Saved by the Smell - (My Mad Scientist Mom) by Jarrett Lerner

About the Book

Ari's life takes a chaotic turn when his mad scientist mom devises a portal to tackle their overwhelming laundry crisis, leading to much bigger problems when they accidentally travel 70 million years back in time.

Book Synopsis

A boy gets buried in dirty laundry and pulled into time travel shenanigans after his mom's latest experiment in this first book in the My Mad Scientist Mom chapter book series from acclaimed author-illustrator Jarrett Lerner.

Ari's life is filled with school, video games, and his pet turtle, Fred: pretty run-of-the mill stuff. But not anywhere near run-of-the-mill is Ari's mom, who's a mad scientist. That's right, a MAD scientist. Sure, she strives to make people's lives better with her inventions, especially at home. But all of Mom's inventions seem to go just the slightest bit off kilter. And when she devises a time portal to help deal with the massive mounds of dirty laundry that have taken over their house, she creates a MUCH bigger problem than just stinky clothes, and it's up to Ari to get them out of a prehistoric mess.

Review Quotes

"Less-practiced readers will appreciate the short chapters, widely spaced narrative lines, and sketchy cartoon spot drawings; the mix of gross and sly tongue-in-cheek humor in this projected series kickoff lends broader appeal."-- "Booklist"


"A fun, quirky read that will entertain young readers."-- "--School Library Journal"

"The fast-moving story is filled with wild antics. Goofy cartoons match the energy of the lighthearted adventures...A wacky tale jam-packed with prehistoric hijinks and weird science."-- "Kirkus Reviews"

"Early readers will delight in Ari's wild adventures with his quirky and loving mad scientist mom in this good-humored series kickoff by Lerner (the Nat the Cat series), punctuated by crisp, unadorned line drawings."-- "Publishers Weekly"

About the Author

Jarrett Lerner is the award-winning creator of more than a dozen books for kids, including the EngiNerds series of middle grade novels, the Geeger the Robot series of early chapter books, the Hunger Heroes series of graphic chapter books, two activity books, the illustrated novel in verse A Work in Progress, and the Nat the Cat series of early readers. You can find him online at JarrettLerner.com and on X and Instagram at @Jarrett_Lerner. He lives with his wife and daughters in Massachusetts.