Children's Space Books Books

This book is great! I think that Anne (NOT MORROW) Lindbergh's books are way too out-of-print and that Amazon (hint, hint)should start getting more copies. It's about a group of families who can't leave the street where they live. They don't age and have been traveling since 1939. They are invisible to ordinary people. A boy 'sees'one of them and is invited to stay in Pineapple Place. But the founder of Pineapple Place, Mr. Sweeney, puts his foot down...

This book was first read to me by my fourth grade teacher and I instantly fell in love with it...I have read this book several times and needless to say I love it more and more everytime I read it... I think it is a great book that helps kids cope with issues that have become so common in our world today. I will graduate from college next year to become a teacher and will read this book to my students and hope that they will enjoy it just as much as I did when my teacher read it to me.

The book is about a boy who moves from Vermont because his parents have divorced. In his new town he doesn't have any friends, until he sees a street that begins on P Street that is invisible to almost everyone but him. The people who live on this street are very nice. At the beginning the book was a little boring, but when you got to the middle it started getting exciting and I could not put it down. Towards the end, the book was exciting and a little sad. The ending was happy and sad at the same time, depending upon who you are thinking about. My favorite part of the book was when there was a party in Pineapple Place and August gave strange gifts to each person living in Pineapple Place.

I received this book from an uncle at my Bat Mitzvah in 1983. I couldn't understand why he gave it to me. Then I read it and understood. This book is fabulous. When I became a teacher, this book was always the first "read-aloud" book of the year. No matter how old they were, they could never get enough of it! I even had kids writing stories of their own based on this book, taking the characters to new places! It is one of the best books about friendship that I have ever read.

This is one of Anne Spencer Lindbergh's most exciting novels. For any kid who has ever crawled to the back of a coat closet, hoping in vain that a portal to Narnia would suddenly appear, this is the novel that will get you out of the house and into the streets of your neighborhood, keeping up your quest. The idea (a recurring one in Lindbergh's excellent and hilarious stories) that August Brown, a not-so-perfect child living a not-so-perfect life, can stumble upon magic in the middle of all the unrelieved boredom of modern life is incredibly appealing. That the people who live in Pineapple Place are only visible to August Brown does not make them any less real and the knowledge that even those who live magical lives have troubles which an unmagical friend can help to solve is an incredible lesson. The writers Edward Eager and C.S. Lewis would be proud of their legacy continued in such a fun, contemporary context. Visit Pineapple Place today!

My review of this book will never be as articulate as the one written before mine, but I would like to express my opinion of "Red Shift". I have recommended it to so many friends who have all given up before they have reached 50 pages in. I must admit that I was tempted to do the same, though I cannot be more glad to have persevered. The story finds clarity in the last few pages (and in the wonderful encoded passage at the end!) If you have time to devote to this book, it is worth all the effort. Truly greater than "The Wierdstone".

This was one of the most difficult books I read as a kid - and so ultimately one of the most satisfying too. Alan Garner in no way talks down to his target audience and here he produced possibly his best work with a plot that demands the reader's attention. If only all books were this well written!

Ursula Le Guin described this as: "a bitter, complex, brilliant book".

I've nothing to add to that. Except this: try to find a copy at all costs. It is one of the best fantasies ever written. Oh, and if you're wondering: it's all of 155 pages long.

A bitter, dense, vigorous book about the violence and betrayals we inflict on each other. So much is lost along the way - and although there is some survival at the end, what kind of survival is it?
There are three interwoven stories, spanning three points in time and one in space - the times are the later Roman Empire in Britain, the British Civil War of the 17th century, and the modern age. The space is a part of Cheshire around an iconic hill, Mow Cop. And the three are linked - apart from their biting emotional motifs - by an object, a prehistoric axe head, that appears in all, a talisman of the ages.
In the earliest thread, a ragged remnant of a Roman legion - just a few soldiers, conscripts from who-knows-where - have to deal with the wild and ancient tribes, as vicious and crafty as the soldiers. Wonderfully, Garner has made them talk the lingo of modern squaddies, because that's how they would have sounded to each other. In the Civil War, villagers take refuge in a church from the prowling band of enemy - but not all the hatred is political...In today's world, a near-genius innocent, a sacred fool (who quotes Lear's lines for Tom the fool) is paired with a girl above his social level and distrusted by his parents: there are no swords here, but "words" is an anagram of "sword" and the pain is the same.
Incredible tight, elliptical exchanges: you may have to read a page twice to "get" everything that is happening (and then you won't be sure). American readers may have a problem with the British idiom of the 70's and some archaic words of the Civil War times, and the Cheshire idiom, but it's worth it.

