A GREAT WAY TO INTRODUCE SCIENCE FICTION TO A SEVENTH GRADER
923206
The Norby Chronicles

To date the series contains the following books, not including the omnibus editions which have their own titles:

* Norby, the Mixed-Up Robot (1983)
* Norby's Other Secret (1984)
* Norby and the Lost Princess (1985)
* Norby and the Invaders (1985)
* Norby and the Queen's Necklace (1986)
* Norby Finds a Villain (1987)
* Norby Down to Earth (1988)
* Norby and Yobo's Great Adventure (1989)
* Norby and the Oldest Dragon (1990)
* Norby and the Court Jester (1991)

The three Omnibus Editions are:
The Norby Chronicles (Books 1 &2)
Norby Robot for Hire (Books 3 & 4)
Norby through Time and Space (Books 5& 6)

In the Norby Chronicles you meet Jeff Wells, an awkward fourteen year old boy who is trying to graduate from the Space Academy.  He gets into more trouble than anybody.  For example he trying to "sleep learn" Martian Swahili when he screws up the kitchen computer which translates all the recipes into Martian Swahili.  That wouldn't be so bad except Admiral Yobo, the Academy Commandant, is very fond of eating.  He's also fond of Jeff's older brother Fargo Wells (apparently Janet likes a good pun).  Anyhow Admiral Yobo lends Jeff the money to buy a second-hand robot, which starts this adventure.  You'll meet Space Pirates, Ing the Ingrate, Dragons, and sentient robots.

Highly recommended for mid- to early teens and up

Gunner  August 2007
3944906
This is Part 1 of a 5 Part series, and sets the background for what is to come in Gilbert's adventures. We are introduced to Gilbert a farm boy who keeps getting woken up in the night by some very weird dreams. One night, following one of these dreams, he looks through his telescope and notices a bright light coming towards earth. When he goes to investigate he stumbles upon Aolon, who he learns is a Martian girl. And so the adventures have begun.

WOW ! What a great way to introduce young readers to the imaginative world of Science Fiction and Fantasy. This is a wonderfully written book, that has lots of bright and vibrant illustrations that draw the reader into the story, and beautifully illustrates the world that Aolon lives in. I can't wait to read the next part of the story, to find out what mission is being set for Gilbert and Aolon.
4711895
I received this compliments of the author.
I really think this is a great mystery's of the universe's book to open your child's eyes to the potential of life on other planets.
Wonderfully illustrated this very short tale is sure to open lots of interest in your child about our solar system.
I would recommend this to the preschool age group especially if homeschooling.
1756613
I'm not a huge science fiction fan, because the concepts and vocabulary are usually over my head. But I really liked this book for a couple of reasons. First, it consists of lots of short stories - nothing too heavy or complicated. Second, some of the stories are funny. Others are sort of thought-provoking. I think this would be great for kids who like science but don't like to read long books.
4892378
As a disclaimer I want to state that I knew Christy Esmahan in high school, so my review is not completely unbiased.  Disclosure aside, I really enjoyed Christy's foray into science fiction.  One of the things I particularly enjoyed about the book is how Christy brought together a bunch of disparate topics (arctic ice, climate change, the strange behavior of viruses, and how the domestication of cats may have helped drive increased incidences of mental illness in humans) into a cohesive and thought provoking story that provokes the old "hell that could happen!" response.  Christy also has a distinct knack for teaching the important science parts of her story via very engaging character dialogue.  Indeed her novel makes for a fine microbiology lesson for those of us that didn't pay attention to that class in high school or college.  Christy's book develops at a very quick pace, and if I have a suggestion for Christy it would be to add a few pages for character development.  There were a couple of minor characters (Max and Molly come to mind) I wanted to know more.  All in all, a great page turner.  Loved it.  We should encourage Christy to continue to write in this genre and I have asked her for a sequel to this novel.  And cat owners are a tad crazy?  Heck I always suspected as much.
865414
This is a sci-fi book for kids.  The narrative follows Dave and Jane on their first solo space mission -- and suggests along the way a kooky alternative explanation for how our solar system took its shape and how so many different people came to live on Earth.  My 6 year old loves it, not because he thinks the story is real, but because he knows it isn't!
2307832
My middle school aged daughter just begged to stay up until 11 pm on a school night to finish this book.  I have not read it yet but she absolutely loved it and cannot wait for the second installment.  Highly recommended to kids who like the current sci-fi teen scene.  My daughter is using it for one of her 8th grade language arts projects.  Can't wait to read it myself
120257
Great science fiction with LOTS of accurate science. For use in middle school, select the Classroom Edition due to language.
1003119
Felix, an alien, discovers the meaning of true friendship as he experiences summer camp on Earth. My students have enjoyed getting to know Felix in Tales of an Alien Invader and are looking forward to more of his adventures as I use this book as a read aloud in my classroom. There are great lessons to be learned from Felix and his friends as their experiences will generate many discussions. Another great middle level book by Michelle Brown!
4025162
Our 6th grader is enjoying this series.  He is currently on the 3rd book.  They are a quick read but keep him engaged and reading.  It was hard to pin him down on what he liked about them, "They are good."  "Yes, they are funny".  But as he keeps reading the series, they are obviously appealing to him.  He also has enjoyed the Maze Runner series by James Dashner, "Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen The Eighth Day series by Dianne Salerni, and, of course The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney.
1746937
I just finished reading Space Mountain with my 6 year old. We will be in Disney this summer, and this seemed like a fun way to build excitement. My son generally doesn't read graphic novels, but this one quickly drew him in. Every day this week his first request after getting home from school was to continue reading. In fact he finished it last night with a babysitter.  I finished it up this morning so we could chat about it.  He loved it. The time travelers land in times with dinosaurs and pirates which were a definite win for him.  He has already started rereading it. I would recommend this book for kids interested in space, especially if you will be heading to Disney for the ride. My son is already requesting the sequel.
3291561
This is one of my favorite books to read to my students.  And every time I read it, the students are very excited.  She's an explorer, she asks questions, she's confident, she is her own person, and she uses science in a fun way.  The words flow nicely together and the overall themes behind the story are great for teaching students about following their passions, asking questions, and self-exploration.  Great book!  I've read this to 1st and 2nd grade students with great success.
3433754
These are excellent books - Jumping Off the Planet, Bouncing Off the Moon, and Leaping to the Stars, especially for adolescents and teens.  Having read SF for 50 years I found them to be well written, well plotted, believable and interesting - in some ways reminiscent of Heinlein's best juveniles but with more "human" characters (always Heinlein's weakness).  With a 13 year old story teller/protagonist, the series touches on such topics as artificial intelligence, sentience, "who am I", good/evil, the purpose/role of government, and economics.  It starts with a believable future Earth (nearing apocolyptic status) scenario, the science is believable and fairly well, if lightly, explained.  Lots of adventures, dilemmas, rescues, and some romance.  And interesting to see how an originally disfunctional family learns to become functional and a family.  A "coming of age" tone for the protagonist as he discovers "who am I".  Worth reading, and if you want to introduce an adolescent or teenager to SF, this is a good series to start with.
If you are a parent thinking about these books for your child, note that there is a homosexual relationship in the series.  I don't find this a problem, but you might.
1814446
Bought this for a middle schooler who LOVED the story line.
481883
Lenny Cyrus, School Virus is a clever, well written book that will hold great appeal for students in grades 5-8.  Lenny is the school genius, exempted from some classes because he's so far above the material.  What he can't figure out is how to talk to girls, which leads to the trouble he gets into in this book.  Lenny shrinks himself down to microscopic size, fits himself in a pill, and has his friend drop him in Zooey's drink.  His goal?  Travel to Zooey's brain and convince her that he's not the total loser everyone thinks he is.  A pretty sketchy motivation, but it leads to some really well written adventure that leaves you on the edge of your seat.  Lenny travels from the stomach, to the ovaries (there's a party going on down there), and eventually to the BBB (Blood-Brain Barrier).

