Nick and Tesla's High-Voltage Danger Lab: A Mystery with Electromagnets, Burglar Alarms, and Other Gadgets You Can Build Yourself

by Bob Pflugfelder, Steve Hockensmith

Overview

Nick and Tesla are bright 11-year-old siblings with a knack for science, electronics, and getting into trouble. When their parents mysteriously vanish, they’re sent to live with their Uncle Newt, a brilliant inventor who engineers top-secret gadgets for a classified government agency. It’s not long before Nick and Tesla are embarking on adventures of their own—engineering all kinds of outrageous MacGyverish contraptions to save their skin: 9-volt burglar alarms, electromagnets, mobile tracking devices, and more. Readers are invited to join in the fun as each story contains instructions and blueprints for five different projects.

In Nick and Tesla’s High-Voltage Danger Lab, we meet the characters and learn how to make everything from rocket launchers to soda-powered vehicles. Learning about science has never been so dangerous—or so much fun!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781594746482
Publisher:	Quirk Publishing
Publication date:	11/05/2013
Series:	Nick and Tesla Series , #1
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	51,218
Product dimensions:	5.32(w) x 7.34(h) x 0.84(d)
Lexile:	680L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

“Science Bob” Pflugfelder is an elementary school teacher based in Newton, Massachussetts. He has made many television appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Live with Kelly and Michael, The Dr. Oz Show, and other media outlets. These are his first books.

Steve Hockensmith is the author of a New York Times best seller (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls) and an Edgar Award nominee (Holmes on the Range). He lives in Alameda, California.

Editorial Reviews

09/30/2013
A summer with Uncle Newt turns into a wild ride for 11-year-old twins Nick and Tesla Holt. First there’s Uncle Newt himself, a scatterbrained inventor who has them sleeping on a “biomass thermal conversion center”—i.e., a bag of compost. Then there’s the creepy old house nearby with locked grounds and guard dogs, where Nick sees a mysterious girl in the window. And what’s up with the black SUV following them everywhere? Pflugfelder and Hockensmith get their Nick and Tesla series off to a strong start, with narration divided between the siblings and five plot-related DIY activities interspersed, such as making an “intruder alert system” from a string of Christmas tree lights. Fearless Tesla and sensitive Nick are a tenacious and entertaining team, and their new friends and offbeat uncle create a strong supporting cast. The mystery of the girl in the house is wrapped up nicely, yet the stage is clearly set for future action. Garrett’s blue-tinted cartoons accentuate the plot’s more dramatic moments, and a sharp overall design, with circuitry diagrams flanking the pages, gives the book a polished, classic look. Ages 9–12. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

How do you connect students interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) with fiction reading? Look for science adventures. Get started with the NICK AND TESLA series. Each book contains an engaging adventure revolving around a “build-it-yourself” science project.”—Teacher Librarian

“...the combination of exciting elements and innovative DIY projects in action yields a guaranteed pager turner.”—ScienceBuddies.org

“Real project blueprints are included along with this tale of 11-year-old siblings who create outrageous contraptions and top-secret gadgets.”—Los Angeles Times

“[Nick and Tesla's High-Voltage Danger Lab is] a great way to show kids that problems can often be solved by applying a bit of creative energy with some tech know-how. And Nick and Tesla (and Uncle Newt) are the perfect companions for your young reader looking for some (safe) adventures.”—Geek Dad

“A mystery, adventure, and activity book all rolled into one entertaining story....Plenty of excitement, with science.”—Common Sense Media

“Part mystery, part mad science...the story will leave readers wondering what mayhem will be forthcoming.”—School Library Journal

“...a strong start...”—Publishers Weekly
 
“Engaging characters and brisk plotting make this a fun and educational read.”—Jennifer Ouellette, author of The Calculus Diaries and The Physics of the Buffyverse

“A promising first offer in a series that offers plenty of appeal for middle-grade and middle school readers.­”—Kirkus
 
“Nick and Tesla’s High-Voltage Danger Lab has the perfect formula:  Mega-watts of funny writing plus giga-hertz of hands-on science equals fun to the billionth power!”—Chris Grabenstein, New York Times best selling author of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library
 
