ANDREW NORTH BLOWS UP THE WORLD

Third grader Andrew “Danger” North can’t wait to get into the family business. Though his father says he sells insurance, Andrew has been told by his 13-year-old brother, Jack, that this is just a cover story; their father is an international superspy. Jack, in fact, has already “gone pro” himself. When Andrew “borrows” Jack’s TC-99 graphing calculator (which he’s certain is a spy device capable of blowing up the world), his teacher confiscates it and sends it to Storage Room B for the weekend. Frightening stories about the room and its guardian, custodian Mr. Gormulka (definitely an evil spymaster in Andrew’s mind), abound at school, and getting the calculator back before Jack notices it’s gone tests Andrew’s spy skills and his nerve. The reading level of Selzer’s first for the younger set is a bit above its target audience, and Andrew’s gullibility will definitely stretch credulity. That said, the odd characters and the silly, over-the-top chapter intros that feature Andrew’s spy-mission imaginings will entertain sophisticated readers looking for fluff adventure. (Fiction. 7-10)