his divorced parents fighting about his father's lack of responsibility. Put simply, Scrimger doesn't pull punches, and it's a pleasant surprise - it's also a nice reminder of just how young kids tend to think - and what they think - about the world around them.

A good tale for reading aloud, "A Nose for Adventure" will likely promote some intelligent questions from the child that reads it. The chapters are just the right length for bitesized nightly reading sessions before bed, and I, for one, can't wait to read the book again - this time with my nephew.

First, though, I think I'll go grab a copy of "Nose from Jupiter," the first book in the series. "A Nose for Adventure" didn't suffer for my lack of reading the first book, but I imagine it will flourish with the other half of the tale. From what I hear, there's a sequel, "Noses are Red" due out sometime this year...