Nick and Tesla's Special Effects Spectacular: A Mystery with Animatronics, Alien Makeup, Camera Gear, and Other Movie Magic You Can Make Yourself!

Nick and Tesla's Special Effects Spectacular: A Mystery with Animatronics, Alien Makeup, Camera Gear, and Other Movie Magic You Can Make Yourself!

By Bob Pflugfelder, Steve Hockensmith

36 ratings 49 reviews 43 followers
Book 5 of 5 in the  Nick & Tesla Series
Interest LevelReading LevelReading A-ZATOSWord Count
Grades 4 - 8Grade 5n/a533732
What do a pair of kid inventors with a knack for science and electronics do when Hollywood comes to town? Why save the day, of course! 
 
In Nick and Tesla’s Special Effects Spectacular, 11-year-old siblings Nick and Tesla Holt find themselves on the set of a big-budget superhero movie. But someone’s sabotaging the onscreen debut of their favorite comic book hero, so the brother and sister sleuths must crack the case with the help of a fresh assortment of homemade special-effects gadgets. This cinematic saga features instructions for all-new movie magic projects that kids can build themselves, such as camera gear, stunt dummies, make-up magic, and more. Science and electronics have never been so much fun! 

“How do you connect students interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) with fiction reading? Look for science adventures. Get started with the Nick and Tesla series. Each book contains an engaging adventure revolving around a ‘build-it-yourself’ science project.”—Teacher Librarian

“Real project blueprints are included along with this tale of 11-year-old siblings who create outrageous contraptions and top-secret gadgets.”—Los Angeles Times

Publisher: Quirk Books
ISBN-13: 9781594747601
ISBN-10: 1594747601
Published on 5/5/2015
Binding: Hardcover
Number of pages: 256

Book Reviews (32)

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this is such a great book and it is very funny it tells a lot great book to read

this is such a great book and it is very funny

Its a good book Its a good book

its a good book

Yup XD Same goes for the robot down there :)

Its a good book Its a good book

Its a good book

What a cool book

moneyman434 moneyman434

this is a spectacular book i love special effetcts my brother even said i should get bc

You should get it! Oh, and if you love special effects that much, wait until you hear this - you get to make the props that Nick and Tesla make in the book! (It has instructions.)

I thought Nick and Tesla's Special Effects Spectacular was awesome! I felt like I was behind the scenes in the middle of the action with them. My favorite character was Nick. He was funny, adventurous and clever. I really liked the look on his face when Tesla put on Stoplite, a program that freezes your computer for six hours. My other favorite characters were the protesters and their crazy chants. Nick and Tesla created some very cool inventions and gadgets, the best two were the stabilizing camera stand and the slimy zombie makeup. You should read this book and be a part of the fun.

peakreader peakreader

I really enjoyed this book . I encourage you to read it. one thing I didn't like was I thought metal man was a knock of iron man. I also thought the camra stablzer was cool. PS. I think you should build it. It also has alien make up. and even more cool stuff. there's also more books. my favorite carector was nick.

I really like your review! But for the Metal-Man rip-off thing, it said there in the book if you didn't catch it. *SPOILER* Damon Wilder says he doesn't want to work on this sucky movie anyway because it's just a rip-off of Iron Man and the lamest superhero possible! (Which was pretty mean to say to Cash and Aunt Zoe..)

