Danny Dunn and the Anti-Gravity Paint

I loved these books as a kid. Some of the few books I read cover to cover. Now I'm reading them to my grandson. He's a "Danny Dunn" too.

This book was a gift for my grandson.

It's just as good as it was when I read it to my children when they were in elementary school.

Originally published in 1956, DANNY DUNN AND THE ANTI-GRAVITY PAINT is the first in a series of fifteen children’s novels by Raymond Abrashkin and Jay Williams. The background for all the novels is the same: widowed Mrs. Dunn is housekeeper for the rather eccentric Professor Euclid Bullfinch, a scientist at Midston University. Her son Danny wants to become a scientist when he grows up, and he and friends Joe and Irene frequently become entangled in science-oriented adventures, often to the professor’s amusement.In this particular novel, Professor Bullfinch uses Danny’s discovery of an anti-gravity paint to build a spaceship—but when Danny and his friend Joe (Irene doesn’t appear in the first two books) sneak on board, Danny accidentally launches the ship with Professor Bullfinch, Dr. Grimes, Joe and himself on board, and everyone struggles to find a way home.The Danny Dunn series has dated in terms of science, and I doubt they will be of much interest to contemporary children—but nostalgia has its charms. I enjoyed reading the books when I was nine or ten, and I’m enjoying re-visiting them forty years later. They make me smile. Sad to say, the Kindle version does not include the illustrations.GFT, Amazon ReviewerIn Memory of Jack Rupert

I love it because there isn’t a shaver on board, and their beards got huge. Highly recommend this book to other young rocket scientists!

I read the entire Danny Dunn series when I was young and attribute them as one the influences for my interest in science. I was happy to see the first two books in the series show up on Amazon as e-books. Danny Dunn and the Anti-Gravity Paint is the first book in the series, and I was looking forward to rereading the entire series as e-books. Elation soon turned to disappointment. The first thing I noticed is that this e-book shows up on Kindle as "TITLE" instead of the book title. A sloppy mistake that has yet to be corrected after 8 months. I could overlook that, and the few editing errors that I encountered, but the glaring omission of EVERY internal illustration by Ezra Jack Keats (only the cover art is reproduced) is a crying shame, as the illustrations are an integral part of the book. And while having the series republished in this diminished form would be better than nothing, it would appear that the publishing of the rest of the series by Wildside Press is in limbo. It's unfortunate that a more capable and experienced publisher did not get the publishing rights to these books.

I am glad that they are finally reprinting these stories after so many years. Unfortunately the new editions do not contain any of the illustrations that added so much to the original books. This book in its original printing was the first time I had seen a cross section of a spaceship, and it gave me a great interest in scientific drawings and fantastical illustrations.The Danny Dunn Series are a fascinating look into the science and technology of the 1960's. It is a weekly reader series that was meant to expose young minds to scientific ideas and the fascinating adventures they can lead to. Of course the stories delve into fantasy very quickly, but the ideas are based on sound scientific principles that are made easy to understand. The Anti Gravity machine is the first of a 15 book series, where Danny and his mentor accidentally discover a new form of space travel, and then accidentally use it to explore space. I Originally read this book when I was 11 and greatly enjoyed the character of Danny and easily grasped the science driving the story. I would highly recommend this book and the stories that follow.

When I was in middle school about a million years ago I read all the Danny Dunn books. I have always harbored fond vague memories of them and how wonderfully they sparked my imagination. Reading this book after so many years was a very nice trip down memory lane. It was great fun to read again. This time around I was impressed by the quality of the writing, character development, and imaginative story line. I strongly recommend any parent to buy this or any of the Danny Dunn books for their children. Read it yourself also .... it will create a nice escape from your adult life.

Have just read this aloud to my 7-year-old son, and it's the first in a series that started in 1956. My son is very interested in maths and science; he enjoyed this book immensely, and wants more. 8+ years, if they're reading it to themselves.Back in 1950s America, Sputnik has just been launched and space travel is saturating Danny's daydreams. His teacher is not impressed, and sets him five hundred lines of "Space travel is a hundred years away." But Danny is no ordinary eleven-year-old boy. He lives with his housekeeper mother in the home of the esteemed scientist Professor Bulfinch, and one day Danny is going to be a scientist too.Professor Grimes invents anti-gravity paint, which can propel a spaceship without rockets, and he and his friend Dr Grimes get government money to build a spaceship in a disused barn out the back (as you do.) But Danny's homework gets taken on board, and when he and his friend Joe try to retrieve it, they accidentally set the spaceship off and are now heading towards Mars..... How will they ever get home?......There is a slight tinge of worthiness to it: the virtues of university education, scientific thought, music, self-reliance, and facing possible death calmly and logically are all heavily promoted. But it's still enough of an action adventure to interest a modern child, and my son enjoyed following Danny's intellectual grapplement of the situation and the ingenious solution he comes up with. Modern authors don't write books like this anymore. Perhaps they should.The new Wildside Press edition also has detailed biographies of the two authors, and commentaries from their son and daughter. Unfortunately, it is not illustrated.