It was dark and I was lost driving home. I tried to take a shortcut across the Staffordshire Moorlands. Something said I should turn left to cross the ridge to the next valley. I climbed a hill, then silhouetted against the moonlit sky was a shape I knew from this book jacket: Mow Cop. I had to leave the car and venture on foot into the gloom, stomach turning, mouth dry. The point of Red Shift is, perhaps, that our destiny is in some part the essence of the soil under our feet. This book succeeds so well in implanting this feeling that words were not needed to create in me the emotion of meeting Mow Cop that night.

I am a lover of fantasy and historical fiction. This has been my favorite book this year. It even prompted purchase of the second book in the series.

This trilogy examines the duality of good and evil in the context of the spread of Christianity. Historically accurate and very engaging, you will learn much and have cherished beliefs challenged in an intellectually refreshing story. Good stuff.

This book is brilliant. Although the concepts of magic and myth are fictional, they make complete sense. I came away from this feeling as though I had learned a great deal about the world. The ending dissapointed me though. I want to know about the rest of Pierette's life. This book obviously took a lot of time and patience, and I think that it is definitely worth reading. It is also worth re reading because there are a lot of details that the reader may not pick up the first time.

As a Christian, I was offended by some parts of this book, but that in no way detracts from Douglas' amazing ability both to tell a story and to recreate the past.

I enjoyed accompanying Pierette on her journey through life and regretted parting company when I reached the last page. Sacred Pool is the first book by L. Warren Douglas and I am eager to read others. The author has a rare genius for storytelling, innovative ideas, and obviously knows his history. While the idea that gods and magic depend on humanity's collective belief in them is not a new one, Douglas takes this paradigm to amazing extremes, reality and time itself is mutable and dependent on human perception.

Sacred Pool cannot be categorized as a single genre: it's either a fantasy with elements of science fiction or a sci-fi book that reads like fantasy, its the story of a young woman trying to discover herself and the world, and its a recreation of midevial France so realistic you can almost hear the crashing waves and see the Eagle's Beak in the distance as you read. The book is also filled with the historical origins behind many of the truthes and traditions embraced by today's religions, and though I remain a Christian, Douglas has openned my eyes to many things I had taken for granted.

I recommend this book to anyone and everyone.

The nature of magic changes, this novel theorizes, as human beliefs change. First there was matriarchal paganism, then patriarchal paganism, then the coming of Christianity, then reason and science, and each of them affected people's assumptions about how the world works. In medieval Provence, where all of these belief systems co-exist, a worker of magic never knows for sure who or what she will call up when she casts a spell. For some spells don't work anymore, and others work in frightening new ways. And with the rise of Christianity, and the idea that everything is either absolutely good or absolutely evil, the old gods and spirits are in trouble. They meet one of two fates: They either become prim Christian saints, or are subsumed into the figure of Satan. Needless to say, the practice of magic is perilous these days, and a sorceress must always be on her toes.

Enter Pierrette, an intelligent young girl who sees an apocalyptic vision of the future. She can only save the world by training to become a sorceress, and _The Sacred Pool_ is the story of her education. Pierrette must experiment with long-forgotten spells and newfangled science in order to defeat a demon that plagues her sister, and in the long run, to save magic itself from being destroyed.

This book starts out slow, but gets interesting once Pierrette begins her studies. It is thought-provoking and intelligent, and one of the few novels dealing with paganism and Christianity that says anything more profound than that one is "good" and one is "bad" (take your pick which is which; there are plenty of books taking each side). If you like fantasy that makes you think, check out this tale of magic, belief, science, and philosophy.