We do get to meet Lenny's parents, two distracted scientists who don't understand him. I thought the author did a good job exploring this story line as Lenny learns to make himself heard and his parents learn how to listen.  Lenny is a fully developed, well written character that kids will find easy to relate to.  He gets bullied, but doesn't want to leave public school, even though his parents want to ship him off to private school.  He values his friendship with Harlan and has loved Zooey since the third grade.  These things seem to be way more important to him than his giant brain, and it makes you really root for him to figure things out.

There is a lot of stuff going on in this book, and I will admit that I had a hard time in the beginning with the perspective shifts.  It takes a while for each of these characters to develop a distinctive voice, but when they do, the narrative just cooks right along at a very rapid pace.  There is a lot of science in this book which is sure to appeal to the science geeks but might leave a regular reader feeling a bit lost.

I enjoyed this book and feel that it will be best enjoyed by young readers grades 6 and up.  It does include illustrations, which were helpful when Lenny encountered various bacteria and viruses.  There are moments of genuine peril and some good lessons learned about facing the consequences of poor decisions (Lenny makes quite a few).  This is an exciting read and an enthusiastic recommend.
287404
I'm a longtime fan of Gillian Bradshaw's work, though I'll admit, I'm more enamored of her adult historical fiction and fantasy than her sci-fi.  That said, I bought this ostensibly for my ten-year-old son, as an engaging introduction to sci-fi.  I "borrowed" it from him first, though.

My son enjoyed it so much that we had a bit of an argument at bedtime, when he wanted to keep reading and I declared it lights-out and MY turn. I would say it's geared toward a 5th-7th grade reading level or thereabouts?

The narrative is pretty fast-paced and action-packed - no "boring" lengthy descriptions of scenery or long character-developing conversations.  (A plus, for my son.)  There are guns, explosives, kidnappings, spaceships, futuristic weapons, spies, scary assassin aliens, benevolent shape-shifter aliens, and more.  No romance whatsoever; also no teenage angst and soul-searching and struggling to figure out one's identity.  Also not especially scary or gory - characters (only bad guys and non-sentient aliens) are killed, though we don't get any graphic descriptions of violence - it's just mentioned.

The bad guys are bad, the good guys are good.  Period.  None of the modern-novel grey areas to ponder; this book doesn't ask my kid to put himself in the bad guy's shoes and figure out what in his childhood may have twisted him, nor does it leave the reader wondering who really WAS the bad guy after all.  The hero (a 14 year old boy?  Or maybe 12?) doesn't have a secret dark side or a fatal flaw, nor does he have super powers or a genius IQ or the like.  He could be any kid.  Bradshaw does a nice job creating some backstory and a believable variety of alien life and culture, without it turning into an overwhelming book of fantasy anthropology.

All in all, it's an enjoyable story that's very action/plot driven, with a likable male protagonist and lots of interesting alien details.  I'd say your average adventurous girl might also enjoy it, but it certainly hits all the geared-for-boys buttons.  If this ended up becoming a series (Bradshaw left room for a prequel, at least), we would buy the others!
4301995
this is an excellent short story for all level readers. it is simple science fiction that keeps your attention from start to finish. It is a short book and broken up into short chapters making it easy for young readers. I am excited to read the sequels and am planning to do so soon