MEGA SPOILER ALERTS! (Warned you..) The thing is, I'm not big on science. Or movies. *collective gasp* I'm more interested in other things, and reading is one of them. When I first picked up this book, I had a lot of uncertainty and prejudice because well, I just didn't like any of the things the front and back cover talked about.. Consider my opinion absolutely flipped. I love this book - it's not just the same plot used over and over again in books, it's actually something fresh and new, with mystery wrapped into one big huge package. As the story unfolds, it keeps on getting better and my curiosity kept on building and building until - boom - the climax! (You should prepare to drop your jaw, it's that surprising). Anyway, on with the summary (which is the spoiler part.) Apparently this book is the latest in a series (got to remember to borrow one of the other books in the series, because I haven't read any of them..) Nick and Tesla are kid detectives. Their parents went missing while on a mission. Nick's mind is fully occupied on the problem and he is trying to find information or evidence about their parents by searching on the computer 24/7. Tesla wants to take her mind off of the looming problem by doing experiments and things like that - because she's afraid of what will happen if Tesla and Nick interfere. Anyway, Nick reluctantly helps Tesla build a camera for their friend (and action-flick maniac) Silas, who is directing-producing-writing-and-acting his own small film, Bald Eagle. Their other best friend, DeMarco, promises to take everyone onto the set of "Metalman," (rip-off of Iron Man.) How, you ask? Why, his aunt is the line producer of Metalman, which is directed by Cash Ashkinos, Silas' favorite director! While at the set, Nick and Tesla notice protesters making up horrible chants about the star of Metalman, Damon Wilder. Shortly after, the foursome oversee one of Damon Wilder's scenes.. and he goes wild? Damon Wilder goes absolutely bonkers during the scene, but when they investigate the armor, they find orange stuff all over it! They think it's definitely itching powder, which is really serious and causes your body to itch like crazy? Who could have done such a thing - and it's narrowed down to three suspects. Throughout the book, Nick and Tesla investigates the trailers and rooms of the three suspects, and even Damon Wilder's trailer.. but is able to find nothing but a draft of the script Damon Wilder and Jack Wiltrout (the writer of the movie) is working on. They also find out that the protesters were yelling about Damon Wilder because of a viral video online. The viral video online showed Damon Wilder hurting people, screaming, and "acting" (pun intended) even worse than the itching powder incident. Don't you think they have full right to think that he's kind of crazy + really hurtful and shouldn't deserve to be the star? Meanwhile, someone inside the set wants to sabotage DeMarco's Aunt Zoe's movie and fire Aunt Zoe and Cash Ashkinos? What do they do to solve the mystery now? They do just what Nick and Tesla, the genius detectives would do. They play Sudoku against a security guard, go dumpster diving, use a grappling hook to retrieve all kinds of stuff, fly a stunt dummy named Michael, wear zombie makeup and pretend to be an extra, sneak inside trailers, watch viral videos of crazy actors, and just about everything you can think of.. but will they make it? Will they save Aunt Zoe and Cash Ashkinos' movie and propel them toward the Hollywood path.. or will they push them backward into a pit of car-washing commercials? But what about the phrase, "Pay or Play?" It's the key to everything and you can get to the bottom of this all even before Nick and Tesla do! Extras: What I especially like was all the step-to-step instructions about how to make the props that Nick and Tesla used, like a stunt double and even the zombie makeup (Cool!) I rate this book 5 stars.. it's amazing! If you like Sudoku, Hollywood, movies, adventure, mystery, suspense, totally awesome characters, zombie makeup, stunt doubles, geniuses, and more.. then read this book! If you don't like any of those things, just try it. You might be in for a surprise like I was :)

Oh, and I received the book for free through the advanced reviewing program.. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to write that.. I entered a GIVEAWAY and the rules said if I wrote a review, I had to say DOGO News gave it to me free according to guidelines. But uh, I didn't win this book through a giveaway, I got it through the advanced reviewing program.. You know what, I think you get it lol :) ... Sorry if it was confusing :winces:

I have an idea! If there's a National Geographic, I Funny, Mac Kids, etc. club, can there be a "Nick and Tesla" club? That would be awesome :)

When Nick and Tesla's parents disappear, they try to find ways to get their minds off of the looming problem. One of the best ways to do this is to solve mysteries. And their current position provides a perfect mystery. Along with their gang of DeMarco and Silas, they weasel onto the set of a A-line movie: Metalman. But, as soon as they get on the set, they realize something horribly wrong is going on. After Metalman's suit is filled with itching powder, Nick and Tesla decide to take matters into their own hands, and solve the mystery. This was such a compelling read, filled with anticipation and anxiety for the characters! I couldn't put it down! And, not only does the main plot include a mystery, but the ending is an incredible cliffhanger! Even though I've never read any of the other books in the series, this book has certainly got me wishing I had!

I love reading your reviews - they're amazing and so.. so detailed!

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