I remembered this book after all these years, because today IS Saturday: the Twelfth of October...
(Checked the date in the system tray)

I read it in the Eighties when it was in paperback.
This is a great book -even if you don't like the time travel genre.
Too bad it's not still in print -someone who has it should make an e-book out of it, and then put it on Kazaa for all.
(used prices for this book are ridiculous -and strangely, there aren't any paperbacks available...)

I was seven years old when I found this book on the Library shelf of the High School where my father taught. I was attracted to the title because my birthday is in October and asked if he (my dad) would check it out for me. He agreed; and I took it home and read it with my mother every night before I went to bed untill it was done. Reading with my mother was a nightly ritual, and 24 years later,we still agree that "Saturday the Twelfth of October" remains one of our favorites along with all the "Wizard of OZ" books and "A Wrinkle In Time" By Madeline L. Engle.

The rituals of the people that the main character Zan encounters in the "other world" the trouble her presence causes, and how, when she comes home,it seems that she has only been gone about an Hour when to her, she has been gone for weeks and weeks still sticks in my mind all these years later. Read this book,(if you can find a copy) you will not be dissapointed

I read this book years ago in middle school and am now desperately searching for a copy to read to my step-daughter. Even though it's been 20 years, I remember the story vividly. This is a title that should be put back in print!!!

I read this book long ago, but it has stayed in my memory ever since. The premise of a girl slipping into a parallel universe is both exciting and frightening. Norma Fox Mazer has a true gift for eloquent description and believable fantasy. Kids will love the book, but I guarantee that adults will also be hard pressed not to read it again and again.

I read this book long ago in the 6th grade. The school librarian wanted me to review a "new book" she had gotten in and see if the students would like it. I loved it. Read it time and again. Then it went out of print and I haven't been able to find it since. But this story has always stuck with me, and I rank it up there with Heinlein, McCaffrey, Eddings, Lackey, and L'Engle. A fine book to share with my son and daughter.

Suspenseful, entertaining, AND educative!
I can't express how wonderful it was to read this book! I got it from a friend of a friend who knows the author and I did not really know what to expect at first. I started to read it somewhat reluctantly, but the book pulled me in faster than I expected. It starts with the description of a strange shadow, just outside James's window. He is spending the night in the Smithsonian VIP suites because he has discovered a very rare gold coin that may date back to Christopher Columbus (we later learn a little more about coins and the world's oldest bank). The next morning, they (James, his telepathic sister Susie and his best friend Diego) find out that a word is missing from books nationwide and decide to investigate the matter. When they notice a moving shadow on the Capitol's and the White House's paintings, James and Diego know that they are onto something...
I strongly recommend this book. It's a great fast pace mystery that won't take more than a couple of hours to enjoy.

I don't even have kids, and I really enjoyed reading this book. This installment of the series deals with a mystery surrounding the Smithsonian Institution in downtown Washington DC. Jauffret is extraordinarily creative in mixing mythology, science and plain old-fashioned smarts in her series protagonist James Normal. If Harry Potter met Encyclopedia Brown, the result might be something like James.

This fine book allowed my children (8 and 11 years) to discover Washington and some of its major attractions through the eyes of the main character James Normal. Although English is not my kids first language, they found the text easy to read and very informative and of course fun! I would certainly recommend this book to parents thinking about a birthday gift for their children. We are looking forward to further reading in this series...

The Smithsonian Librafly is the wonderful story about two boys (James and Diego) who are invited to the Smithsonian Institution because one of them found a very rare gold coin (that may be as old as Christopher Columbus). During their stay at the Smithsonian VIP suite, they discover that the word liberty is missing from their dictionary and they decide to investigate.
While on private tour of the Capitol and of the White House, they observe a stain on several paintings that seems to be growing in size and to be moving from painting to painting (It's actually very engaging as we try to find where the stain actually went and the author is very good at describing the artworks that decorate the walls of the Capitol building). The smudge turns out to be the shadow of a boy and then of a bird with the face of a man.
After some research that proves to be fruitless, James, Diego, and James's sister, learn from a janitor about the legend of the "Croque-word" (a word-eating man-bird).
With his grandmother's help and the knowledge he acquires from a magical encyclopedia, James learns that the word-eating creature is called a Librafly. He locates the creature's habitat (in the hollow statue `Freedom" on the top of the Capitol's Rotunda), tries to catch it and "enters" a 19th century painting as if he had traveled through time. There he meets Louis Portel (the Librafly when he was the little boy) and discovers what life was back then. I won't tell you the end to not spoil the ending, but I can guarantee you that this is a book your children will love and that you will enjoy as much as they will.

The story is as suspenseful as compelling and we learn a few things along the way (like the name of the world's oldest bank, the free coinage, 19th century DC, and a few facts about the White House, the Capitol, and the Jefferson Memorial).

Finally a great book for children who enjoy mystery, history and magic. The story of the "Smithsonian Librafly" is compelling, touching and exciting all in one. My 9-year old son had just had a field trip to the Capitol and the White House when he read the "Smithsonian Librafly". He was so excited to read a story that so perfectly describes the places he had just visited while adding in some interesting historical facts and a fast-paced mystery to solve. He couldn't put the book down. When he finished, I had to read it to find out what had captured his interest in such a strong way. This book was great and so much fun to read. I highly recommend it. I can't wait for Elle Jauffret's next book in the series.

Collaboratively written by Mark Nicholas and Jane Christine for young adults with a taste for science fiction, Space Academy: Volume One Of The Kirsten Chronicles is an engaging adventure from cover to cover. Kirsten is an empathic, 16-year-old cadet at the Space Academy who shares a special bond with an extraterrestrial life form called a skeecat. Together they encounter danger and challenge when her roommate and dorm mother disappear. Determined to find answers, Kirsten embarks on a search to find them in this briskly written, highly enjoyable 148 page novel.

Thoroughly enjoyed the book as did friends I loaned it to. Kirsten should give Harry Potter some real competition. Recommend the book to anyone wanting a good science fiction/mystery. It may be written for teens, but even adults can enjoy it. The authors don't "write down", which is a definite plus in my eyes.

Space Academy moves at a fast pace and keeps the reader engaged throughout the entire story. This book is well written and full of realistic dialogue. Although targeted for the juvenile market, the book is enjoyable for all ages.

I'm happy to see this book on the market. There is a shortage of good juvenile science fiction of late, which is a shame because it leads fewer kids into the genre. Back in the day we had the likes of Robert Heinlein and Jack Vance writing juveniles, and it was good. However, some of those books are becoming a bit dated and hard to find (try laying your hands on a copy of _Vandals of the Void_ sometime), and too many are male-centric to the point of alienating a present-day female reader. This book is exactly the sort of thing an inquisitive and intelligent girl of eleven or twelve would thoroughly enjoy. Remember it when it's time to buy a present for such a girl.

Finally a science fiction book that's well written! Mr. Nicholas & Ms. Christine can rest knowing full well that they have published a true classic. Quite simply, this is the best young adult read since the Harry Potter series. Perfectly written, the authors weave a wonderful science fiction tale of suspense and mystery around a teenage girl, Kirsten, and her skeecat. The story flows like 18 year old Scotch--without a hitch that might leave readers confused or wondering where that "coincidence" came from--the flaw in so many science fiction novels. Space Academy is written for young adults but will be cherished by readers of all ages, as the authors refused to "write down" to young adults as if they are [unintelligent]. The title says "Volume 1 of the Kirsten Chronicles," I cannot wait for volumes 2-10! Well done!

I bought this book to add to my collection of Greene Knowe Books that I read to my children when they were small. The stories kept the kids on the edge of their seats wondering what would happen next.

I almost had a fit when I saw this title, but with a little research learned that I already had it. The whole series is first rate.

Tolly has returned to Green Knowe and his Grandmother full of excitement at being there once more, but an unhappy surprise lies in wait for him: the portrait of the children Toby, Alexander and Linnet is missing from the wall. It would seem a small loss but for the fact that its absence means that the children's spirits are also not present in the house.

Grandmother Oldknow explains the painting's loss due to poor finances, though soon sparks hope in Tolly for its return due to the tale of the missing treasure of Green Knowe (which he vows to find), and stories of another family ancestor: Susan Oldknow. Born to a vain mother, a kind but absent father, a spoilt older brother Sefton, and an overly pious grandmother, Susan knows her blindness is a terrible blow to the family's pride: "I can't take her into society, she'll never be married, and I'll have her *always*!" her mother laments when the sad truth is revealed.

Smothered by a good-hearted but utterly disillusioned Nanny, Susan is not allowed to do a thing on her own, till her Captain father brings back a gift from his travels that shocks the entire family: a West Indian boy named Jacob to keep her company. Their extraordinary friendship can only be describe through L. M. Boston's beautiful prose, as when the two meet:

"'Who is it Papa?' Susan asked. Jacob answered for himself, in a voice whose smallest half-utterance she was never afterwards to mistake for any other. 'It's me, Missy.'"

As with Tolly's previous summer in the house, the line between past and present blurs, and he once again interacts with the older inhabitants of the house, though this time in a far more influential manner, going so far as to actively participate in the stories his Grandmother tells him each night. While other time-travelling stories leave me completely cross-eyed, the "Green Knowe" stories treat it as something utterly natural, and thus so do the readers.

As a sequel to "Children of Green Knowe", this second part (also published as "Chimneys of Green Knowe") is undoubtably superior to its predecessor. Though I missed Toby, Alexander and Linnet, their part in the first story was as whimsical spirits - Susan and Jacob have a definite story assigned to them, and interact with Tolly in a more important way, stirring events into being on both sides of the centuries.

Lucy Boston creates a sophisticated commentary on prejudice that still rings true today in her use of blind Susan and West Indian Jacob. As she comments, blind people were either poor and beggars, or rich and had servants to live for them, and Susan was certainly of the latter group. As such, the poor girl often finds herself strapped to a chair with her doll tied to its arm, disliked by her grandmother who thinks her condition a judgement for her mother's vain lifestyle, and punished for fingering things. Boston's descriptions of blindness in both Susan's life: "things stuck out of space like icebergs out of the sea", and Tolly's experiments (he discovers feet are more useful than hands in such an instance) are evocatively written, and so imaginatively told that it won't simply be children so have their minds expanded.

Second is Jacob, whose place in the story is still whilst England allowed slavery. This book was first published in 1958, and I was both impressed by Boston's distaste for slavery, and refreshed by the lack of extreme political correctness that so often clogs books on the subject written today. Boston presents the Slave Trade as a simple factuality, that could be neither explained nor excused, but simply a reality.

Truly, the "Green Knowe" stories are among the lost masterpieces of children's literature. Do everyone in your family a favour and read them - the house, the characters, the situations, and the sublime use of language that Lucy Boston uses is unforgettable.

I will never forget reading this book - and the others in this series - when I was in grade school. This was actually the first volume I read, although it's not chronologically the first in the group. It was one of those wonderful discoveries you sometimes make wandering aimlessly through the stacks in the local library - cracking a random volume, reading the first little bit, and realizing at once that you are beginning a literary love affair.

Then, as now, I was captivated by the magical "otherness" of L.M. Boston's Green Knowe and by the wonderful characterizations and tales within the tale. I couldn't put it down until I'd learned the fates of all the characters, and I wished that my suburban row house had even half the romance of the old manor house, and that my own prosaic grandma was a bit more mysterious.

Now that I'm much older (although not nearly as old as Grandmother Oldknow), I realize that the book is quite well-written - accessible for children but sophisticated enough to be enjoyed by anyone with a taste for the supernatural. And I've purchased a copy for my 11-year-old niece, who thankfully shares her auntie's interest in reading and love for stories with an otherworldly component. A must-read for book-lovers young and old.

