Plato's Pond US Edition

The Book
What begins as an attempt to catch a stray dog quickly turns into an adventure of a lifetime for Watson, Crick and Rosa. The clever canine tricks them into entering a forgotten gateway that leads to the land of Gaia. There, they discover a wondrous, pristine world filled with majestic griffins, squabbling shell-less turtles, giant carnivorous plants and mischievous long-nosed snodlops.
Though Gaia is beautiful, it is not their home and they soon learn that the only way back is to solve a terrible crime. The Master Key that opens the gateway was stolen and if it is not recovered soon, they will never be able to return home.
Their search for the thief proves to be challenging. The suspects are elusive and it¿s impossible to find the resources they need to evaluate the evidence. It seems hopeless, but the kids get a break when they discover that their PDA can access the Internet on Earth.
It is now up to the reader to help them by conducting science experiments and analyzing the evidence. Time is critical and they're running out of it!
 
The Website - www.platospond.com
Our heroes have an PDA (with a dwindling battery) and a website. They ask for help from the reader as the adventure unfolds. The reader can participate with the characters by conducting experiments to reveal which of the possible suspects is the culprit. The characters¿ website mirrors real-world science in that readers can validate the results of their experiments by comparing them to the results submitted by other readers. The website also includes Watson¿s blog, a place where kids can ask questions and get answers about science, comment on what they have read, as well as keep up to date on the daily life of 

Key Features
It is a mystery story, an adventure story, and an educational ¿whodunit¿ all in one. It is a fantasy story in a world of the Mobile Internet and Google Earth¿. It teaches science experimentation, challenges critical thinking skills and meets USA national science standards. It has humour and suspense, stirred in with philosophical and environmental messages. It is science and fiction, but not science fiction. It is for adolescents, but reads easily enough for younger children and is entertaining and intriguing enough for most critical adult readers. 

Selling Points
The story is intriguing and clever, leading to an exciting climax that involves finding the thief¿s identity by conducting science experiments.  The science experiments are simple enough so that the reader can conduct them safely at home using common, everyday objects. For example, the pH experiment, which determines who was at the scene of the crime, uses red cabbage as a natural pH indicator. These experiments mirror real-world science in that readers can validate their results by comparing them to the results submitted by other readers on this website. Also, by reading Plato's Pond, young readers will enhance their critical thinking skills and gain a greater understanding of how animals adapt to their environment. 
Even though the highly motivating nature of this ¿whodunit¿ will have readers scrambling out of their seats to conduct scientific experiments, some readers may choose to do them later or even after they have finished reading the book. Anytime is fine because the experiments do not determine the outcome of the story. They only reveal who-did-it, not where the key is hidden, which is what drives the story in the book. Therefore, the adventure continues to be just as exciting and meaningful no matter how the reader chooses to interact with the book.

The Author
Fred Andrews is best known as a writer and producer of educational television programs. He wrote the popular television series, Zoo Sleuth, with aired for five years and was nominated for three Emmy Awards including Best Children¿s Series, Best Children¿s Program and Outstanding Achievement in Program Writing. Mr Andrews won a New England Emmy Award for Outstanding Children¿s Program, Mission Mars in 2000. He is also the author and illustrator of many online games and activities including: Tracking Dinosaurs, The Mystery of the Pharaoh¿s Puzzle and The Math Zapper.