The Gadget War

by Betsy Duffey

Kelly Sparks is the undisputed gadget champ at Danville School. Then Albert Einstein Jones, an alumnus of Young Inventor's Camp, joins her class. Kelly could give up the gadget crown gracefully -but she'd much rather let the spitballs and smelly goo fly!

Genres: Childrens, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Humor, Friendship

75 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Betsy Duffey grew up with a love of reading and writing. Her earliest experience in writing came from reading manuscripts by her mother author and Newbery winner, Betsy Byars. She began writing in 1990 and has published over twenty children’s books, including a number of popular series. Her books have been Junior Library Guild selections, Crown Award nominees, and have been nominated for state awards in over twenty states.
Her latest books are devotional books for adults. She began writing short meditations for friends who were challenged in different ways. More Peace started for a friend undergoing chemotherapy. More Hope for a young friend dealing with infertility. The series continues to grow.
Betsy splits her time between Atlanta and the Georgia mountains. When she is not writing you can probably find her outside hiking in the woods or on the porch in a rocking chair with a good book.

Reviews

[Allie]

I totally read this in second grade! I have zero recollection about the plot, but I think it proved inspirational when we had to create our own invention. I had completely forgotten about it until it showed up in my stack of intermediate fiction to be weeded! It's so old so I am definitely getting rid of it. If a kid wants a similar read, I'd point them to Zoey and Sassafras or maybe The Data Set.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my teacher read in my third grade class this month. It's an older book (the cover picture is soooo awful). It's growth mindset, STEM, and kindness rolled into one. It was written before any of those things were buzz words, so it doesn't beat you over the head with any of it. We finished it in a week and a half. The kids LOVED it!!

[Monica Lit · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great read aloud book for Second graders a lot of unique vocabulary and fun inventions/gadgets... Several places to laugh at loud and imagine the scenes happening in the story... Could be inspiring for stem learning and classroom projects.

[Janine Parsons · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kelly a third grader is an inventor. All is going well for Kelly until a new student joins her class, Albert Einstein Jones. Albert is also an inventor. Kelly and Albert try to outdo each other and both end up in trouble with the principal. In the end things wrap up too nicely in this book. Don't stop making gadgets Kelly!

Subjects for this book include:
careers
inventions
school stories
competition
problem/solution
experiments
list making
detention
resolution

Simile (pg. 12)"Four words that stung like a slap in the face"

Onamaetopia(just a few listed)
pg. 7 tap, pg. 25 splat, pg. 34 zip, pg. 72 clunk

[DeEllen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Gadget War was a book that our family really enjoyed. My son wants to be an inventor when he grows up, so it was a perfect book for him. I did not like that two children immediately declared war on one another before they knew each other at all. The book did end with a good lesson in that area. I especially liked that the gadgets they came up with were from every day items. It was fun watching my children come up with "gadgets" after we read the book.

[Becca Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my favorite books as a child. I enjoyed reading this again, this time to my kids, who also loved it. There's just something relatable and charming about Kelly Sparks and her struggle with a new arch nemesis. As a girl in the 90s that wasn't into books about princesses and boy drama, it was really refreshing to see a female main character my age that was into STEM - and as a mom in the 2020s, it's great to have stories like this already on deck to share with my kids.

[Jameia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Third grade Chat 'n Chew January book.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting for younger readers. Some disobedience.