Status
Available
Call number
Publication
HarperCollins
Pages
292
Description
Juvenile Fiction. Juvenile Literature. Humor (Fiction.) HTML:Herbert Slewg and his hapless, video game�??addicted neighbor Alex Filby have stumbled upon what Einstein could only theorize about: a wormhole through the space/time continuum. They travel 100 years into the future of their no-longer-boring town and are mistaken for alien slayers . . . in a world run by a benevolent alien race with cheerful Australian accents and uncomfortably fake facial hair. Herbert, Alex, and their mutual crush, Sammi Clementine, century-hop across time in order to outwit a disgruntled "G'Dalien. By foiling his evil plot, they save the planet and become 22nd-century hometown heroes in this smart-alecky (but friendly), inventive, wry, and very visual creation.
Collection
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2009-05-05
Physical description
292 p.; 8.5 inches
ISBN
0061688681 / 9780061688683
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User reviews
LibraryThing member nbmars
Alex Filby loves video games. But as the summer before sixth grade began, he promised his parents that as soon as he had mastered AlienSlayer 2, he would play outside. Unfortunately, just as he zapped the last Alien Invader, AlienSlayer:3-D! arrived in stores. Alex reluctantly kept his promise
Herbert is an inventor, and he came up with a way to turn Alex’s jungle gym into a time machine. The boys go through a wormhole, and get to fight aliens “for real” in the future. These “G’daliens” speak with an Australian accent (would kids get the joke?), exercise mind control, and exhibit the usual array of menacing evil traits. Needless to add, Alex and Herbert must "zap" these aliens and save the world (and get home before their moms miss notice them missing).
I was disappointed with this book. Herbert’s patter was abstruse and confusing. The future seemed to be a bit overdone – The Jetsons on steroids, one might say. The characters, especially the aliens, lacked the slightest degree of complexity. The humans were also way too stereotypical.
On the positive side, the book showed imagination, and the drawings were charming. But frankly, I lost interest less than halfway into the book.
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however, and even kept the “play date” his mom made with the neighbor boy, nerdy Herbert Slewg. Herbert is an inventor, and he came up with a way to turn Alex’s jungle gym into a time machine. The boys go through a wormhole, and get to fight aliens “for real” in the future. These “G’daliens” speak with an Australian accent (would kids get the joke?), exercise mind control, and exhibit the usual array of menacing evil traits. Needless to add, Alex and Herbert must "zap" these aliens and save the world (and get home before their moms miss notice them missing).
I was disappointed with this book. Herbert’s patter was abstruse and confusing. The future seemed to be a bit overdone – The Jetsons on steroids, one might say. The characters, especially the aliens, lacked the slightest degree of complexity. The humans were also way too stereotypical.
On the positive side, the book showed imagination, and the drawings were charming. But frankly, I lost interest less than halfway into the book.
Show Less
LibraryThing member janinej
Herbert’s Wormhole is a clever, funny and totally engaging book for the 8-12 year old set, and could be enjoyed by both the reluctant and avid reader alike. It features many relatable ingredients that will appeal to kids, particularly boys, including the comic book style illustrations, language
There are many platforms for discussion in a classroom, including issues of judgement, acceptance of others as well as one’s own self and our interests: Herbert’s older self (he continued inventing, and became rich) is responsible for the final plan to avoid an alien takeover. Video game lovers won’t miss that the whole story begins when Alex unthinkingly promises mom and dad that he’ll put away all games for the rest of the summer if he could just have the latest AlienSlayer2 game and slay the last alien.
A minor concern: some of the scientific explanations included long, tricky words that might be offputting to some.
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style, humor, etc. Appealing aspects of the book include: Relationship references (zealous parents, super smart and scientifically-savvy neighbor), outer space possibilities (do space aliens really exist? Can we really travel through time?), advanced scientific concepts combined with good old fashioned kid fun (think cops and robbers space style), good guy versus bad (will Alex and Herbert evade the gooey doings of GOR-DON?), sports fun (picture baseball without gravity with a taste of quidditch mixed in), and more. There are many platforms for discussion in a classroom, including issues of judgement, acceptance of others as well as one’s own self and our interests: Herbert’s older self (he continued inventing, and became rich) is responsible for the final plan to avoid an alien takeover. Video game lovers won’t miss that the whole story begins when Alex unthinkingly promises mom and dad that he’ll put away all games for the rest of the summer if he could just have the latest AlienSlayer2 game and slay the last alien.
A minor concern: some of the scientific explanations included long, tricky words that might be offputting to some.
Show Less
LibraryThing member amygatt
There were some parts of this book that made me laugh out loud. Here are two of my favorite passages: 1. Alex asks Herbert how his jungle gym turned into a prehistoric jungle."Wormhole," Herbert said.Alex's eyes narrowed. "Call me that again," he said. "I dare you."2. The authors are describing how
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ugly the G'daliens are:"There is a saying that people say, which goes, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.". The following two pages are blank except for three little crickets down in the bottom right corner, with the tiny words, "Chirp, chirp.". Both of these passages cracked me up, and I found the mix of text and art to be a fun way to break this book up. However, I had a couple of issues with this book. I think it is inappropriate to give the G'Daliens a name and an accent that clearly pokes fun at Australians. I could not help picturing an Australian student feeling uncomfortable and targeted while reading this book. I also had a problem with how much this book glorified video games. There were some points when I thought the authors might be sending the opposite message, but then Herbert, Alex and Sammi saved the world by playing a video game! I enjoyed reading this book, but I think I would be cautious with regard to recommending it to students. Show Less
LibraryThing member librarian1204
Much better choices available.
Awards
Nutmeg Book Award (Nominee — Intermediate — 2012)
The Best Children's Books of the Year (Nine to Twelve — 2010)
Call number
IBE.028