Friday, May 4, 2012

Dr. Proctor’s Fart Powder



Dr. Proctor’s Fart Powder
Jo Nesbo, illustrated by Mike Lowery
Aladdin, 2010
$15.99, Hardcover
978-1416979722
March 29th, 2012

Genre: Humor
Age: 8+
Description: Nilly is new to town. He’s also a bit odd, prone to making up stories, and also very, very short. He makes only two friends—Lisa, the girl next door, and Dr. Proctor, a scientist who has lots of failed inventions to his name. Soon Nilly discovers Dr. Proctor’s fart powder, an invention the doctor considers a big failure since it was supposed to stop people from farting and in fact does the opposite. Nilly tries to convince the doctor that he’s sitting on a goldmine—the doctor needs to change his target audience because kids will love a powder that makes you make powerfully loud and non-smelly farts! Armed with an even stronger formula that can send you flying to space—the Fartonaut powder—the two set out to make Dr. Proctor famous. Too bad the evil father of the Twins of Terror—Truls and Trym—get Nilly and the doctor thrown in jail for selling a dangerous substance to children. Using this opportunity, Truls and Trym break into the doctor’s house in an attempt to steal the formula for their father. Is there anything they can do to stop them?
Opinion: This Norwegian import (which has had some sequels) is definitely different. To me it is odder than it is funny. Readers will totally get a kick out of the oddness though and especially laugh at the power of the fart powder and the absurdity of the Fartonaut formula. Not only do readers experience the fart powder but they also get taken on a journey to an impenetrable jail cell, a trip to the sewers, an encounter with a large anaconda, a death defying escape from inside the belly of said anaconda, the discovery of a missing stash of explosives for the Independence Day parade, and a happy ending for all.

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