It's the spring immediately following the events of "The Children of Green Knowe," and young Tolly Oldknow returns to the ancient manor of his family to stay with his great-grandmother over the Easter break. He barely steps through the door when he senses that something is wrong--and how horribly wrong it is: his ghost-friends, Toby, Alexander, and Linnet, have accompanied their portrait on loan-out to an exhibition, and may never return, for Mrs. Oldknow is desperate for money to make repairs to the house and has been offered a high price for the picture. Tolly resolves to search for the long-lost jewels of Maria Oldknow, the stylish wife of his 18th-century ancestor, which disappeared when the grand "new annex" of the manor burned down in a suspicious fire in 1798. Yet he soon finds that ghosts still lurk in Green Knowe--or perhaps not ghosts at all, since his blind ancestress Susan and her young black companion Jacob lived far beyond the ages at which they manifest to him. As is often the case at this house, time becomes a half-meaningless concept, past and present blend and communicate, and Mrs. Oldknow's stories of Susan and Jacob, Susan's vain and flighty mother and spoiled older brother Sefton, her young tutor Jonathan Morley (who, years later, she married), and the sinister manservant Caxton seem to draw these Georgians even closer to Now. Tolly himself finds that his modern-day actions resonate into the past and that--in one memorable sequence--he can even travel back to it and help Susan and Jacob conceal a young poacher from Caxton in a secret tunnel he has discovered. And in the end, even before those stories lead him to the hiding place of the jewels, the portrait is returned, and in a beautiful closing scene we get a hint of the possibility that Susan and Jacob may come to know Toby and his sibs as Tolly does. A worthy sequel to the first book and nearly as good.

(...) this book was so cool. My teacher used to be a 3rd grade teacher so she has a lot of kid books. My friend and I were looking for a book and we found this one. We loved the kid in the big space suit. It was hilarious. So now almost every time at reading time we look for that book and we find it better and better each time. This book is so cool especially if you're in for a funny and short book. Even older kids who have a humorous side to them will enjoy this book.

-Allison G. (...)

My son, Christopher, is 7 years old, and is just facinated by space, and loves the movie "Apollo 13". I bought this book, and he just loved it. I couldn't be happier with it. He really enjoyed the pictures, and I could tell he was making sure that it was as accurate as the movie that he watches over and over. It's nice to see a book that excites a child like this one did.

We found this book at the library last night and it was such an instant hit I'm buying it today. The pictures and big and bold and whimsical and the rhyming is very nice. My 2-year-old daughter doesn't even know what a rocket is yet but she asked me to read this book first thing this morning.

Easy rhyming, rhythmic phrases, and cool space-related pictures in bright colors lend to repeats of this story almost every night! Our Son liked this book so much that he reached for it over and over for bedtime stories - even before he could talk. (One of his first words was ZOOM!) If you like space stuff, you and your kids will find Dan Yaccarino's "ZOOM, ZOOM, ZOOM..." a real pleaser!!

toodlers will love hearing this story over and over agin. i work in a 18 month old classroom to 2 yrs of age, my co teachers and i read this book to the kids all the time.the children and adults love it

Although I'm about 2-3 times the target age now, I remember this book very fondly from my childhood. It stands out in my mind among others like "The Westing Game" and "The Egypt Game" and so on, one of those children's books that actually sticks with you and you re-read a few times, rather than being something to read and forget the next day. It's not as deep or involved, and is aimed a slight bit younger - maybe - but it's still quite good.

Also I wanted to note that as the title of the review says, I first read this book under the title "Beepers from Outer Space."

I liked this book because it was all about an alien and a boy named Calvin and his friend Kathy. The alien's cloaking device malfunctioned so he couldn't bring attention to himself. His breathing device which allowed him to breath the earth's atmosphere also stopped working and would only be able to breath the air for a few hours.
The story ended with Calvin and Kathy finding the spaceship and getting their alien friend back home.

