The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook

Julian can't make any friends because no one appreciates an eleven-year-old science genius. It doesn't help that he looks like a stereotypical nerd with his glasses, small stature and orthopedic shoes. He's tormented by bullies at school and no one cares how smart he is. His scientific experiments are ignored and derided. To add insult to injury, even his parents don't get him. So when his family moves into a new town and he starts at a new school, he's determined to make some friends, no matter what the cost. He decides to act stupid. Will acting stupid really get him friends? The ploy doesn't work, anyway. He can't stop himself from spouting his knowledge, and then he cowers in fear of what the other kids will do to him. Much to his surprise, he makes friends. A girl he thought was a punk (Greta) and a boy he thought was a dumb jock (Ben) turn out to also be science geniuses. They form their own group: The Secret Science Alliance. Together they make inventions and jot down their ideas in a notebook. But what happens when the notebook goes missing and someone else steals credit for their work? And what if a person they once respected is the guilty party? The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook is a very fun and cute children's graphic novel. In fact, it can be enjoyed by people of all different ages, including adults. Julian's struggle to make friends, while shown in a funny way, is really sympathetic and understanding. Anyone who's had trouble forging friendships or shamed for their smarts can understand what he's going through. It's also great that smarts win in the end of this book, and Julian realizes it's okay to be a brainiac. All of the pages are in color, and Davis has some neat techniques in her art, like naming all the parts of Julian's brain (segments include "Da Vinci Vs. Edison: Who Will Win?" and "Periodic Table of Elements"). She also will let character's words cut off into other pictures if she wants to show that the words aren't important or no one's even listening to what's being said. There are a lot of simple and lighthearted touches like these that bring the graphic novel to life and make it such a delight to read. The Secret Science Alliance's main strong points are its amusing characters, quirky storytelling and unique styles of drawing. This could be an ideal book for a library, including a library at an elementary school or junior high. It also does a good job at showing the strength of learning and intelligence, showing kids it's okay to be "nerds."

My scientific minded, eight-year-old son LOVES this book. The artwork is incredibly detailed and snappy, there's so much to look at! Lot's of fun. Bring on the sequel!

We picked up this book at the Decatur Book Festival without knowing anything about it. Both my boys read it and loved, loved, loved it! We were heartbroken that we hadn't gone to Ms. Davis' presentation since they missed the opportunity to meet her but of course, that was before we know how much they would enjoy the book. This ought to hit the children's best seller list. What did they love about the book? The amount of detail in the drawings was impressive. Also, the side jokes that managed to be knowing but not cynical or snide. It is both a wise and an innocent book, at the same time. If you have brainy kids who sometimes think that they are out of step with the crowd, then they will find a hero in this book.

You know a book's gotta be good when the first thought that enters your brain after reading it is, "I bet this took the author YEARS and YEARS to finish!" If you're reading a novel then it's probably a good bet you thought that because the story is long and convoluted. But if you think it about a graphic novel, there's really only one reason for that. It must be heavily detailed, complicated, well written, and intense. Meet The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook then. A little book that, at the outset, didn't interest me much. The cover failed to lure me in and the title was meh all over. It really wasn't until my boss handed it to me to read that I decided to give it a go and see whether it was worth checking out. I'm so glad he did too since this is one of the most eye-popping, ambitious, intelligent graphic novels for kids I've seen in a long time. And I can guarantee you that it's like nothing your children have ever seen before. When Julian Calendar starts school in a new town he is determined to fit in. No longer shall he be unceremoniously dumped into garbage cans for the crime of being a nerd. No! Julian is determined to hide his intelligence and smarts for as long as it takes to fit in. His plans, as it happens, are thwarted when two of his classmates (a girl and a jock) discover his secret and let him in on one of their own. Unbeknownst to the population at large, these kids are science geniuses. With Julian as their third they begin "The Secret Science Alliance". But dark machinations are afoot. When their Invention Notebook is purloined and a local scientist of questionable morality takes credit for their inventions, they are determined to get their property back. In doing so, however, they find that the villain plans to rob the local museum for an item of inestimable cost. Will they be able to stop him in time? Stay tuned, faithful readers. Since I grew up with comics I've always been a little baffled by adults who tell me that they never "learned to read" comics. There's something about the sequential art that throws them for a loop. They have problems integrating the words and the images in their brains (thereby giving lie to the assumption that comics are less sophisticated than literature and art merely because they combine the two formats). Anyway, I always thought this was a pretty silly thing to say. Reading The Secret Science Alliance, however, suddenly I understand that perspective. It's a logical series of sequences, but Davis is playing with some incredibly sophisticated paneling here. Open up to the first page and you'll see what I mean. The book begins with a four part cause and effect sequence where the arrows containing the "before" sections lead you to see the "after" effects. The first three lead to the right and the last one leads downward. And amazingly enough, on this single page you learn everything you need to know about the character of Julian. Now kids with a love of comics will be able to figure