Max the Inventor: Mud-Skippers

Max and his family go on a trip...but there's a problem.

The sun was warm like a soft blanket on Max’s head as the car zoomed along. He was off on a family vacation to the shimmering, dazzling Sparkling Sea! Tucked beside him was his special invention bag. It looked like a regular backpack, maybe a little roomier, but oh boy, the magic inside!

You see, Max had invented a way to make things super, super tiny so they could fit into his bag, no matter how big they were originally. It worked with a special blue light and a humming sound, like a tiny choir of bees. When he put something in the bag, zap! The blue light would wash over it, and with a gentle whirrrrr, a giant telescope would shrink down to the size of a marble, or a whole box of his building blocks would become a handful of colorful dust. Then, when he needed them, he’d just reach in, think about the thing he wanted, and poof! – it would grow back to its normal size, good as new! It was like having a whole workshop in a little backpack.

On this trip, his bag was filled with all sorts…