The Mystery of the Giant Kohlrabi

Clementine grabbed Nero's arm as they tiptoed through the dark room. "Do you hear footsteps?"Nero listened. "That's not footsteps. That'!"When Nero and his family go to help their relatives harvest their top-secret, genetically engineered giant vegetables, he knows he'll be sleeping in house made from a pumpkin. He doesn't expect to be given rutabaga pie to eat. Isn't a rutabaga a kind of turnip? Or to find plants with spikes, teeth and swords, or a broccoli-headed alien. He certainly doesn't expect to find a Martian vegetable with a sliding front door, or a plot to destroy the garden with a monstrous weapon hidden beneath the roots.It's a good thing Nero has his trusty Wonder-Gizmo along. Every time he opens it up he finds something new. It has an arrow, a claw tool with fold-out fingers, night-vision goggles, and a bug zapper. Even a coward can be brave with an awesome gadget like this. Until things go terribly wrong, and Nero has to confront his deepest fears all by himself in order to save the garden and his family from a crawly, slimy fate.Ages 8-12 with STEM elements of aquifers, garden plants and pests. Comes with Creative Writing ideas for the classroom and a home-tested recipe for Twig's Kohlrabi Chocolate Chip Cookies. Illustrations by Jolyn Michaelis. Perfect for fans of "Bloom" (Kenneth Oppel), "Music for Tigers" (Michelle Kadarusman), "The Astounding Broccoli Boy" (Frank Cottrell Boyce) and "Beetle Boy" (M.G. Leonard)."A top-secret experiment, a Wonder-Gizmo, and a slimy villain -- this book has all the ingredients! Nero must battle giant veggies with teeth and swords, broccoli-headed aliens, and a host of oddball relatives to solve this mystery. It's the perfect recipe for family fun! All with an actual recipe for healthy chocolate treats thrown in. Who could ask for more?"~ Marie Powell, author of Last of the Gifted"I laughed so hard I fell off the couch!"~ Anne Patton, author of The Barr Colony Adventures"... a fabulous and fast-paced story with a truly unique setting - a sometimes-sinister world of giant vegetables!"~ Alison Lohans, award-winning author of over 26 books for young peopleSharon Plumb's latest book is timely, funny, and-dare I say it?-delicious.~ Maureen Ulrich, author of the #jessiemachockeyseries"Silly and sweet. Can't go wrong with giant bugs!"~ Jolyn Michaelis, Kohlrabi cover artist and illustrator Sharon Plumb grew up in a small town that no longer exists, and now she writes stories about places that exist only in her imagination. She enjoys studying plants and insects up close with her USB microscope and meeting people from different places, but not usually at the same time. When she isn't writing, she likes playing the piano and singing, hiking and biking, planting new things in her garden, and creating recipes. She writes stories, songs and plays from her home in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. She tried to grow kohlrabies once but the cabbage butterfly larvae ate giant holes in the leaves. She's still working on that.