The Missing Cuckoo Clock: A Mystery about Gravity

by Lynda Beauregard, Der-shing Helmer (Illustrator)

Overview

There's a new kid at Camp Dakota! It's Megan’s first year, and all she can think about is riding horses. But gravity seems to be getting in the way of all the campers' fun, from the stables to the beach. Then the big cuckoo clock in the main cabin goes missing. Who would take a cuckoo clock? Can the campers use the weighty facts they've learned to solve the mystery of where it went—and why?

Look in the back of the book for experiments and more to help you become a science detective too!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467773430
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/01/2014
Series:	Summer Camp Science Mysteries
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	48
File size:	17 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Lynda Beauregard wrote her first story when she was seven years old, and hasn't stopped writing since. She also likes to teach kids how to swim, design websites, direct racecars out onto the track, and throw super balls for her cat, Becca. She lives near Detroit with her two lovely daughters, who are doing their best to turn her hair grey.

Der-shing Helmer is a high school biology teacher who originally went to college to learn about reptiles. After she graduated she decided to try teaching instead. In her spare time she likes to write and draw comics and read a variety of books!

Editorial Reviews

"In this Summer Camp Science Mystery, the kids at Camp Dakota—along with newcomer Megan—focus on gravity and how it affects everything they do. Even as they learn about the effects of friction on gravity and how changing the center of gravity can affect one's balance, the cuckoo clock disappears from the main cabin. Now everyone must become a detective to find the clock. Learning about gravity gets a lift from the colorful art and engaging story, and students may even be inspired to try experiments in the back matter." —Booklist

From the Publisher

Summer-camp kids get (scientifically) physical. Falling between a boxed definition of gravity and explanations of how that force interacts with others, the story is largely a framework for nonstop real-life demonstrations of gravity in action. Readers see it at work on clock weights, dripping water, a beach ball, random falling objects--and horse-mad new camper Megan, who falls a hair below the height requirement to ride in the afternoon, but (after a night spent lying down) measures a half-inch taller the next morning. Helmer supplies brightly colored cartoon panels featuring a multicultural crew of young campers engaged in general horseplay or watching in wide-eyed wonder as a counselor explains how a mechanical clock works or concocts simple physics demonstrations. Even the titular cuckoo clock swings past as just a MacGuffin for showing how a pendulum works. Predominantly instructional, but light enough not to sink beneath the weight of its purpose. (glossary, instructions for two experiments, URL for supplementary material) (Graphic fiction/nonfiction hybrid. 8-10)

Kirkus Reviews