"In the tradition of "Casey at the Bat" and Edgar Allen Poe." —Daniel Pinkwater on NPR Weekend Edition Saturday
"Sierra spins an impeccably rhymed yarn about a last minute science-fair experiment gone fabulously amok."
--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
The Secret Science Project That Almost Ate the School Illustrated by Stephen Gammell. Simon & Schuster.
The Story Behind the Book
I wanted to write a picture book about a popular elementary school tradition, and decided upon a science fair. What if a lazy student bought a science project on the Internet? What if that science project turned out to be very dangerous? I researched genuine science fair projects until I found one that might by some stretch of the imagination wreak havoc: the old yeast-eats-sugar-and-gets-really-really-big experiment. The most difficult part of The Secret Science Project that Almost Ate the School was telling the story in perfect metered rhyme. It took four years and two editors to get it just right.
Stephen Gammell's illustrations are beautiful and funny and frightening, all at the same time. No wonder he has received some of the most important awards for illustrating children's books.