CHARLOTTE THE SCIENTIST FINDS A CURE

Another win for the scientific method, as the furry young researcher sets out to investigate a wave of malaise sweeping the forest, having already investigated space in Charlotte the Scientist Is Squished (2017).

What could be the cause of this sudden rash of upset stomachs and bowel issues? Kitted out in Farley’s genial cartoon illustrations with a white coat and a stethoscope just like her beloved grandpa, and inspired by his expressed belief that she is destined “to make a real difference in the world,” bunny Charlotte determinedly seeks an answer. Stubbornly pursuing a cure despite the dismissive attitudes of scientists called into consult, she persists. A round of interviewing patients, gathering specimens (“Next!” she calls, seated on a stool outside the outhouse), and dissecting data later, a pattern emerges—a “curious carrot connection.” Yes, everyone’s been nibbling on carrots…carrots, it turns out, infected with “Funky Forest Fungi.” A “customized carrot corrective” from her lab, plus a clinical trial to make sure the cure has taken, soon puts the forest residents back on their paws. Andros lays on the congratulations with a trowel at the end (“Charlotte realized she didn’t have to be the oldest or smartest,” etc.), but she closes with a glossary of such useful terms as “hypothesis” and “quarantine.”

More an alliterative self-esteem builder than an exploration of systematic science, but its attractive rabbit protagonist is a sweetie.