Science Fair [Hardcover]

Dave Barry (Author), Ridley Pearson (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up

Grdankl the Strong, president of Kprshtskan, is plotting to take over the American government. His plan is to infiltrate the science fair at Hubble Middle School, located in a Maryland suburb just outside Washington. The rich kids at Hubble cheat by buying their projects every year, and Grdankl’s cronies should have no problem selling them his government-corrupting software. But this year, Toby Harbinger, a regular kid with Discount Warehouse shoes, is determined to win the $5,000 prize—even if he has to go up against terrorists to do it. With the help of his best friends, Tamara and Micah, Toby takes on Assistant Principal Paul Parmit, aka "The Armpit", a laser-eyed stuffed owl, and two eBay buyers named Darth and the Wookiee who seem to think that the Harrison-Ford-signed BlasTech DL-44 blaster Toby sold them is a counterfeit. What transpires is a hilarious adventure filled with mystery, suspense, and levitating frogs.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5–8—When Grdankl the Strong, president of the small, but extremely unhappy country of Krpshtskan, declares war on the United States, no one is safe. Its agents are en route to Hubble Middle School where an operative has been working for several years to create award-winning science-fair projects for underachieving children and their overinvolved parents. This is the year that the top projects will be designed to work in concert to bring down the United States in one enormous, electromagnetic pulse strike. All that is standing in the way of this diabolical plan are three students, a science store operator, a handful of bumbling FBI agents, and a giant Weinermobile. Barry and Ridley have created a wild story of danger, espionage, stinky cheese, exploding vats of Coca-Cola, and one floating frog. This nonstop, action-packed novel will appeal to every kid who has ever had to do a science-fair project.—Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage Public Library, AK
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

If there was any doubt that today’s authors have acclimated themselves to writing in a post-9/11 world, Barry and Pearson’s latest comedy revolves around a group of terrorists intent on attacking America. Fortunately, most of them are just good-natured bumblers, but one of them has an actual plan: use rich middle-school kids (and their grade-obsessed parents) to unwittingly build a super-weapon for the science fair. Eighth-grader Toby is sick of the same kids winning every year, and when he learns about the plot, it’s up to him and his friends to stop the cheating—and, while they’re at it, save the world. The humor is a mix of chuckle-worthy wordplay and dead-on-arrival groaners; a subplot involving thieves attempting to steal Toby’s parents’ Star Wars memorabilia will generate the loudest laughs. Readers will appreciate the modern details (iPhones, Dance Dance Revolution, and Google all figure into the story), and the theme of overeager parenting will resonate—even through all the zany noise. Grades 5-8. --Daniel Kraus

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Disney Editions; First Edition edition (October 14, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423113241
• ISBN-13: 978-1423113249
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #252,610 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fun Book But Know Your Kid, May 29, 2009

By 

Stephanie (Harrisburg, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Science Fair (Hardcover)

My boys and I enjoyed this book. It was fun and humorous for all of us. However, just like many kids' books, shows, and movies aimed at this age group, it demonstrated a huge disrespect for adults. For example, Toby, the lead character, lied and stole from his parents, didn't adhere to his parents' discipline, thought of his parents as weird, and gave every teacher a not-so-nice nickname. I can take this in a story if by the end there are some redemptive qualities revealed but there were none here. My one child has a great sense of right and wrong and can hear such a story and not have problems. My other child, however, already seems to think he knows more than any adult and this book only fed that thought of his. Consequently, despite the fun, we had to have a discussion at the end of it. So just know what you are getting into.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious - I loved it!, June 23, 2009

By 

Bort "book reader" (North Dakota, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Science Fair (Hardcover)

I previously enjoyed the first two novels of the Peter and the Starcatchers series that Ridley Pearson and Dave Barry wrote, but I found Science Fair to be hilarious.

Science Fair is set in a middle school in the Maryland suburbs of Washington DC. Toby, the main character, is enrolled in the school's gifted program, along with other gifted students and others whose rich, powerful parents have bought their way in. The rich parents are obsessed with their kids' success to the point that they do the work for their kids. For example, one mother was said to have worked hard for all of her son's grades, starting with the professionally bound animal report he turned in in first grade.

Each year, the school conducts a science fair with a large corporate-sponsored prize. One of the rich kids always wins, because they purchase complicated projects from a strange store in the mall. However, there is a problem - Grdankl the Strong, the leader of the rogue nation of Krpshtskan, has enlisted an operative to rig the science fair so that the rich kids' projects can be utilized for a terrorist plot. Toby finds out about this, and he and his friends have to fix things.

The plot and the details of Science Fair are absurd and over the top, but that is why I enjoyed it so much. Barry describes Krpshtskan in a way similar to the fictional Kazakhstan in Borat, with details like the national holiday for the tournament of the fighting death hamsters and Grdankl's slogan of "Vote for Grdankl or die." Another episode I found amusing was when two of Grdankl's operatives who were sent unwillingly to the U.S. to straighten out problems became addicted to the Home Shopping Network.

Science Fair is a book that definitely would appeal to kids, with its mix of humor and action. In fact, I loaned it to one of my sixth graders after I finished and he read the entire book in a single day. It would also appeal to adults who can enjoy a book that doesn't take itself seriously.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great book disguised as one for kids only, January 31, 2011

By 

Jesse Mathers (New Bloomfield, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Science Fair (Hardcover)

I'm a 29 year old woman but this book had me in stitches beginning to end. Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson are a great team. This book is funnier than the Peter and the Starcatcher series (though I recommend those as well. Peter and the Starcatchers: The Starcatchers Series Books 1-3: Paperback Box Set (20the Starcatchers Series Books))

I found this book to have a well placed plot and easy to follow characters. (Except for the surprise ending!) The comedy of errors was much along the lines of his "Big Trouble", with one farcical situation after another, but also acceptable for a younger audience.

Barry and Pearson have hooked me on their writing team and I will continue to look for more of their great "juvenile" works.