Science Fair

Publisher Marketing: Toby Harbinger, an eighth grader at Hubble Middle School near Washington, D. C., is in big trouble. He made the mistake of selling his dad s priceless original Star Wars blaster to a lunatic who thinks he s Darth Vader and travels with a large, hairy sidekick known as the Wookiee. Now the lunatic wants more from Toby, whose only hope of getting out of this mess is to win first prize at the school science fair: $5,000. But others want the prize too a group of rich students and their super-ambitious, high-powered parents, who will stop at nothing to see their spoiled kids win. What these parents don t know is that an evil mastermind is using them to get hold of top-secret military technology as part of a fiendish plan to destroy the United States. When Toby discovers this plot, he and his two best friends, Tamara and Micah, try to alert the school authorities, including the fearsome principal, known as The Hornet. But powerful forces are working against Toby and his friends: they re snared in a frame-up and get taken into federal custody, facing espionage charges. Meanwhile, the mastermind proceeds with his evil plan of destruction. In a desperate bid to escape, the kids find themselves in league with a fairly mad scientist and two bumbling foreign dignitaries armed with cheese so smelly it is used as wolf repellent. With the seconds ticking away and the FBI close on their heels, this bizarre band sets off on a madcap mission to stop the science fair and save the country before it s too late. " Review Citations: Kirkus Review - Children 09/01/2008 pg. 939 (EAN 9781423113249, Hardcover) Voice of Youth Advocates 12/01/2008 (EAN 9781423113249, Hardcover) Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 01/01/2009 (EAN 9781423113249, Hardcover) Booklist 12/15/2008 pg. 44 (EAN 9781423113249, Hardcover) New York Times Book Review 01/18/2009 pg. 18 (EAN 9781423113249, Hardcover) New York Times Book Review 01/11/2009 pg. 13 (EAN 9781423113249, Hardcover) School Library Journal 03/01/2009 pg. 140 (EAN 9781423113249, Hardcover) Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2009 pg. 61 (EAN 9781423113249, Hardcover) Contributor Bio:  Barry, Dave Dave Barry is a Pulitzer Prize winning author of more than two dozen books. Along with Ridley Pearson, he is the co-author of the Peter and the Starcatchers series and Science Fair. Dave, his wife Michelle, and their family live in Miami, Florida. Contributor Bio:  Pearson, Ridley Ridley Pearson is the author of more than two dozen crime novels, including the New York Times bestsellers Killer Summer, Killer View, and Probable Cause. He is also the author of the bestselling Lou Boldt crime series, and the young reader series The Kingdom Keepers. In 1990, Pearson was awarded the Raymond Chandler Fulbright Fellowship at Wadam College, Oxford. In 2009, he was a visiting professor at Fudan University in Shanghai. Contributor Bio:  Gigante, Phil Phil Gigante is an APA Audie Award winner (The Dark Highlander, The Stainless Steel Rat, and The Watch That Ends the Night), and winner of over a dozen Audiofile Magazine Earphones Awards. He has narrated and directed more than 250 books, and was twice named a "Best Voice in Mystery and Suspense" by Audiofile Magazine. He has been named a Best Male Narrator in the categories of Romance, Science Fiction, Militaria, and Mystery/Suspense, as well as "Favorite Dual Narrator" (with Natalie Ross). Phil also works in film, TV and radio, and is the Producer/Director of Gigantic Productions theatre company. He makes his home in the Midwest.