Heres a review from Malcolm R Campbell:
"A Magical Journey Destined to Become a Classic"
"It was the first day of spring, and it was Saturday. Zak didn't have to go to school. From his bedroom window he could see two robins poking at the wet spring grass. The trees were beginning to bud ... more

Heres a review from Malcolm R Campbell:
"A Magical Journey Destined to Become a Classic"
"It was the first day of spring, and it was Saturday. Zak didn't have to go to school. From his bedroom window he could see two robins poking at the wet spring grass. The trees were beginning to bud and he couldnt get dressed fast enough! This was the perfect day to head down to the river and go fishing." So begins a fishing trip for Zak, his friend Ivy, and his dog Ziggy that becomes a journey around the world and into deep space in L. B. B. Wards extraordinary middle readers novel "Professor Angelicus Visits The Big Blue Ball." The plan of the day changes when Professor Angelicus arrives in a large bubble from the planet Quantia in search of pure water. When Zak says theres plenty of water in the river, the professor asks, "Do you children call that river clean?" Zak responds, "Well, its cleaner than it was." But the professors pipe, from which he blows bubbles that can whisk a person anywhere in the universe, requires pure water. And so the quest begins. Even though Zak promised his mother hed be home for dinner at 6 p.m., he and Ivy and Ziggy fly around the world with a lot of help from birds, fish, and other "Sharelings" on a quest as vital as a quest for the Holy Grail. Without the kind of water the earth was once known for throughout the universe, the professors pipe cannot create a bubble powerful enough to take him all the way home in time for a Rainbow Festival thats held only once every billion years. This book works well on multiple levels. The story itself sparkles with life and mystery and dangerous moments. Middle readers will enjoy reading this book just for the adventure. Parents will find in Wards work, a wonderful read-aloud story for their children (starting at age three) at bedtime. The magic of Professor Angelicus bubble ship allows Zak and Ivy to understand the speech of animals who welcome the travelers into their habitats. In the process, two everyday kids (along with the books young readers) learn what the dog already knows, that these habitats and the creatures who call them home are inextricably linked together and that humans, the Earths "Guardian Residents," have let things slip in the blue balls cleanliness department. Those who want to work together to clean it up are called "Sharelings." Theres a gentle but clear environmental message in this book that lives and breathes dynamically within the storyline. Wards prose flows like sweet water from a deep well, creating an exciting and memorable story. This is a book that you and your children will read many times. It will be shared with friends and their friends and then the dust jacket will be lost, the cover will get dirty, and some of the pages will become frayed--just like the other classics on the households shelf of treasures.