Nostalgic moment

I was wandering through the library on Saturday, only to come upon one of my all-time favorite book series from when I was younger: The Mad Scientists' Club.
Author: Bertrand R. Brinley (1917 - 1994)
Illustrator: Charles Geer. I have to say, the illustrations were perfectly fabulous.

It's a series of 4 books about a bunch of teenage boys who never fail to become involved in anything of significance in their dreary little town - usually a mystery, a robbery, or a funny hi-jinx to liven up the town. They're an funny mix of a do-it-yourself MacGyver or Rocket Boys, and Anne of Green Gables. I recall that there was also a rival gang led by a nasty leader and having unlimited resources, adding to the hi-jinx.

I liked that there were about seven different characters in the club, and each chapter (a story in itself) was often featured around a particular character - you got to know them all well. One was a coward, one was a brainiac, one was solid but not so smart, one was a quiet librarian, one was the funny man, one was the ladies' man.... A teeny bit like The Three Investigators (anybody remember Jupiter Jones, Bob Crenshaw and Pete somebody-or-other?), but much funnier. The stories are creatively varied; anything from submarines to hot-air balloons to bank robberies to dinosaur eggs to town memorabilia. Most of all... I just liked how funny the stories were!

A group of friends having adventures, along with plenty of humor and a touch of poignancy. If you haven't read them, try them out! Start with any book in the series, no need to go in order. They'd probably be pretty fun to read out loud, too.

The books are: The Mad Scientists' Club; The New Adventures of the Mad Scientists' Club; The Big Kerplop; The Big Chunk of Ice. And now that I'm writing these out, I realize I've only read the first two of these. Note to self: find the rest!