Science Fair by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

This story has so many story lines, twists and turns.   Take a bunch of middle school kids and a science fair competition, throw in a mysterious person willing to sell science fair winning projects and a strange man who owns a science store in the mall and there is a strange mix of silly happenings, consequences and mixed up happenings.  

For Toby, life is rough enough with his strange parents, the nerdy group he is part of, and the fact that he can never win a science fair competition.  He is very smart but the idiot rich kids keep winning.  Toby knows there is cheating going on but he can't figure out how.   So, he turns sleuth to figure things out.   Little does he know how zany things will get!  

Now add in a crazy man at the mall, he runs this nutty science shop that is rarely open.  Apparently he is helping the rich kids cheat but why?  And is he writing the plans and then supplying the goods?  

Hmmm..   What can Toby find out? 

But then... what is with these strange men hanging out in the hotel?  They are from a strange little country that no one can pronounce and seem very interested in the school, QVC and American food.   They pop in and out of the story and are working with some stranger in the school.

Pull together frogs, electricity, massive power sources, and the school science fair and things are going to extremely interesting!!  

This book is so engrossing that readers will be sucked in.   It does show massive amounts of disrespect for parents and other authority figures but that is not terribly unusual in this day and age. 

Age range: 9 to 14 (or adult because it is funny)

Barry, D., & Pearson, R. (2008). Science fair: a story of mystery, danger, international suspense, and a very nervous frog. New York: Disney Editions.