Danny Dunn is a fictional character, the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

of a series of

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

juvenile

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

/adventure books written by

Raymond Abrashkin Raymond Abrashkin (March 9, 1911 – August 25, 1960) was an American writer and filmmaker. He is known for writing, co-producing, and co-directing '' Little Fugitive'' and for co-creating and co-writing with Jay Williams the '' Danny Dunn'' se ...

and Jay Williams beginning in 1956.

Background

The stories are set in the fictional American town of Midston. The plots feature characters who are interested in science and mathematics. Abrashkin died in 1960, after publication of the fifth book. Williams, however, insisted on Abrashkin being given co-author credit on the subsequent ten books as well, since he had been instrumental in constructing the series.

Ezra Jack Keats Ezra Jack Keats (né Jacob Ezra Katz; March 11, 1916 - May 6, 1983) was an American writer and illustrator of children's books. He is best known for '' The Snowy Day'', which won the 1963 Caldecott Medal and is considered one of the most importa ...

illustrated the first four novels in the series. Although the exact location of Midston is not given, the authors wrote that a famed American of colonial times visited the town (when it was known as Middestown), implying Midston is somewhere in the original 13 states. In the book ''Danny Dunn and the Heat Ray'', reference is made to

U.S. Route 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, ...

and

U.S. Route 2 U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway System, United States Numbered Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected ...

being located near Midston, and those roads meet only at

Houlton, Maine Houlton is a town in and the county seat of Aroostook County, Maine, United States, on the Canada–United States border. As of the 2020 census, the town's population was 6,055. It is perhaps best known for being at the northern terminus of Int ...

Characters

Dunn is a boy, a fifth-grader when the series starts, although the school year ends at the end of the first book. He is looking forward to a career in science. According to book reviewer Andrew Frederick, Dunn is precocious and headstrong — a

redhead Red hair, also known as ginger hair, is a human hair color found in 2–6% of people of Northern or Northwestern European ancestry and lesser frequency in other populations. It is most common in individuals homozygous for a recessive alle ...

whose adventures mainly include getting into and out of trouble.Frederick, Andrew
"The Danny Dunn series, by Jay Williams and Raymond Abrashkin"
''Allison's Book Bag; Reviews of books for young people'' (November 17, 2012). Frederick wrote here under the pseudonym
Andulamb
.

Other characters

*Professor Euclid Bullfinch, a researcher at ictionalMidston University. The Professor is also a musician who plays the

bass viol The viola da gamba (), or viol, or informally gamba, is a bowed and fretted string instrument that is played (i.e. "on the leg"). It is distinct from the later violin, or ; and it is any one of the earlier viol family of bowed, fretted, and ...

(also known colloquially as the "bull fiddle"). He is plump and somewhat bald, and smokes a pipe in some of the books. Danny considers him a mentor, and Danny's complicated problems often revolve around inventions by Bullfinch. *Mrs. Dunn, Danny's widowed mother, housekeeper for Professor Bullfinch. *Classmate Irene Miller, Danny's friend and next-door neighbor. Irene's father teaches astronomy at Midston University. Irene made her first appearance in the third book and is particularly interested in

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

. *Classmate Joe Pearson, Danny's friend. Joe is the

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

of the group, and he often functions as an amusing sidekick to Danny, expressing bafflement at the complicated technology employed by Danny and the Professor. *Classmate Eddie ("Snitcher") Phillips, rival of Danny and a

school bully School bullying, like bullying outside the school context, refers to one or more perpetrators who have greater physical strength or more social power than their victim and who repeatedly act aggressively toward their victim. Bullying can be ver ...

. *Doctor A.J. Grimes, a friend of Professor Bullfinch introduced in the first book, ''Danny Dunn and the Anti-Gravity Paint''. Grimes is a curmudgeonly figure, rarely taking the teenagers seriously, and often trying to antagonize the Professor. Doctor Grimes is also a musician who plays the

piccolo The piccolo ( ; ) is a smaller version of the western concert flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" or piccolo flute, the modern piccolo has the same type of fingerings as the ...

; he and Professor Bullfinch occasionally play duets. Tall and lanky, he is in many ways a contrast to his friend Bullfinch.

Books

#'' Danny Dunn and the Anti-Gravity Paint'' (1956) #''

Danny Dunn on a Desert Island Danny is a masculine given name. It is related to and short for the male name Daniel.🖾🖾 People *Danny Altmann, British immunologist *Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer *Danny Baker (born 1957), English jou ...

