How to Outsmart a Billion Robot Bees

by Paul Tobin, Thierry Lafontaine (Illustrator)

Overview

It's Friday the 13th again, and for sixth grade genius Nate Bannister, that means doing three more not-so-smart things to keep life interesting. But he has bigger problems than his own experiments. His nemesis, the Red Death Tea Society, is threatening to unleash a swarm of angry bees on the city of Polt if Nate doesn't join their ranks. But then a new group of people with murky intentions shows up -- the League of Ostracized Fellows -- and they want Nate as their own, too. To top it off, he's convinced there's a spy in his very own school.

Nate must once again team up with his new, resourceful, friend Delphine to save the day. They'll need the help of Nate's crazy gadgets, such as his talking car Betsy and super-powered pets Bosper the Scottish terrier and Sir William the gull, if they hope to see another Friday the 13th. Because they might be battling more than just sting-happy bees and villains with a penchant for tea this time around.

Awards for Bandette
Winner, Eisner Award for Best Digital Comic
Winter, IndieFab Award - Bronze, Graphic Novels&Comics

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781619638983
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	03/07/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
File size:	8 MB
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Paul Tobin lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife, artist Colleen Coover, with whom he created the Eisner-award-winning Bandette. He is also the author of a multitude of comics for such publishers as Marvel, Dark Horse, and DC Comics. Paul is one of the two head writers for the Angry Birds comics, and is also writing episodes for the upcoming season of Angry Birds cartoon shorts. (He further rounds out his domination of iPhone games by writing the Plants vs. Zombies comics.) His other current projects include the Adventure Time: Flip Side series, combining the worlds of Prometheus/Aliens/Predator in conjunction with Dark Horse Comics/Ridley Scott, and continuing work on his award-winning horror series Colder.

www.paultobin.net

Thierry Lafontaine is a character designer and illustrator for film and publishing. He is also the instructor for the Imaginism Studios In-House Workshop atelier program. Thierry lives, works, and teaches in Toronto.

Editorial Reviews

"Plenty of silly elements that will make children laugh out loud . . . This will be a good selection to give to reluctant readers and will easily appeal to both boys and girls." - School Library Connection

"Fans of How to Capture an Invisible Cat will find an agreeable extension of its high jinks." - Kirkus Reviews

"Tobin uses humor and great imagination to offer younger middle grade readers a delightful romp that will appeal to fans of madcap adventure." —School Library Journal on HOW TO CAPTURE AN INVISIBLE CAT

"Middle grade readers, future inventors, and adventure-seekers will enjoy Nate and Delphine's encounters in this The Genius Factor title." —School Library Connection on HOW TO CAPTURE AN INVISIBLE CAT

"This odd couple prove that teamwork works, and news of a sequel will likely be met with applause." —Booklist on HOW TO CAPTURE AN INVISIBLE CAT

"Aimed equally at boys and girls . . . This winning, consistently funny, smartly silly adventure could be one of Nate's kooky gadgets, a middle-grade reading attractor." —Kirkus Reviews on HOW TO CAPTURE AN INVISIBLE CAT

From the Publisher

2016-11-23
Having "stabilized Nothingness" with gravity waves, supergenius Nate Bannister has created an Infinite Engine, and the nefarious Red Death Tea Society is naturally out to get it. As megalomaniac supervillain and tea fanatic Jakob Maculte commands not only a veritable army of trained assassins, but teeming clouds of surgically altered bumblebees, it looks like no one can stop him from seizing the Engine and achieving his evil goal of "world domination through science." No one, that is, except Nate and his resourceful, if only normally bright friend Delphine—with assistance from the hosts of nanobots and other gadgets that pour willy-nilly from the young inventor's brain. Though Delphine spends so much time punching her insufficiently communicative partner that their relationship has an uncomfortably abusive edge, her comment that she likes her ostracized classmate because he's smart, not despite it, is well-taken. Also, she proves a sturdy sidekick and problem-solver whether the challenge is saving the world or defusing a romantic rivalry with Betsy, Nate's mercurial talking car. After narrow squeaks aplenty, the bees and thugs are eventually driven off and Maculte hauled away to (temporary, as it turns out) confinement. Lafontaine adds occasional vignettes featuring an all-white cast of heroic sixth-graders and sinister villains with melodramatic facial hair. Fans of How to Capture an Invisible Cat (2015) will find an agreeable extension of its high jinks. (Science fantasy. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews