Professor puffendorf's secret potions

by Robin Tzannes

Professor Puffendorf is a world-class where would any of us be without her Unburnable Toast or her Smell-o-Telephone? She shares her laboratory with her much-loved guinea pig, Chip, and Enzo, her rather lazy assistant. One day, when the professor goes out to address a conference, Enzo opens her 'top secret' cabinet. Inside he discovers an array of potions promising to deliver anything from curly, luxuriant hair to a beautiful singing voice. Enzo realizes the secret formulas for these potions could make him unbelievably rich but first he decides to test them on poor Chip. However his devious plan does not quite go as he imagined and it is the villainous Enzo who ends up as the guinea pig - quite literally - in this entertaining cautionary tale of role reversal.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Magic, Fantasy, Humor

40 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Robin Tzannes is an American author and creative director for advertising. He has contributed children’s book reviews to The New York Times and led workshops on writing and other topics.

Reviews

[Esra Çil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read it with my students in our English reading lesson. It was an interesting read with good vocabulary choices overall. We had such pleasure reading it and listening to the audio book. However, we expected plot twists and a better ending, also the activity book could have been more challenging.

[Mender · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have no idea why but my 6 year old really loves this book. It's quite cute, and the inventions are gorgeously illustrated.

Daft. But cute.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well do they plan on leaving him there….

[Simon Jongekryg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Professor Puffendorf’s Secret Potions is a really creative and funny story that shows readers the power of karma and greed. When Professor Puffendorf had to leave her laboratory for a conference Slag (her assistant) was left all alone and ended up getting into the Professor’s top-secret potion safe. Slag, filled with greed decided he would steal all of the valuable potions and become rich off of them. However, when testing out the potions something went terribly wrong and backfired ruining Slag’s plan. The illustrations were very important throughout the story and covered the entirety of each page throughout the book. This was such a creative story that uses the power of imagination and science to draw in readers. Great read for any reader!

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cautionary tale about the wisdom of doing as you are old. Very funny, with detailed illustrations. Features Professor Puffendorf, the world's greatest scientist - and very definitely female!

[mai]

Yo y ese libro éramos bff en 5to de primaria

[Portable · Rating 4 out of 5]

This busily illustrated storybook provides a strong female role-model in the part of Professor Puffendorf, the scientist whose potions are crazily effective, and there's lots to talk about in the detailed illustrations. Although not written byValerie Thomas, this book bears a close resemblance to the style of Winnie the Witch, so fans of Winnie will n odoubt enjoy this read.

[Chechoui · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book as a fan of Korky Paul's illustrations. I think this book is an empowering read for young girls as it depicts a famous, independent female scientist. The cute guinea pig character is an added treat to this story. The rich, colorful illustrations are detailed and can be viewed again and again with more details being found each time. There is also a nice moral of the story at the end.

[Jody Ellis · Rating 4 out of 5]

What's not to love? The illustrations are busy which lead to lots of side stories that get kids talking. What a wonderfully imaginative book with a solid message that dishonesty, and expecting everything for nothing generally lands you in trouble. A perfect read for scientists!

[Kak · Rating 2 out of 5]

hilarious

[Qt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed artwork and a fun story!