Review: "Nick and Tesla's Solar-Powered Showdown" by "Science Bob" Pflugfelder and Steve Hockensmith

Nick and Tesla's Solar-Powered Showdown is the the best in the series thus far. The sixth of the series, this book contains major developments from the overall story running through the entire series. That said, it also may be the last installment, as things were wrapped up nicely at the end. That would be a shame, because this series is fantastic for getting children interested in reading and in science.

Nick and Tesla are staying with their Uncle Newt while their parents are missing. Everyone in the family is particularly interested in inventions and science, and Nick and Tesla use their skills to try to find out what happened to their parents.

Filled with illustrations and instructions to build gadgets along with the kid sleuths in the book, this book is engaging for a child to read with an adult's help for some of the tools needed in the inventions. A solar-powered hot dog cooker, a ping-pong ball signal cannon, solar spy birdhouse, and a solar-powered long-range rover are among the projects that you can build along as you read this mystery. The components needed for these gadgets (including mini-solar panels) may be less readily available than the materials for previous books' projects.

New characters introduced in this book seem to be less developed and really don't have any specific traits, but they have minor roles as Nick, Tesla, their friends, and their uncle are the main characters.

The story refers back to things that happened in all of the other Nick and Tesla books (with footnotes from the authors reminding you which story it was in). Therefore, this book is best read after reading everything else to fully appreciate it.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Review: "Nick and Tesla's Special Effects Spectacular" by "Science Bob" Pfugffelder and Steve Hockensmith

For any kids interested in movies and making their own homemade movies, Nick and Tesla's Special Effects Spectacular is the perfect easy-to-read novel.

Nick and Tesla are spending their summer living with their inventor uncle while their scientist parents are away on a mysterious work trip. To entertain themselves, the kids and their new friends begin filming their own action movie complete with homemade props for special effects. The kids even get a chance to visit the scene of a big-time superhero movie being filmed in town. However nothing seems to be going as planned, and the children believe someone is trying to sabotage the movie. Using inventions, cunning, and critical thinking, the four friends work together to solve the mystery and save the movie.

As in all books in the Nick and Tesla series, this story contains several inventions/experiments that you can do as you read along. All require an adult's help but are mostly able to be completed by the child. Learn how to build a device to keep a smart phone steady while filming, a robotic grabbing arm, a stunt dummy, a grappling hook (with wrist launcher!), and zombie makeup. The instructions are all clearly written and a list of materials needed is provided. The inventions are described right after they are mentioned in the text so that you can use them along with the characters.

The mystery was decent, even though it was predictable. The best part is always reading about which things Nick and Tesla notice and how that ends up helping them solve the mystery.

As a part of the series, this book spent very little time "at home" with eccentric inventor uncle Newt, and only briefly mentioned the larger mystery of what was going on with Nick and Tesla's parents. There is, however, new information at the end, setting up for the next exciting installment in the Nick and Tesla series.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Review: "Nick and Tesla's High-Voltage Danger Lab" by "Science Bob" Pflugfelder and Steve Hockensmith

Nick and Tesla's first mystery, High-Voltage Danger Lab, had the most interesting, spooky (but not too scary) plot line of all of the Nick and Tesla books. From wild dogs, ghostly sightings, warning messages, and kidnappings, Nick and Tesla are in for a wild summer at their Uncle Newt's after their parents suddenly left them to go do work in Uzbekistan.

Though most 11-year-old kids would be out of place living with a "mad scientist" type uncle, Nick and Tesla are (nearly) right at home. They use his lab to create their own inventions, and there are instructions so that the reader can build the projects right along with them in the story! High-Voltage Danger Lab includes step by step directions for making bottle rockets, intruder alarms, and even an inventive way to follow a vehicle using highlighters!


My only complaint for this book is actually about the illustrations by Scott Garrett, not about the story itself. I was not too happy with the way he chose to depict one of the characters.  Though she is described as having "pale skin and long black hair and circles under dark, sunken eyes," I thought the illustration took it a too far and she actually looks deathly ill, an image I wouldn't want to get stuck in children's minds (82).  The other illustrations in the book are just as well done as previous books, and I really enjoyed them, especially especially in displaying Nick and Tesla's inventions.

 

This book is a great way to get kids excited about science experiments and mystery books. It's an adventurous, exciting book for elementary aged children and parents to read together and invent along with the protagonists. Due to the experiments along the way, it's a good thing to read when there's time to build along with the story. It would also help to stock up on supplies before you get to that part in the story, so you may have to peek ahead!

FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from Quirk Books for this review.  The opinion in this review is unbiased and reflects my honest judgment of the product.

Review: "Nick and Tesla's Robot Army Rampage" by "Science Bob" Pflugfelder and Steve Hockensmith

Robot Army Rampage is the second of three Nick and Tesla books, which feature two 11-year-old
children who use science, inventions, and experiments to solve mysteries.

Nick and Tesla find themselves in the middle of solving the crime of a stolen valuable comic book.  Amidst their investigation, new robots keep popping up around town in all of the local businesses.  This inspires Nick and Tesla to make some of their own robots, for which instructions are included in the book.

These inventions seem much more complicated and impractical than the instructions provided in Nick and Tesla's Secret Agent Gadget Battle, the third book of the series.  These robots are not things that could be easily assembled in a half hour with parts from around the house.  Instead, they require motors, wiring that would be difficult for a pre-teen to set up, and drilling, for example.  For the experiments in this book, plan on not only adult supervision, but also an adult completing the instructions with little help from the young reader.


The mystery has plenty of twists, turns, and clues to keep the young reader interested.  What role could a basketball made of bagels possibly play in solving crime?  Wildly creative ideas fill the pages of the novel, leaving the reader thinking that truly anything could happen next.

I enjoy the Nick and Tesla series because of its focus on growing a love for science.  We don't ever see Nick and Tesla watching tv; they're always inventing and creating their own fun, which is a great lesson.  Even their uncle, who they are staying with, is a model that it is possible to keep an imagination even when growing up.  Of course, their uncle also happens to be a stereotypical "mad scientist"-type character, but even his eccentricities are endearing and comical.

Since I mentioned that Nick and Tesla are star role models for the creative mind, it's also worth noting that their need to solve mysteries causes them to overrides good judgment in dangerous situations.  In Robot Army Rampage, the children face no consequence for making foolish decisions: "'Tez, no!' Nick called from the shadows. 'You're supposed to run away from dangerous criminals, not go toward them" (144).

This Nick and Tesla book was still a great read that I would recommend to elementary age children, though I would worry that they would be disappointed in the complexity of building a robot.  I personally preferred the story and creations of Secret Agent Gadget Battle, but this book provides some framework for understanding the setting and the characters before continuing on in the series.

FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from Quirk Books for this review.  The opinion in this review is unbiased and reflects my honest judgment of the product.

Review: "Nick and Tesla's Secret Agent Gadget Battle" by "Science Bob" Pflugfelder and Steve Hockensmith

Nick and Tesla's Secret Agent Gadget Battle by "Science Bob" Pflugfelder and Steve Hockensmith is a wonderful imaginative, inventive, and interactive children's story.


Nick and Tesla are the 11 year old children of two secret agents who are off on a mission, leaving them with their uncle, an inventor.  After the children received a message from their parents warning them about a dangerous spy, they begin investigating the stream of eccentric characters who come into their uncle's house.

As part of the investigation, Nick and Tesla invent gadgets to help them catch the spy.  These gadgets are always introduced at the end of the chapter, by one of the characters alluding to their invention:

"Someone came into our room and stole it."

"Stole your pendant? But why?"

"I'd rather know who."

 "Let's go find out, then," Nick said.  He stood and put clenched fists on his hips.  "The scientific way." (52)

On the next page, there are a set of simple, easy to understand instructions for a way to find and compare fingerprints.  Using only common household items, the experiment/invention could easily be carried out by an older child reading the book, or younger ones with adult help.

Later inventions include some less common items, which might make them difficult to create, such as a 1.5-3 volt motor and aquarium tubing.  Even if you didn't do the experiments though, I think including the instructions and illustrations would help children to get excited about science and figuring out how things work.

I really appreciated the way science was portrayed in the books.  It was honest about the trial and error process and how the inventions didn't always work out they way the children intended.  For example, the authors describe how "A long, frustrating hour passed before Tesla's idea became a reality" and "on the twentieth try" it finally worked (93).

Though it was written for pre-teens (guessing by the age of the characters), I enjoyed the mystery thoroughly, and it kept me guessing with creative twists.

FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from Quirk Books for this review.  The opinion in this review is unbiased and reflects my honest judgment of the product.

 I am excited to read this and do the experiments with my niece when she gets older!  I have two more Nick and Tesla books to review, so look for those soon!

To Review: Nick and Tesla by "Science Bob" Pfugffelder & Steve Hockensmith and "Caught in the Middle" by Regina Jennings

Nick and Tesla books were in the mail today, courtesy of Quirk books.  I will be reviewing Secret Agent Gadget Battle, Robot Army Rampage, and High-Voltage Danger Lab by "Science Bob" Pfugffelder and  Steve Hockensmith.

Also in line to be reviewed is Caught in the Middle, by Regina Jennings from Bethany House.