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Series · middle-grade comedy

Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder

by Jo Nesbø

The Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder series by Jo Nesbø has 5 known books (5 published). It is best read in publication order, starting with Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder (2007).

Books
5 known books (5 novels)
Published
5
First published
2007
Status
completed
Start here: Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder (2007) — then read straight through in publication order.
Book one
Cover of Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder
Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder (2007)

Reading order

The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.

  1. Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder

    Novel
    Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder opens Jo Nesbø's middle-grade series in 2007, introducing lonely, red-haired Nilly, his new friend Lisa, and eccentric inventor Doctor Victor Proctor's precisely engineered fart powder -- tunable for volume, duration, even musical notes. It runs 265 pages.
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  2. Bubble in the Bathtub

    Novel
    Bubble in the Bathtub , published in 2008 (also known in some markets as Time-Travel Bath Bomb ), sends Nilly, Lisa and Doctor Proctor on a bathtub-time-machine adventure. At 425 pages, it's the longest entry in the series.
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  3. Who Cut the Cheese?

    Novel
    Who Cut the Cheese? -- published in the US as The End of the World. Maybe. -- is the third Doctor Proctor book, arriving in 2010 at 464 pages and pitting the trio against a mad-scientist rival.
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  4. The Magical Fruit

    Novel
    The Magical Fruit -- released in the US as The Great Gold Robbery -- centers on a gold heist, published in 2012 at 314 pages as the fourth entry in Jo Nesbø's fart-powder series.
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  5. Silent (but Deadly) Night

    Novel
    Silent (but Deadly) Night closes out the five-book series in 2017 with a Christmas rescue mission for Nilly, Lisa and Doctor Proctor. At 368 pages, it's the final entry, a decade after the series began.
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Key facts about the Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder series

The Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder series has 5 books on our list. Since all 5 are out now, you can read the whole list today.

Start with Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder, since it opens the publication order in 2007. Bubble in the Bathtub is book 2, from 2008. Who Cut the Cheese? is book 3, from 2010.

The Magical Fruit is book 4, from 2012. Silent (but Deadly) Night is book 5, from 2017.

Each title links to its own page, while the list keeps them in date order. Each book page shows its dates and editions. Since the catalogue marks the series as complete, we list no next book.

The books came out between 2007 and 2017, while their length runs from 265 to 464 pages. That is a run of 10 years.

Jo Nesbø has 27 books on our list. Additionally, they write Harry Hole. We shelve the books under middle-grade comedy.

About the Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder series

Long before Wolf Hour and alongside the Harry Hole novels, Jo Nesbø wrote a five-book middle-grade series built entirely around a scientifically improbable premise: eccentric inventor Doctor Victor Proctor's fart powder, a concoction so precisely engineered it can be tuned for volume, duration, even distinct musical notes. In Oslo, lonely, red-haired Nilly and his new best friend Lisa team up with Doctor Proctor for adventures that use the powder as both slapstick engine and genuine plot device — propelling characters through pipes, powering makeshift rockets, or simply as the funniest possible distraction at the worst possible moment.

Each book layers a real children's-adventure plot on top of the toilet humor: kidnapped friends, a mad-scientist rival, a bathtub time machine, a gold heist and, in the final book, a Christmas rescue mission. Nesbø's dry, absurdist wit (recognizable from his adult thrillers, if pointed in a very different direction) and the series' willingness to commit fully to its premise rather than treating the fart jokes as filler have made it a substantial international bestseller for younger readers, translated into dozens of languages well beyond Norway.

Frequently asked questions

How many Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder books are there?

Five, published in Norwegian between 2007 and 2017, from Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder to Silent (but Deadly) Night. The series is complete.

What order should I read the Doctor Proctor books in?

Publication order, starting with Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder (2007). Nilly and Lisa's friendship builds loosely across the books, though each has a self-contained plot.

Is this the same Jo Nesbø who writes the Harry Hole thrillers?

Yes — this is a children's series by the same author, tonally worlds apart from his adult Harry Hole and standalone crime fiction.

Why do some books have two different titles?

UK and US publishers gave two entries different titles: book three is Who Cut the Cheese? (UK) / The End of the World. Maybe. (US), and book four is The Magical Fruit (UK) / The Great Gold Robbery (US). They're the same books.

Is the Doctor Proctor series finished?

Yes, complete at five books, concluding with Silent (but Deadly) Night in 2017.

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