Module 3: Picture Books for the Younger Set-- Pre-K-2nd Grade

Sierra, Judy. Secret Science Project That Almost Ate the School. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2007.

Summary: When a young third grader doesn't know what to bring for her science project, she finds a science project on the internet guaranteed to win first prize. When the Super Slime arrives, she neglects to read the instructions carefully and the slime escapes, quickly devouring her cat, her sister, her teacher, and classmates! Once she remembers to feed the slime sugar, it bursts releasing all of its captives in a gooey mess. 

Impressions:

The perfect combination of Stephen Gammel's trademark and eccentric watercolors, colored pencils and pastels, and Judy Sierra's perfectly rhymed and flowing story. When the science project comes to life, the illustrations almost come off the page, and the expressions on everyone's faces are exaggerated to show the disaster unfolding. More than slightly gruesome, and 100% hilarious, this is a sure fire winner for all ages, especially those students who have been stumped when looking for the perfect science project. This book would make a great discussion starter for teachers introducing science fair projects, and for teachers trying to get the point across of the importance of following directions.

Reviews:

School Library Journal:

The watercolor, colored pencil, and pastel illustrations are typical Gammell–the girl bears a striking resemblance to the boy in Liz Rosenberg's Monster Mama (Philomel, 1993; o.p.), round glasses and all; she's just perfect for this slightly wild story. This book could be used as a jumping-off point for science projects–a little levity always helps during the science-experiment season.

Booklist:

The laughs and suspense are wonderfully magnified by Gammell's skew-angled, paint-splotched illustrations, which explode with fantasy and the familiar, messy details of a child's world. An energetic, darkly comic spin on the common story of a science project gone wrong.