Blast off!

Gr 2-5-Another normal school year is about to start for fourth grader Zack McGee until a small blue alien crash lands in his bedroom. In Blast Off!, Amp the alien stows away in Zack's backpack and joins him at school while Zack tries to figure out a way to repair Amp's ship. This proves most difficult for Zack who, unlike his overachieving scientist family, would rather spend time on the baseball diamond. His neighbor and best friend, Olivia, helps explain the science behind the story. The chapters are short and delightful pencil drawings accompany the text. Ball integrates real science in a refreshing way. In the second installment, The Science UnFair, Zack faces failing science if he does not get an A on his science project. He must also prevent Amp's identity from being exposed. When the day of the science fair comes, Zack's experiment works almost a little too well and all but destroys the science fair finals. The first book includes step-by-step instructions for creating a bottle rocket, while the second book offer instructions for constructing electromagnets. The science is aligned to the Common Core standards as well. Both titles will likely have appeal to even the most reluctant reader.-Wayne R. Cherry, Jr., First Baptist Academy Library, Houston, TX (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Amp, a small blue alien who crash lands in Zack's bedroom, needs help returning home. But Zack prefers baseball to science, so his best friend Olivia and Amp illuminate various scientific concepts for Zack amid spaceship reconstruction. Complete with instructions for safe experiments and illustrated with comic black-and-white ink drawings, this series is a winning concoction of silly action and serious science. [Review covers these Alien in My Pocket titles: Blast Off! and The Science Unfair.] (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.