“A treat for reluctant readers,” as two sixth graders discover, when you can travel into books, going around the world is easy (School Library Journal). Middle schoolers Devin and Frankie—short for Francine—have found a unique shortcut to passing English. When their teacher gives them a book to read, they just toss it through the magic metal detector in their school library, which transports them into the world of the novel, allowing them to live the book firsthand and always get an A. The system works great until the librarian hires a repairman to fix what the kids call the “zapper gates.” While trying to distract him, Devin and Frankie drop a book through the detector, and find themselves on a whirlwind tour of the globe in Jules Verne’s classic adventure. In the company of mad explorer Phileas Fogg, Devin and Frankie embark on a round-the-world journey by train, ship, and hot air balloon. But they’ll have to race to beat the clock, or risk getting stuck in the book forever. As with other books in Tony Abbott’s Cracked Classics series, “the message that reading is important and can be fun comes through loud and clear. The short chapters make this an ideal read-aloud and a treat for reluctant readers” (School Library Journal).
