The Imagination Box

Starred review from May 1, 2016
Two young sleuths--three if you count the talking marmoset--narrowly avert worldwide disaster after a truly dangerous device and its inventor vanish suddenly.Ford works twists both funny and terrifying into the notion of wish fulfillment. Being a nosy sort, 10-year-old Tim soon discovers that Professor Eisenstone, a secretive new guest at the hotel his adoptive parents own, has developed a nano-assembler the size of a microwave oven that creates any item that can be visualized strongly enough. It doesn't take long for the clever white lad to think into existence Phil, a companion "finger monkey" with posh manners and accent, and also an improved Imagination Box of his own. But almost immediately, Eisenstone and the original are snatched by a villainous ex-politician. Tim and Eisenstone's equally clever granddaughter, Dee, also white, discover this last by following a trail of clues to (wait for it) a secret lab under a former insane asylum...a perfect setting for both weird science and a massively destructive climax. The author cranks up the horror by giving the box the ability to make tangible not just physical items, but fears and nightmares too. Also, by not blinding his characters to the device's potential, he invites readers to imagine the implications for themselves.A splendid adventure, hilarious and harrowing in turn and so strongly cast that even the precocious pocket primate doesn't steal the show. (Science fantasy. 11-13)

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June 1, 2016

Gr 3-6-What if there were a machine that could create anything one imagined? Professor Eisenstone has such a machine. And Tim has the imagination. Together they have the ability to create magical, wondrous things. But when the professor goes missing, it is up to Tim and his friend Dee to rescue him and keep the Imagination Box out of the wrong hands. If they fail, the consequences could be disastrous. Plagued with two-dimensional, flat characters and a plot filled with giant leaps and deep holes, this title falls far short of expectations. The interesting premise never materializes into matter, unlike the fruits of Tim's imagination. At the heart of the story is a lonely boy who is often left to his own devices and a strange scientist who encourages the boy to keep secrets that place him in danger. Distrustful adults, including a police officer and clueless parental figures, hamper the story and impede the natural flow of the narrative. VERDICT Despite the creative premise, this is a disappointing novel that falls short on imagination.-Elizabeth Speer, Weatherford College, Weatherford, TX

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2016
Grades 4-7 Ten-year-old Tim has a long and lonely summer vacation stretching out before him. He doesn't have friends, and his newly adoptive parents are rarely around. Then Professor Eisenstone appears with a mysterious project: a box that will produce anything that the person wearing the attached helmet imagines. The professor can't get it to work, but Tim, who's accustomed to being alone, has an unusually vivid imagination, and for him, creating objects, such as a wry finger monkey named Phil, is a piece of cake. But when Eisenstone goes missing, Tim and Phil, along with the professor's granddaughter, Dee, are the only ones with the wherewithal to find him, and a thrilling chase ensues. Both plot and characters are broadly drawn with both dramatic and humorous touches, and while Tim's speech is a bit formal and stilted for a 10-year-old, it fits his rather lonely character. With a solid mystery, fantastic device, warm friendships, a funny monkey, and heartening conclusion, this has a heaping serving of middle-grade antics and should find broad appeal.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)