Billions of Bats: a Buzz Beaker Brainstorm (Graphic Sparks)

Description

Now younger readers can have their own graphic novel adventures in books especially designed for them. Robots, giant bugs, ninja heroes, aliens from outer space and a boy allergic to danger are just a few of the loopy and lively characters that readers will meet in these side-splitting pages. Good-humoured stories with wacky comic book-style artwork will spark the imagination of any reluctant reader.

Born in 1962 in Denver, Colorado, Scott Nickel works by day at Paws, inc., Jim Davis's famous Garfield studio, and he freelances by night. Burning the midnight oil, Scott has created hundreds of humorous greeting cards and written several children's books, short fiction for Boys' Life magazine, comic strips, and lots of really funny knock-knock jokes. He was raised in southern California, but in 1995 Scott moved to Indiana, where he currently lives with his wife, two sons, six cats, and several sea monkeys.

K-Gr 4-Buzz Beaker, boy scientist extraordinaire, has met a challenge that can't be resolved with his microscope. Her name is Sarah Bellum, Certified girl genius. With an IQ of 187.6. Then her extra-extra credit project-the cosmic copier-backfires and fills the school with over a thousand copies of her pet bat, Bobo. Yes, Sarah has made a boo-boo with Bobo. Only Buzz can save the day. Cartoon cells frame Buzz's world. Subtle color shading brings depth to digitally finished illustrations and draws readers beyond the confines of the frames to enhance both the comic expressions and the action of the text. Zany art; engaging characters with exaggerated, off-center features; and a problem to solve make this great fun for the younger set as well as reluctant readers.-- "School Library Journal" STORY SYNOPSIS Buzz Beaker is the smartest kid in school; he is brilliant when it comes to science. Then Sarah Bellum, certified girl genius, starts school with Buzz and continues to show him up in academics. She even beats him at Dodge Ball. Sarah creates a Cosmic Copier that can make an exact duplicate of anything placed inside. When she tries to make a copy of Bobo, her pet Bat, it accidentally makes numerous copies. Sarah and Buzz have to work together to fix the problem of billions of bats. STORY REVIEW This story is a wonderful way to demonstrate how we have to deal with change. Buzz prides himself on his grades and intellect, but finds himself learning to deal with someone smarter getting all the attention. He feels the jealously that comes from someone doing something better and it is a tough life lesson. My daughter enjoyed the story saying it was very funny. She also appreciated that Sarah was smarter than Buzz. ART REVIEW The illustrators by Andy J. Smith are very kid-friendly, fun and help the story move along. AGE RECOMMENDATION My Rating: Ages 7 to 10 Publisher's Rating: Ages 8 to 10 IN THE CLASSROOM This is a great story for the classroom of second to fourth graders. It helps kids think about change and what makes them special. It can also be used to help a class deal with a new kid in the class. This story has a Reader's Theater along with a teacher's version. This allows it to be read allowed in class and discussed afterwards. The book does have questions at the end of the story and offers readers ideas to contemplate. It also has writing prompts and Internet sites. MY RECOMMENDATION: I highly recommend this book for grades 2-4. http: //graphicclassroom.blogspot.com/2009/11/buzz-beaker-brainstorm-billions-of-bats.html-- "The Graphic Classroom Blog" Talk about a science experiment going bad! This is a delightful book and one that all young school children will be able to identify with. Buzz Beaker has a very high IQ and has always been the top dog in science class. When a new student named Sarah Bellum arrives in class, she lets it be known that her IQ is 187.6. Buzz has his work cut out for him. She is good at everything, including sports. Sarah decides to make a cosmic copier for her class project and states that it will duplicate anything you put into the machine. She puts her pet bat in the machine and has a classmate push the button. Unfortunately, the button sticks and bats are flying out of the copier, filling the room and flying out of the windows. The teacher tells her to stop the machine or she will give her an F for a grade. That would be the ultimate punishment. Just how does one not only stop the machine, but also get all the bats back inside it? Buzz comes to the rescue but learns that two heads are better than one in certain situations. This book is written in graphic format that is a favorite of mine. It is perfect for students who are reluctant readers and never seem to finish a book on their own. Young adults who want to read anything they can get their hands on will also enjoy the graphics and fast paced text. The full-color graphics make an enormous impact on the story. At the end of the book are a glossary and mini biographies about the author and illustrator. There are two pages of interesting facts about bats, discussion questions, and writing prompts. Also included is a list of web sites that might be of interest to the reader. I do recommend this book.-- "Children's Literature"