'' (1957) #''

Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine ''Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine'' is the third novel in the ''Danny Dunn'' series of juvenile science fiction/adventure books written by Raymond Abrashkin and Jay Williams. The book is "about a boy who invents a machine to do his homewor ...

'' (1958) #''

Danny Dunn and the Weather Machine ''Danny Dunn and the Weather Machine'' is the fourth novel in the ''Danny Dunn'' series of juvenile science fiction/adventure books written by Raymond Abrashkin and Jay Williams. The book was first published in 1959 and originally illustrated ...

'' (1959) #''

Danny Dunn on the Ocean Floor ''Danny Dunn on the Ocean Floor'' is the fifth novel in the ''Danny Dunn'' series of juvenile science fiction/adventure books written by Raymond Abrashkin and Jay Williams. The book was first published in 1960. Plot Another accident in Prof ...

'' (1960) #''

Danny Dunn and the Fossil Cave ''Danny Dunn and the Fossil Cave'' is the sixth novel in the ''Danny Dunn'' series of juvenile science fiction/adventure books written by Raymond Abrashkin Raymond Abrashkin (March 9, 1911 – August 25, 1960) was an American writer and fi ...

'' (1961) #''

Danny Dunn and the Heat Ray Danny Dunn is a fictional character, the protagonist of a series of American juvenile science fiction/adventure books written by Raymond Abrashkin and Jay Williams beginning in 1956. Background The stories are set in the fictional American town ...

'' (1962) #''

Danny Dunn, Time Traveler ''Danny Dunn, Time Traveler'' (UK title: ''Danny Dunn, Time Traveller'') is the eighth novel in the ''Danny Dunn'' series of juvenile science fiction/adventure books written by Raymond Abrashkin and Jay Williams. The book was first published in ...

'' (1963) #''

Danny Dunn and the Automatic House ''Danny Dunn and the Automatic House'' is the ninth novel in the ''Danny Dunn'' series of juvenile science fiction/adventure books written by Raymond Abrashkin and Jay Williams. The book was first published in 1965. Plot introduction Professor ...

'' (1965) #''

Danny Dunn and the Voice from Space Danny Dunn is a fictional character, the protagonist of a series of United States, American juvenile science fiction/adventure books written by Raymond Abrashkin and Jay Williams (author), Jay Williams beginning in 1956. Background The stories a ...

'' (1967) #''

Danny Dunn and the Smallifying Machine ''Danny Dunn and the Smallifying Machine'' is the eleventh novel in the ''Danny Dunn'' series of juvenile science fiction/adventure books written by Raymond Abrashkin Raymond Abrashkin (March 9, 1911 – August 25, 1960) was an American wri ...

'' (1969) #''

Danny Dunn and the Swamp Monster ''Danny Dunn and the Swamp Monster'' is the twelfth novel in the ''Danny Dunn'' series of juvenile science fiction/adventure books written by Raymond Abrashkin and Jay Williams. The book was first published in 1971. An audiobook of the work was ...

'' (1971) #''

Danny Dunn, Invisible Boy ''Danny Dunn, Invisible Boy'' is the thirteenth novel in the ''Danny Dunn'' series of juvenile science fiction/adventure books written by Raymond Abrashkin and Jay Williams. The book was first published in 1974. Plot summary Danny exacerbates a ...

'' (1974) #'' Danny Dunn Scientific Detective'' (1976) #'' Danny Dunn and the Universal Glue'' (1977)

Albums

''Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine'' was turned into a musical children's album on Golden Records (Golden LP 239), with music composed by

Julie Mandel Julie may refer to: * Julie (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the name Film and television * ''Julie'' (1956 film), an American film noir starring Doris Day * ''Julie'' (1975 film), a Hindi film by K. S. Sethumadhava ...

Reception

Floyd C. Gale of ''

Galaxy Science Fiction ''Galaxy Science Fiction'' was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published in Boston from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by a French-Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break into the American market. World Edi ...

'' said in 1961 that "Danny's adventures are always based on a solid science foundation, once the authors' usually wild main premise is digested".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunn, Danny Book series introduced in 1956 Characters in American novels of the 20th century Juvenile series Novel series Science fiction characters Series of children's books