It's got cats and Spock-revering Star Trek references! I love it! I first read it some time ago, but I'm 18 now and I still love it. So I read his Star Trek novels too, and am keeping an eye out for the Star Ka'at series.

I thought that this was a really good book, and I'm not a sci-fi fan. There are giant hairy aliens, spaceship rides, melting cats... this bok was awesome!

This book is among my all time favorites. I couldn't wait to read it every day. I recommended it to friends my age. I'm 10. I will read more books by Mr. DeWeese.

I first read this book when I was about 12 and loved it. It is one of the few kid's books that are really funny. It also has a very original plot. Most modern libraries don't have it any more and so most modern children have never read it. Bring it back into print!

I remember enjoying this book very much when I was a kid in the fourth grade. Rereading it I see the writing isn't really superb but the story (and cartoon illustrations) create many memorable images and the whole thing is still a fun, breezy ride, from the same author who brought us the "Matthew Looney" sci fi books. When kid inventor Bob Fulton creates a machine in his garage to make a single bottle of soda pop fill the cups of the whole town, the machine explodes. However, the explosion has created a new hybrid substance that has even greater scientific implications. Soon the government and an amusing array of spies are out to get the secret formula, and Bob and his sea captain father must do everything they can to keep it out of the wrong hands. This story has a comic touch and a pleasing premise that kids will remember long after reading it.

Bob Fulton is a boy inventor. His latest invention is something he calls the Soda Pop Stretcher, which is able to turn 1 bottle of soda into about 50 (that is, with the help of some miscellaneous ingredients, plenty of water and 50 pounds of sugar!). He's the most popular kid in his neighborhood until the Stretcher unexpectedly explodes, coating the inside of the garage with sticky, foul-smelling goo!!

Bob's father, a delightfully ridiculous character who is the town's ferryboat captain (he wears an eye patch over his perfectly good eye, stomps around on his healthy left leg like he's got a peg leg and is fond of whale blubber steaks and hardtack), decides that enough is enough. Bob should clean up the mess, give up inventing and join him on the ferryboat for the rest of the summer.

However, this book is subtitled "An International Spy Story", and it doesn't take long for Bob to discover something interesting about the gummy goo from his blown-apart pop stretcher: it totally eliminates friction! This means that any machine parts it's applied to (his sister's bicycle, for example-it was in the garage when the pop stretcher went kablooie) now will run practically by itself because the slowing effects of friction have been eliminated. Once this substance-called Ingredient Zeta-reaches the local scientific research community, it's only a matter of time before sneaky, international spies are hot to get their hands on some of the good stuff!

I was first turned on to this book back in the late 70's in fifth grade when a girl I had a crush on presented it to the class as a book report. Out of loyalty to her (or perhaps so we'd have something mutual to talk about), I read it and was immediately hooked. I have reread it about 8 or 10 times more since then, enjoying it more and more each time.

Bob's adventure starts off innocently enough (if you can call an explosion in the garage "innocent"!!), but soon he's embroiled in groundbreaking research in physics with a professor who speaks about 30 different languages...at the same time! Soon spies are lurking about the house trying to steal the secret formula, the science research lab is constructing a HUGE model of the stretcher, the world goes through a sudden sugar crisis, and automobile manufactures are in a panic because cars will no longer wear out!! (this was a wonderfully funny touch that, as a child, I had totally missed).

"Bob Fulton..." is, of course, out of print. This is a terrible shame because it's as funny and gripping NOW, in 2001, as it was back in the 70's at the time of its publication. Somehow it got unfairly passed by while other great works from that time period went on to be printed over and over again. It's an easy read, a great choice for intermediate readers, and with an explosion within the first 15-odd pages, it's sure to hook even reluctant readers in!! Highly recommended; track this one down!!

I, too, enjoyed this book, but I must mention that it pre-dates the 1970s. I read it in 1965 when I was 9. I believe I found mention of it elsewhere on the internet, giving a publication date of 1963.

What can I say? This book got me hooked on science fiction. I remember reading this book over and over again in grade school. If you want to introduce a child to science fiction, more specifically time travel, this is the book for you if you can find it.....