Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Schultz
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Kids fight crime with science in edutaining mystery.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 9+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
Nick and Tesla's scientist parents must travel to the Middle East for work, so they send the kids to stay with their Uncle Newt for the summer. Newt's a no-show at the airport, so the kids take a taxi to their uncle's address. Newt turns out to be a crackpot inventor with a house full of experiments and surprises. He's not much of a hands-on caretaker, but he lets them use his laboratory, where they build a pressure-powered rocket. This is the first of several science projects detailed in the book, so readers also can build a rocket and a battery-powered magnet, for example. When the rocket takes off, it snags on a necklace that Tesla's parents gave her. Tesla feels her parents meant her to keep the necklace, but efforts to retrieve it lead the twins and a couple new friends, Silas and DeMarco, into the middle of a dangerous mystery that requires all of their creativity and scientific know-how to solve.
Is It Any Good?
As a story alone, this book is engaging and well-paced, but what makes it special is its scientific information and the clever integration of instructions for building several cool projects. Budding inventors will identify with these smart, problem-solving young scientists, and they'll absolutely love making their own magnets or rockets at home. Instructions for the projects are clear and age-appropriate, and informative drawings from illustrator Scott Garrett will help kids follow the directions.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about mysteries. How does this book compare with others you've read in which kids stop crime and solve mysteries? Do Nick and Tesla make good crime-fighters?
Why do you think Nick and Tesla's parents sent them to stay with Uncle Newt?
Try building one of the inventions from the book, but make sure to get help from a grown-up where indicated.
Book Details
- Authors :
- Illustrator : Scott Garrett
- Genre : Adventure
- Topics : STEM , Adventures , Family Stories ( Siblings ) , Friendship , Robots
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Quirk Books
- Publication date : November 5, 2013
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 9 - 12
- Number of pages : 240
- Available on : Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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