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Never has science been so entertaining as in Project: Genius, written by William Hayes in 1962. Hayes also illustrated his book with a few humorous pictures. The hero, Peter Sheldon, must be about 12 years old and loves to learn. The first two pages of the novel set the tone and scope of the book. The reader is assured that Pete’s story will be hilarious.
In the year that is chronicled in Project: Genius, Pete decides to concentrate on science. He wants to win the prize for the best Original Outside Project, which is getting to go to the State Science Fair. Pete is full of ideas, most of which result in some kind of disaster. But he is persistent, believes strongly in the scientific method and in scientific integrity, and eventually some of his ideas work out well. He also has a new baby brother named Andrew that he has to babysit. The interaction of Pete and Andrew is hilarious. Pete and his parents get along fine, and there is plenty of humor in his Dad’s and Mom’s advice.
Pete Sheldon reminds me a good deal of another scientific but hilarious boy, Henry Reed. If you liked the Henry Reed books, you will love Project: Genius, from which you will also learn more than you might think about science. The reading level is early middle school, but the level of the humor spans all ages. For that reason, this would be a great family read-aloud book.