Volcanoes Are Hot! (Oliver's Great Big Universe #2)

by Jorge Cham

Overview

“Mind-expanding and hilarious! I got smarter reading this!”
—Jeff Kinney, author of the international bestselling series Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Earth sciences meet Diary of a Wimpy Kid in Oliver’s Great Big Universe: Volcanoes Are Hot!, second in an original illustrated middle-grade fiction series that blends science with narrative from bestselling author-artist Jorge Cham, the Emmy Award–nominated creator of PBS’s Elinor Wonders Why

After writing his first book, eleven-year-old Oliver is kind of a celebrity around school—no big deal. But when he gets caught in a cafeteria catastrophe, he quickly goes from being the “funny science kid” to one of the “Epic Barf Kids”, the result of too much explosive cherry pie in the lunchroom. Oliver is desperate to restore his reputation—and winning the science fair sounds like the perfect way for everyone to forget about the whole barf thing. There’s just one obstacle standing in his way: Ana Lía Quintero, who wins the science fair every year.

Luckily, Oliver has the help of his geoscientist aunt, even though she’s a little, um, quirky (scratch that: really quirky). If Oliver has any chance of defeating his archnemesis, he’ll have to learn all about volcanic burping and bacteria farts, how Earth’s layers are basically like boba tea, and how school cliques and the solar system have a lot in common.

With laugh-out-loud humor and cartoon-style illustrations from bestselling writer and the creator of PHD Comics Jorge Cham, Oliver’s Great Big Universe is a STEAM-themed, diary-style series following one kid who’s taking on the whole universe—if he can survive middle school first.

Oliver’s Great Big Universe series:
Oliver’s Great Big Universe (#1)
Oliver’s Great Big Universe: Volcanoes Are Hot! (#2)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419764103
Publisher:	Amulet Books
Publication date:	09/17/2024
Series:	Oliver's Great Big Universe , #2
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	69,264
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.00(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Jorge Cham is the bestselling, Emmy Award–nominated creator of . . . many things: from the hit PBS show Elinor Wonders Why to the hit nonfiction book for adults called We Have No Idea, along with the hit podcast Daniel & Jorge Explain the Universe and the popular webcomic PHD Comics. He is, without a doubt, an expert on explaining things about the world in interesting and fun ways. He obtained his PhD in robotics from Stanford University and was an instructor and research associate at Caltech from 2003 to 2005. He is originally from Panama.

Editorial Reviews

***STARRED REVIEW***
"[A]n entertaining overview with vivid real-life comparisons that will make the information stick...Cham’s chatty and accessible text and delightful black-and-white drawings bring the ethnically diverse middle school characters and the scientific concepts to life...will hook readers on science."
—Kirkus Review

From the Publisher

★ 2024-06-15
Following his excursion into astrophysics, Oliver comes down to earth in this work that, like the first book in the series, mixes graphics and text, fact and fiction.

Eleven-year-old Oliver’s friend Sven, egged on by classmates, ingests an excess of cherry cobbler, leading to an unfortunate incident that sets up for a memorable description: “Volcanoes are what we call it when Earth barfs.” This event, plus the arrival of Aunt Dee, a volcanologist, leads Oliver to the study of earth sciences. Readers learn about the different types of volcanoes and that lava isn’t what’s most dangerous, because you can outrun it: “It’s all the other stuff…a bunch of ash, rocks, and hot gas” that will get you. Other chapters—including “A Planet Is Born,” “Crashing Continents,” and “Rocks Rock”—offer an entertaining overview with vivid real-life comparisons that will make the information stick. In order to shed their reputation as the “Epic Barf kids,” Oliver and Sven decide they must win the science fair. The main challenge? Ana Lía Quintero, whoalways wins. But this year, a mechanical failure with her earthquake project threatens to eliminate her, and Oliver must make a quick decision about what kind of friend to be. Cham’s chatty and accessible text and delightful black-and-white drawings bring the ethnically diverse middle school characters and the scientific concepts to life.

Parallels—mostly delightfully gross—between human bodies and geology will hook readers on science. (bonus comic, websites, fun facts, index)(Graphic nonfiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews