The Secret Science Project That Almost Ate the School (Paula Wiseman Books) - Hardcover

Judy Sierra is the author of many award-winning books for children including the bestsellers Antarctic Antics, illustrated by Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey; Wild About Books, illustrated by Marc Brown; and The Secret Science Project that Almost Ate the School, illustrated by Stephen Gammell. Sierra holds a PhD in folklore and mythology from the University of California, Los Angeles. She has received the Children’s Choice Award from the International Reading Association, two Aesop awards from the American Folklore Society, and the E.B. White Read Aloud Prize from the Association of Booksellers for Children. She lives with her husband in Eugene, Oregon. Visit her online at JudySierra.net.

Stephen Gammell is the beloved illustrator of more than fifty books for children, including Song and Dance Man by Karen Ackerman, which received the Caldecott Medal, and two Caldecott Honor Books: The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant, Where the Buffaloes Begin by Olaf Baker, and The Secret Science Project That Almost Ate Our School by Judy Sierra. Mr. Gammell lives with his wife, Linda, in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Grade 1-3–A nameless girl needs an idea for her science project. Her solution is to go on the Internet, where she comes across Professor Swami's Super Slime–a mutant yeast with just a piece of dragon DNA. Of course, she orders it and doesn't follow the directions on the box: do not open until the science fair, then feed the slime sugar until it expands to 1000 times its size and watch it explode into a harmless cloud of gas. The child finds herself with a large, green, slimy glob that begins to grow and swallow those who are rude to it: her cat, which hisses; her dad, who complains of a smell; her third-grade teacher–Eeew! What is that big, digusting creature?–and so on. Finally the child remembers the sugar and, once kids have pelted the goo with sweets and sprayed it with soda, it explodes. My project didn't win first prize, and that was fair...I guess..../Miss Fidget kept me after school to clean up all the mess. The watercolor, colored pencil, and pastel illustrations are typical Gammell–the girl bears a striking resemblance to the boy in Liz Rosenberg's Monster Mama (Philomel, 1993; o.p.), round glasses and all; she's just perfect for this slightly wild story. This book could be used as a jumping-off point for science projects–a little levity always helps during the science-experiment season.–Susan Lissim, Dwight School, New York City
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