“Suspenseful, funny, and loaded with do-it-yourself robots, rockets, and burglar alarms. Nick and Tesla are an unforgettable new detective team, sure to inspire an entirely new generation of scientists and readers. Can’t wait for the next book!”—Amy Herrick, author of The Time Fetch
 
“A book with action, adventure, mystery, humor — and instructions on how to build rockets and robots.  What more could young readers possibly want?  'Nick & Tesla' is a great book that will keep your kids enthralled with its intriguing story — and inspire them with its clever science experiments.  I can't wait for the further adventures of these fascinating characters.”—Stuart Gibbs, Edgar-nominated author of Spy School and Belly Up
 
“I love the book! It combines science, intrigue and great fiction together in a wild ride for the reader. Nothing tickles me more than seeing a story really charged up with science. And the projects are so much fun! More please!”—Lynn Brunelle, four-time Emmy Award–winning writer for “Bill Nye the Science Guy” and the author of Pop Bottle Science
 
“What kid wouldn't want to join Nick and Tesla and their wacky family? This is a great way for budding scientists to have fun while exploring the intricacies of physics, chemistry, and more—up close, personal, and hands-on!”—Jane Hammerslough, author of Owl Puke: The Book and Dino Poop: And Other Remarkable Remains of the Past
 
“Pflugfelder and Hockensmith debut a captivating series about crime-solving kid inventors in the spirit of Tom Swift and Alvin Fernald. But Nick and Tesla give us what their literary predecessors always omitted: blueprints for whiz-bang inventions that kids can actually build themselves (with some adult assistance). Electromagnets, tracking devices, rockets and the like. Hands-on science has never been so cool.”—Joseph D'Agnese, author of Blockhead: The Life of Fibonacci

From the Publisher

11/01/2013
Gr 3–7—Eleven-year-old twins Nick and Tesla are sent to live with their absentminded Uncle Newt for the summer while their parents are in Karakalpakstan (a region of Uzbekistan) working on soybean irrigation (or are they?). When the kids arrive, their uncle is nowhere to be seen and when they find him glued to his basement laboratory floor in a giant orange blob, it is the first clue that they are in for a wacky summer. The twins have no time to be homesick when strange things start occurring-a black SUV seems to be following them and there's a mysterious girl in a window of a creepy "haunted" house. Befriended by two local kids, the foursome devise clever contraptions designed to outwit ferocious rottweilers (a Mints-and-Soda Fueled Robocat Dog Distracter) and solve the mysterious happenings before it's too late. The authors concoct experiments that science buffs will be delighted to try, with clear instructions and illustrations included (plus safety warnings about having an adult present and helping). Part mystery, part mad science, the story unfolds at a quick pace and is only a smidge far-fetched. With some unexpected plot twists and turns, and a cliff-hanger pointing to the next book in the series, the story will leave readers wondering what mayhem will be forthcoming.—Michele Shaw, Quail Run Elementary School, San Ramon, CA

School Library Journal

2013-10-01
Sent to spend the summer with a mad-scientist uncle in California, 11-year-old twins Nick and Tesla explore a mysterious, no-longer-abandoned mansion with gadgets they invent and readers can build. In this fast-paced adventure in which the twins inadvertently foil a kidnapping, there are further mysteries: Why is that black SUV following them, and just what are their parents doing in Uzbekistan? There's danger lurking: a pair of Rottweiler guard dogs, a neighbor girl who stands in the window with a sign that says "Go Away," and two men who don't want intruders. Their uncle's lab, with its "Keep Out" sign, is full of intriguing and useful--if possibly explosive--material. Tesla is a girl with guts and good ideas; Nick is equally clever but more cautious. The instructions for making a rocket launcher, a robo-cat, a semi-invisible nighttime van tracker, an alarm and an electromagnet are clear and the diagrams helpful. Opportunities for humor abound, especially in the character of the distracted inventor uncle, first seen covered with sticky orange slime. Art includes circuit board plans and circuit diagrams; pencil illustrations show the twins and their friends, DeMarco and Silas. A sequel, Nick and Tesla's Robot Army Rampage, is scheduled for 2014. A promising first offer in a series that offers plenty of appeal for middle-grade and middle school readers. (Adventure. 9-13)

Kirkus Reviews