The Case of the Gasping Garbage

Doyle and Fossey, Science Detectives #1

by Michele Torrey, Barbara Johansen Newman (Illustrator)

Doyle and Fossey are on a mission—a monster mission! It seems there’s a giant bloodsucking monster gasping and gurgling in their friend Gabby’s garbage can. Can they figure out what’s up before the creature gobbles Gabby for lunch? This and four more cool cases will have kids checking out the clues—and learning great science too, including facts about the life cycle of a frog and chromatography.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Childrens, Chapter Books, 2nd Grade, Middle Grade, 1st Grade

96 pages, Paperback

First published July 9, 2001

About the author

Michele Torrey, author of chapter books for young readers and novels for middle grade, young adult, and adult, is a two-time Thurber House Residency in Children's Literature nominee, plus a two-time winner of PNWA's Zola Award. Among other honors, her books have received starred reviews from “Publisher’s Weekly” and “Kirkus,” been chosen by the Junior Library Guild, and been nominated for numerous state medals.

Torrey holds a degree in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Washington (’88), and a Master of Arts in Religion from Graceland University (’06). She currently lives on Fox Island, Washington, but has lived and traveled all over the world. She has three sons and five grandchildren. In addition to her writing and traveling, she is a director and co-founder of Orphans Africa, a 501 c 3 nonprofit charity (www.orphansafrica.org). Orphans Africa works primarily in Tanzania, building boarding schools for children orphaned by AIDS.

Reviews

[Elsa K · Rating 3 out of 5]

An okay read aloud. Not my favorite, but the boys liked it. The coolest part was the science experiment tie ins at the end (which we didn't do, but talked about doing, ha!).

[Sticky Note Book Recs Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok, so I'm not really giving this book 4 stars as far as story telling goes, I'm giving it 4 stars for being a great book for getting your kids turned on to science! The cases/experiments were easy for little ones to follow, and I LOVED the last sections of the book where they give you step by step instructions for doing some of the same experiments on your own, as well as how to make your own science lab and be your very own scientist! I read this aloud to all my kids (grades K, 3, and 5) and they all enjoyed it!

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun way to introduce science to children. Not only are the stories simple and fun, but the last section teaches children how to do the experiements that Doyle and Fossey perform. I love the call to action in conjunction with the reading.

[Christian Torres · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glad Fossey and Doyle figured out all there missions

[Adrienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coded suburban white upper-middle class. Science experiments. Mayor, media, authority figures are all supportive of the children. 5th Grade Scientists. Not much gender essentialism.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book combined fun mysteries with simple science. What a smart idea.

[Kaelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for elementary age children! This book gives a great introduction to science and even has some fun experiments in the back! The stories are fun, goofy, and keep you guessing till the end. I’d definitely recommend this to an elementary age kid who’s looking for a fun book!

[Abby Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doyle and Fossey, science detectives, are available to solve mysteries with science. The books in the series include scientific information and information about experiments that kids can try out. Great for classrooms and kids interested in science.

http://abbylibrarian.blogspot.com/201...

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is along the lines of "Nate the Great" but with a science twist. There were four short stories in this book, very quick but fun for young elementary students.

[Kristin Feliciano · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great chapter book for students! It is about kid scientist. I like how at the end of the book there are experiments for children to do at home. I think you could put some of the experiments into a lesson in class. I enjoyed the details about the trash bubbling. It offers a great deal of imagery through the word choices and descriptions.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable chapter book that just might get your child interested in science and detective work. Chapters include suggested activities or experiments related to the story that your children can do with household items.

[Sean Harding · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very clever idea of merging science with mystery in a way that will assist children to understand science min an engaging manner.
When I was a kid we had the curiosity show this series is for kids today and is a great idea and a decent read as well.
This is the first book in the series.

[Sony Ponce · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like it

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

The idea of the book is great, but the execution is not so much. The writing and story are very fancy and choppy at the same time. I’m anxious to see what kids think of it but I am not a fan

[Jessica Brookins · Rating 5 out of 5]

granddaughters

[Eleanor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like all of the mysteries

[Randy]

fffffffffffff

[Athena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the way the mystery was solved. I want to look for more from this series.

[Demisha Mcclain · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Case of the Gasping Garbage written by Michele Torrey was so engaging and informative. This has to be one of the best science fiction books I have ever read. The author used humor, pictures and suspense to draw you into the story. I thought that some of the cases that the fifth graders solved were hilarious, especially the one about the monster in the garbage can.

The Case Of The Gasping Garbage is a book that tells of the different adventures of two fifth grade science detectives Doyle and Fossey. The different chapters tell of problems that Doyle and Fossey are faced with that they use scientific experiments to solve. Not only does this book tell of engaging experiments, but it teaches the reader some of the steps of the scientific method. Doyle and Fossey teaches the reader to start with formulating a hypothesis, and gives the definition of a hypothesis. Doyle and Fossey also use observations and facts to solve the problems. They emphasize the importance of observations during an experiment before a conclusion. Doyle and Fossey solve the problem of the monster in the trash, the frogs getting ran over, the truck being stuck under the bridge and the love letter. The cases that they solve are engaging for children, because the topics are of interest to children. I absolutely love how this book encourages critical thinking.

This book could be used for a 5th or 6th grade reader during a science lesson. It is a little lengthy, but it does have a few pictures and it is an easy read. This book is really informative because it gives details about conducting experiments. They talk about hypothesis and how to come to conclusions. Also another great thing about this book is it has different activities with materials and procedures located in the back of the book.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book in the Doyle and Fossey, Science Detectives series by Michele Torrey and Barbara Newman.

The story is fairly short and the illustrations are cartoonish, so this book will appeal to young elementary school-age children. But what I love the most is that the stories teach about science in a fun and exciting way. Our girls especially enjoyed the different projects described in the back of the book.

We really enjoyed reading this book together and we will certainly look for more of the books in this series at our local library. Case of the Barfy Birthday/Doyle & Fossey Science Detectives is next.

[SamZ · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, did you ever watch Dragnet? The old TV show? Reading this book reminded me of the way Joe Friday talked in the old TV show. The writing was very abrupt, especially the dialogue and the way the kids talked. I had a few problems with the kids' behaviors (drinking coffee and staying up until midnight, for example) but I really enjoyed the scientific facts that were thrown in. I think that middle grade kids would love this series, especially if they are even remotely interested in science. I liked the plot and the characters, I just thought the presentation was annoying.

[Emmie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was part of our Core B Sonlight Curriculum and it was a cute easy read. I really appreciate the basic elements of science that were taught in this book. It also includes experiments that you can do, though we have not tried them as of yet. It is a cute book that shows two fifth grade students who do lab experiments to figure out interesting cases. One of the cases was really silly, but the experiment was quite educational. I would recommend this book as a fun way to introduce scientific method to young kids.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

What makes this book so delightful is the explanations and the experiments at the end. While I didn't care for the format all that much (sometimes a case takes just one chapter, sometimes it takes more than one), the real fun is in trying the things they do. I think the author gets a little vague about how Doyle and Fossey go about their work, and the way the adults treat the kids seems a bit over the top on giving them authority. I'm hoping that maybe the series settles out a bit as it goes, and the characters can become a little more 'real.'

[Marita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute book designed to explain and promote the scientific process and critical thinking for children. My daughter hung on every word and kept begging me to read more. It's a short little book, perfect to use as readers for young readers. The next few that we get from the library she will read on her own.

She is also pestering me to death to do the experiments in the back of the book. I liked that they included further explanation and detailed instructions for the experiments the characters used in the book.

[Paula Lyle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the idea of this book, but not the book itself. I loved that it was about science and about using science to figure thing out. The writing was all short choppy non-sentences. That might have worked for a mystery story, but it just made these kids seem very nerdy. Not what I was hoping for.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here's a lovely example of STEM concepts being seamlessly integrated into interesting chapter book stories! Three Encyclopedia Brown-type mysteries are explored here, and partners Drake Doyle and Nell Fossey solve all three using real science knowledge and experiments that can easily be reproduced by kids at home. Awesome!

[Jeremiah Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

In our ELA curriculum, the book was not riveting by any means but certainly a good book in and of itself! I enjoyed the story frame showing how children can solve problems and take action when adults can't/won't. I also loved the back of the book with some awesome scientific ideas/projects/recipes.
Overall I'm excited to teach this book.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yay for scientists and naturalists! Doyle and Fossey are fifth grade friends that solve mysteries using science and nature. They have several short cases to solve and the end of the book as some great how to for doing your own experiments. A quick read that teaches in a fun way.

[Corinne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Made me want to teach 3rd or 4th grade science. Great characters, a boy and a girl who work together, and challenging problems. Includes science experiments at the end.

[Ginger · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is instructive from a rudimentary scientific aspect; but the story itself is not very exciting.