Down the Chimney with Googol and Googolplex. (Orca Echoes). Nelly Kazenbroot. Victoria, BC: Orca, 2004. 64 pp., pbk., $6.95. ISBN 1-55143-290-0. Subject Headings: Human-alien encounters-Juvenile fiction. Robots-Juvenile fiction. Grades 2-3 / Ages 7-8. Review by Gillian Richardson. *** /4 Reviewed from Advance Reading Copy.

excerpt:

"We are not Martians! We are Googol and Googolplex," Googol says.

"We are looking for snow," Googolplex says.

Pippa and Troy look at each other. "Snow!"

"It's almost summer!" Troy says. "There's no snow around here at this time of year!"

"Oh, dear." Googol gives three sad beeps.

"Dear me," Googolplex says. "Maybe this list of ours isn't going to be so easy to fill, after all."

"What list?" Troy asks.

There is a whirring sound inside of Googolplex. A bunch of lights flash on his stomach, and then a long piece of paper slides out of his mouth.

Two aliens, Googol and Googolplex, visit Earth on a scavenger hunt. They find willing helpers in five-year-old Pippa and eight-year-old Troy. The search involves a quick trip in the spacecraft to the North Pole for snowballs. The kids show their robot friends earthly fun such as making snow angels ("Snow-bots," Troy says with a laugh) and a snowman. While the children help the aliens return to the spacecraft for battery recharging, they are seen by neighborhood bully, Martin. He threatens to foil their attempts at recording a bird's song (one item on the scavenger hunt list), but the robots easily trick the bully with their invisible spacecraft.

     This is amusing, lighthearted science fiction, hard to find for young readers. Eight short chapters with accessible vocabulary are written in present tense. The fast-paced plot is child-centered with ample dialogue for reader involvement with the characters. Two kids and two robots prove to be more than a match for one bully in the humorous climax. The final chapter leaves the door open for a sequel as the robots promise to return once they've recharged their craft at the Sunship.

Recommended.

Gillian Richardson, who lives in BC, is a former teacher-librarian and a published writer of children's fiction and nonfiction.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

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Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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