The Mad Scientist Academy
Join Dr. Cosmic’s clever class of monsters as they solve the greatest challenges in science, in this blend of adventure and exploration, perfect for Common Core and STEM. With a mad genius for a teacher, things don’t always go as planned. But armed with high-tech handbooks and the scientific method, Dr. Cosmic’s class is ready to solve their way out of any disaster.
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Creating the Illustrations
Each page in Mad Scientist Academy goes through a process from rough sketches to finished art. Here’s how it’s done.
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Designing the SKWID Submarine
The centerpiece of The Ocean Disaster book is Dr. Cosmic’s latest invention, a submarine shaped like a giant squid. Learn how it was designed for the book.
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Meet the Scientist
METEOROLOGIST JASON GOUGH
Writing The Weather Disaster, I got to work with Jason Gough, a meteorologist on the NewsChannel First Warning Weather Team at WNYT in Albany NY.
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Meet the Scientist
PALEONTOLOGIST CARL MEHLING
Writing The Dinosaur Disaster, I got to work with Carl Mehling, paleontologist and Senior Scientific Assistant at the American Museum of Natural History.
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Activities and Lesson Plans
Activities and lesson plans for all the Mad Scientist Academy books.
The Dinosaur Disaster
2015, Crown Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 0553523740
The first day of school is always exciting, and Dr. Cosmic’s new students can’t wait to get started. After their teacher reveals that their school pet, Oscar, is a dinosaur, they quickly realize Dr. Cosmic has an unusual teaching style. To find Oscar, the class has to follow the clues through the realistic dinosaur exhibit Dr. Cosmic designed and built over the summer. But when a malfunction causes the robotic dinosaurs to come alive, this prehistoric exhibit feels a little too real and the students must use their knowledge of paleontology and dinosaur behavior to save themselves and the school.
“An informative but hair-raising tour of a rather-too-realistic dinosaur exhibit gives six new students a memorable first day at Mad Scientist Academy. Barely have the young folk—a notably diverse group of kidlike monsters and nonhumans—met their new teacher Dr. Cosmic (green skin, orange goatee, goggles, lab coat) than the action starts. Soon they’re narrowly avoiding obliteration from a flaming model meteor, stepping hastily away from oozing lava, and fleeing a set of robotic dinos inadvertently switched to “Live” mode. Meanwhile, they’re also learning about fossils, mass extinctions (mutters Dr. Cosmic “Note to self: turn down the lava”), dinosaurs in various Mesozoic periods, pterosaurs, and the similarities between theropods and modern birds. The scholars are aided in their enquiries by pocket-sized, utterly cool “Mad Scientist handbooks,” which fold out into arrays of helpful screens, touchpads, tools, and gadgets.”
The Weather Disaster
2016, Crown Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 0553523767
Dr. Cosmic can’t wait to introduce the students to his latest invention, the CHAOS machine, an invention that controls the weather on campus. The students learn all there is to know about the atmosphere, condensation, and precipitation from the great meteorologist, Dr. Nimbus. But when the climate machine starts to malfunction, causing extreme weather conditions inside the school, the students must use their upgraded handbooks and weather instruments to stop the machine before it destroys all of Mad Scientist Academy.
“Dr. Cosmic and his Mad Scientist Academy students are back for a second outing that is truly out there. The green-faced, wild-haired Dr. Cosmic has invented a wearable weather balloon and a CHAOS (Cooling/Heating Airflow Operating System) machine and is unnervingly optimistic about their success. As will no doubt be the pattern throughout the series, the students must absorb a crash course in this curriculum so that they can save both the professor and the day. Even adults reading the book aloud at school or at home will learn a few things. The colorful comic strip format is varied and dramatic. Not all readers will linger over the occasional info-packed box (“The Water Cycle,” “Types of Precipitation,” etc.), but the facts are made optimally interesting through dramatic and funny illustrations. Drama, humor, color, and format are indeed the main elements that make this and the previous volume so enticing—along with the occasional “KABOOM!” and “KA-BAM!” VERDICT Science fans and comics enthusiasts will dive right into this, but don’t deprive other readers; there’s enough fun here for anyone.”
The Space Disaster
2017, Crown Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 055352383X
With the help of Dr. Cosmic’s latest invention, a mad scientist-style planetarium, the class must complete four challenges. But the machine malfunctions, and each time the planetarium shifts and the atmosphere changes, the students find themselves floating from planet to planet. They put their new magnetic antigravity belts and trusted handbooks to the test to figure out where in the solar system Dr. Cosmic’s invention has “sent” them—and how to land safely back on Earth.
“In the latest adventure in the series, the intrepid monster students head into space. With the guidance of their goofy teacher, Dr. Cosmic, the kids use the amped up planetarium to experience the solar system in a dangerously close-up way. As the malfunctioning planetarium mimics the atmospheres of moons, planets, and comets, the students have to use their knowledge to solve three challenges to complete their assignment and escape the perils of space! Information about basic physical concepts such as gravity and more complex astronomical objects, including asteroids, meteoroids, and comets, is integrated into the story very naturally. The comic-style layout and light, simple dialogue are appealing and give the narrative an action-packed feel. VERDICT This book will easily find a place on fun nonfiction shelves or as part of a beginning graphic novel collection. The result is the same—it’s a space adventure that young readers will pore over, learn from, and enjoy.”
The Ocean Disaster
This book is currently out of print and is not available for purchase.
2019, Crown Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 1524767190
The students in Dr. Cosmic’s class take their lessons underwater when they’re introduced to his latest invention, the SKWID–a special submarine that explores the ocean and looks like a real giant squid. With the guidance of oceanographer Professor Fathom, the class embarks on an exploration of the deep sea. Their next assignment? Identify the smallest producers and consumers of the ocean. But when a giant whale approaches the SKWID, mistaking it for an actual squid, the students must use their trusted scientific handbooks to find a way to escape the submarine and return to the undersea lab–before they become the whale’s lunch.
“With a focus on green energy and curiosity about ocean life, readers will learn about seaweed as a source of alternative fuel, as well as echolocation and the role of producers and consumers in the food web of the ocean ecosystem. Well-known children’s author and illustrator McElligott’s fourth installment follows the graphic novel design of it predecessors. VERDICT An amusing, informational graphic novel–esque picture book that is easy to follow and will charm readers while teaching them about the ocean. Ideal for public and elementary school libraries.”
