Customer Reviews

The Mad Scientists' Club

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I ordered this book through Scholastic when I was in grade school back in the 70's. I always kept my copy, and I've handed it down to my son. I ordered another for my daughter and then purchased all three books for both of my kids. I highly recommend this book and the others by Mr. Brinley. You won't be disappointed.

I remember seeing this book as a movie when I was a kid and I would love to find out the name that it was released under. I remember seeing it in school then on TV a little while later. The actors were British or Australian...that type of accent. I don't remember if I saw the movie or read the book first. It was probably around 1974 when I saw it.

I remember only three authors from my childhood: Richard Scarry, Bill Peet, and Bertrand R. Brinley - author of the fantastic Mad Scientists' Club. I read the Mad Scientists' Club to my sons recently who ended up loving the tales as much as I do.

A must read for any boy aged 6-10 years old who loves the freedom to muck about with their friends in a parent-free, resource rich environment. Sadly, a rapidly vanishing freedom for most boys today.

What's good about the Mad Scientists' Club book is that there are a bunch of stories in one book, and some are really funny, like the time they built a Loch Ness Monster and put it in Strawberry Lake. I think the funniest story in the book is The Unidentified Flying Man of Mammoth Falls. So anyone who likes to read really funny, mysterious, cool things, get this book--it's good for you.

About 30 years ago, I read this book and fell in love with it. As I grew up, I would take it out and read it again, and I still enjoyed it. Recently, I took out my 30 year old paperback copy, and started sharing it with my children who are just getting old enough to enjoy it, and they love it also. This book is fun, exciting and imaginative. I can not find words adequate enough to express how much I enjoyed this book.

Whatever the maximum number of stars allowed in a review, this book would rate every single one. The librarians got used to seeing me check out both Mad Scientist books on a regular basis, & I was fortunate enough to find copies to add to my own library back in the late '80s. The best recommendation I can give is that my mom (who also loves the books) said that she always knew when I was reading a Mad Scientist story, because she would hear shrieks of laughter coming from my room!

I loved this book! When I was growing up, I rode my bike to the library and read as many books as I could. In many ways, I was following in the steps of Thomas Edison (one of my idols). No, I was not the "success" that he was, but many of his goals were similar. He would go to the Detroit public library (about a half hour from my house) and read books, somewhat at random but in alphabetical order -- all kinds of topics. I did much the same, but it was more focused along what I liked. As for fiction, this book was one of the best.

I read it when in elementary school, middle school, high school and college. I have not read it as an adult, but now that my son is at that age, I plan to get it for him (and possibly read it myself!).

I really liked "Today I am a Ham", but not as much as this book. I liked "Lord of the Rings" probably better than this book, which would account for my reading that trilogy 7 times.

If you want to encourage your child to go into the hard sciences, this book will certainly do that. Even if you do not want that, this book is certainly entertaining. Compared to television and movies, it would be a mix of "McGuyver" and "Stand By Me".

I remember reading The Mad Scientists' Club aloud with my dad and mom as a child. We'd alternate chapters, pausing only long enough for the laughter to subside. Later I re-read the book in my mid-twenties, simply for nostalgia's sake. I discovered that the humor had lost none of its charm, and that the characters were still the same gang of ornery, creative geniuses that I'd remembered from youth. So much fun, and such a great introduction to reading. It's not tragic or soul-searching or brilliant prose; it's BETTER than all of these things: it's a page-turning series of adventures -- almost a '50s-era Tom Sawyer -- that celebrates intelligence, curiosity, and youthful imagination. Order this fantastic book for every child you know. (And don't miss The New Adventures of the Mad Scientists' Club, either!)

I first read The Mad Scientists' Club in 6th grade when it was a Scholastic Book Club selection. It quickly became my favorite, it never failed to tickle me to the point of laughing hysterically!
A very nasty little girl "borrowed" my copy some 15 years later and never returned it when she moved out of town. I tried to replace it haunting used bookstores and then online auctions that quickly out bid me.
My sister took pity on me when she saw it had been reprinted. That very first day, I started to read it to my 7 year old daughter and several times we had to stop reading to catch our breath and wipe away the tears of laughter. This book is just what everybody needs to get back to simpler amusements.

When I was a kid, I loved books that got me thinking how I could do fun projects or have fun adventures in my own life.
THE MAD SCIENTIST'S CLUB is one of the best books to give kids vision of what they can accomplish, in a fun way.

I spent time imagining what kinds of contraptions I could build, after reading this book.

A must for any child who needs motivation.

--George Stancliffe