Boys and girls alike will love the brother and sister team of Coke and Pepsi McDonald as they find out they were secretly enrolled in a program for gifted kids. Their mission? To save the world. Obstacles? Bad guys and encrypted messages. Weapons? Cool inventions that will get any kid's imagination running wild!
Parents will love that their kids are reading about this cross-country adventure, as the McDonald family makes its way across the continental United States, starting in California and making their way east to New York. They stop at interesting (real) landmarks and run into challenges along the way.
Mission Unstoppable grabs the reader with the first line: "There were ten items on Coke McDonald's to-do list on June 17, but JUMP OFF A CLIFF was not one of them."
The Genius Files is also an interactive reading experience. Dan Gutman instructs readers to go onto Google Maps (with a parent's permission) to follow the trip, along major highways and off-the-beaten-path roads, showing the reader how Coke and Pepsi get to the very real places they visit.
It's funny. It's smart. It's fast-paced and exciting!
Add The Genius Files: Mission Unstoppable to your child's summer reading list - it has everything we have come to love about Dan Gutman's books!
Book Extras:
Genius Files Games
Explore the World of Dan Gutman
Dan Gutman - official website
About the Book:
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins (January 25, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9780061827648
ISBN-13: 978-0061827648
Dan Gutman has written many weird books for kids. He lives in New Jersey (a very weird place) with his weird wife and two weird children.
Dan Gutman is also known for his My Weird School (Mr. Sunny is Funny) series, his new My Weirder School (Miss Child has Gone Wild) series, Baseball Card Adventures (Ted and Me), and his Million Dollar (The Million Dollar Shot) series, as well as several stand-alone middle grade books (Nightmare at the Book Fair).
The Genius Files #2: Never Say Genius - coming January 2012
*Disclosure: A Review copy of this book was provided by the publisher.
Book Trailer:
Shop Indie Bookstores
Selected by Indie Booksellers for the Spring 2011 Kids' Next List
. 
3 comments:
I bet this would be a great book and series for my best friend's two young sons. One is a reluctant reader, but the other is crazy about reading. I bet that they would both love this one. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on it with us!
Coke and Pepsi McDonald? I'm already laughing!
Fabulous! I didn't realize the cute names when I picked it up at BEA. I was happy to meet Dan Gutman! His books are so loved at my library. I am going to donate this one to my library!
Great review!
Post a Comment
Talk to me!