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Michele Torrey

Autor/a de The Case of the Gasping Garbage

12 obres 593 Membres 10 Ressenyes

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Inclou el nom: Michele Torrey

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Obres de Michele Torrey

The Case of the Gasping Garbage (2001) 199 exemplars
The Case of the Graveyard Ghost (2002) 72 exemplars
To the Edge of the World (2003) 56 exemplars
The Case of the Barfy Birthday (2003) 42 exemplars
Voyage of Plunder (2007) 34 exemplars
The Case of the Terrible T. rex (2010) 34 exemplars
Voyage of Ice (2004) 26 exemplars
Voyage of Midnight (2006) 19 exemplars

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Coneixement comú

Gènere
female

Membres

Ressenyes

I really liked this book for several reasons. It was funny and interesting while also being educational. There is both a story component and a section with different supplements such as simple science experiments and recipes. These help children apply the science and detective skills they learned in the book to the real world. This encourages children to think creatively. Although not entirely realistic, this story is inspirational to children because they get to see people their age problem-solving and figuring out complex questions by themselves. It helps children realize that they can be detectives and scientists, even though they are still in elementary school. This book also shows children how to make connections and think critically. For example, the scientists in the story wanted to know what was inside the trash can without opening the lid. One of the scientists, Scientist Nell, explained why there could be yeast in the garbage. She said, “the smell of fresh baked bread was out biggest clue. You see, yeast is used in making bread. Yeast is a living fungus that eats starches and sugars. They then turn the starches and sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide gas”. While teaching students how to think critically, it helps them learn how bread is made, what yeast is, and how yeast works. While this may seem like a lot of content for children to learn at once, these scientific lessons are broken up by fun quotes and dialogue. Towards the beginning of the book, the author describes the sounds coming from inside the trash can by saying, “It burped and yurped. It belched and yelched”. Using language that rhymes and sounds silly keeps children interested and gives them a break from the strictly academic material in this book. For the most part, all of the information being presented in this book is presented in a non-traditional and entertaining way. The main theme of this book was that answers to big questions are hardly ever easy to solve. They require a lot of effort, but knowledge and detective skills can help answer almost any question. The characters worked together throughout the book, and were all very believable. They were smart scientists while also being portrayed as a typical curious child. I believe this is a fantastic read for a more experienced elementary school reader. I am interested in reading some of the other books in this series now as well.… (més)
½
 
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NicoleFrankel | Hi ha 3 ressenyes més | Sep 11, 2016 |
I really enjoyed this book because I felt like it had many elements that made it different from typical chapter books. For example, every so often, there were illustrations that illuminated the text and helped the reader grasp a better understanding of what was going on. I also liked how the author included "handwritten notes" from the characters, Drake Doyle and Nell Fossey. These notes were written in a different front and looked handwritten, which immediately drew the reader's attention and made the book more interesting to read. From personal experience, I had always enjoyed chapter books with a different style font in them because it caught my eye and spiced up the book from the typical 12-point, Times New Roman font. I also enjoyed the way the author developed the characters, taking two fifth-graders and enhancing their love for science and mystery. I think a lot of children in the upper grades would be able to relate because they strive for independence, but sometimes need adult help, just like when Nell goes to her mom for some advice when she and Drake have a disagreement on how to solve the problem. There were also some subtle references made in the book that children can relate to, like when Nell mentioned that her parents had gotten a divorce. I think that simple things like that can help readers relate to the characters. Lastly, I enjoyed that the author included local references, science experiments, and previews to some of the other books in the series in the back of the book. If a child enjoyed reading this particular book and wanted to read similar ones, the preview will definitely hook them which will lead to more reading! I think that a big message in this series is to promote a love of science, and show that science can be fun. A lot of the time, science can be associated with being difficult or boring since it is a school-related subject, but the activities mentioned in the book (and then later explained how to do at home in the appendix), such as making "invisible ink", will encourage students to try things at home or simply intrigue them to learn more.… (més)
 
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alexavecchio | Hi ha 3 ressenyes més | Sep 14, 2015 |
A fun set of mysteries whose detectives rely on scientific theory and hypothesis to solve mysteries involving ghosts, aliens, and carnival games. The back of the book includes activities relating to the mysteries. ChickLit made their own snoop-o-scopes!

Recommended.
½
 
Marcat
kayceel | Hi ha 2 ressenyes més | Jul 21, 2014 |
Periodically, someone writes a series and touts it as the "new Encyclopedia Brown." Usually, this results in books ranging from the mildly interesting to the downright boring, but occasionally something comes near the mark. I don't think any of the publicity around Michele Torrey's new-to-the-US series, Doyle and Fossey, Science Detectives, has made this particular comparison, but it could easily be made.

Drake Doyle loves science. He has his own laboratory and works hard to do all the things a professional scientist should. Nell Fossey is also a scientist, but her particular interest is wildlife - not surprising, since her mom is a biologist. Together, they race to solve cases, both scientific and ecological.

Each book has one specifically scientific mystery, one ecology-related mystery, and a few others thrown in for good measure. Each book also contains instructions on setting up your own lab, the scientific method, experiments and information related to the cases, and more information on the environmental issues. For example, the first casebook The Case of the Gasping Garbage, starts out with a case that Drake Doyle solves with scientific investigation, continues with Nell Fossey's efforts to save endangered frogs, and then Fossey solves a problem (a truck stuck under an overpass) and Doyle and Fossey together track down the sender of a mysterious love note.

I do have a couple reservations about this series. Some of the language felt rather repetitive and at times the pseudo-professional tones of Doyle and Fossey was annoying. The section at the end of each book on setting up your own lab was altered a little for each book, but was basically the same information. I would have been happy to have the section just in the first book, but I suppose if kids start from different points in the series it could be helpful to repeat this section.

I thought some of the environmental "cases" were rather unbelievable - Nell Fossey is researching penguins with her mom and then there just happens to be an oil spill. I was really thrown by the introduction of what seemed to be fantasy elements in the final book, The Case of the Crooked Carnival, where Nell Fossey is campaigning against invasive species and the example is something called "purple loosegoose" which hits a certain point in its growth cycle and then attacks people...

However, there is plenty of science, clues, mysteries, and funny bits to please most younger readers, even if the occasional adult has a few qualms. The illustrations have an enjoyable cartoonish quality, most of the facts and information in the stories is threaded well into the plot, and in general this is a good series. Torrey does an excellent job of dividing the cases between Doyle and Fossey without allowing either character to become a sidekick; neither does she endow them with superhuman qualities. Their easy access to adult society is reminiscient of Encyclopedia Brown and their everyday quirks and flaws make them realistic characters.

Verdict: Add to your series collection if you need additional mystery series besides Encyclopedia Brown and Cam Jansen. And who doesn't? [Update - these have become hugely popular in my library and I highly recommend them!]

Case of the gasping garbage
ISBN: 978-1402749605; Published July 2009 by Sterling; Review copies provided by publisher

Case of the mossy lake monster
ISBN: 978-1402749629; Published July 2009 by Sterling; Review copies provided by publisher

Case of the graveyard ghost
ISBN: 978-1402749636; Published October 2009 by Sterling; Review copies provided by publisher

Case of the crooked carnival
ISBN: 978-1402749650; Published June 2010 by Sterling; Review copies provided by publisher
… (més)
 
Marcat
JeanLittleLibrary | Hi ha 2 ressenyes més | Jan 13, 2012 |

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Estadístiques

Obres
12
Membres
593
Popularitat
#42,349
Valoració
3.8
Ressenyes
10
ISBN
70
Llengües
2

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