The Mad Scientists' Club is a series of four books written for children by Bertrand R. Brinley (1917 – 1994) and illustrated by Charles Geer. The books focus on the adventures of the seven boys who make up the club. The original stories that form the majority of the first book were first published in Boys' Life. All the books are set in the 1960s, contemporary at the time of the first story's publication. The setting is the fictional town of Mammoth Falls, which is on the edge of the also fictional Strawberry Lake. Interactions with the setting and many of the townspeople are an important part of the narrative. All of the stories include scientific and technological solutions to problems, which vary from pranks carried out by the boys themselves, to the rescue of a crashed Air Force pilot.

Books in the series

  • The Mad Scientists' Club (1965, 2001) consisting of:
  • "The Strange Sea Monster of Strawberry Lake" (1960), first published in Boys' Life (September 1961), with illustrations by Harold Eldridge
  • "The Big Egg" (1964)
  • "The Secret of the Old Cannon" (1963), first published in Boys' Life (January 1966), with illustrations by Marvin Friedman
  • "The Unidentified Flying Man of Mammoth Falls" (1962), first published in Boys' Life (November 1962), with illustrations by Harold Eldridge
  • "The Great Gas Bag Race" (1964), first published in Boys' Life (March 1966), with illustrations by Bernard Fuchs
  • "The Voice in the Chimney" (1964)
  • "Night Rescue" (1961), first published in Boys' Life (February 1964), with illustrations by David Stone
  • The New Adventures of the Mad Scientists' Club (1968, 2002)

References

  • Mad Scientist's Club: The Official Website
  • Purple House Press's Mad Scientists Club page
  • Review of Big Kerplop!