DOCTOR PROCTOR'S FART POWDER

One notes the author of this book with surprise—the Norwegian is best known for his dour crime novels. Here he extends his talent into the realm of children’s books with a zany scientist and his young comrades who take on bullies and impossible feats with improbable, amazing super-strength fart powder. William Dufris’s tongue-in-cheek narration underscores Nesbø’s farcical humor. Dufris is exuberant as each of the characters—high-voiced as assistant Nilly, thuggish as the bully brothers Truls and Trym, wistful and jolly as Doctor Proctor, chiding as Lisa, and blustery as her father, the commandant. All the bent-over backsides are sure to keep middle-grade listeners fully engaged. A.R. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2011]