Science made clear—and fun.
“Science is the best!”
When Libby’s teacher, Mr. Darwin, announces that a new student named Fatima will be joining their class, Libby suggests throwing her a welcome party. Libby’s friends volunteer to make a banner and bring decorations, while Libby will be responsible for the treats. The next day, Libby totes a bag filled with sundae toppings and a carton of ice cream. Fatima arrives and sits beside Libby, and they soon bond over their shared love of science. Mr. Darwin explains the term matter and its three states and offers familiar examples, with lots of eager input from the students. Everyone seems to grasp the concept. Recess begins, and they prepare for the party. But Libby realizes that she forgot to put the ice cream in the freezer, and it’s changed from a solid to a liquid. Luckily, Mr. Darwin supplies hot cocoa, and the children apply their knowledge. The steam coming from the cocoa is a gas, the marshmallows they add to their mugs are solid, and the cocoa is liquid. The welcome party has been a smashing success. The science is clearly explained, and the Popsicle-bright illustrations focus on the big-eyed children, who are all fully engaged and plainly adore all things STEM. Mr. Darwin is light-skinned, Libby presents Black, Fatima is brown-skinned, and the class is diverse.
Science made clear—and fun. (recipes for ice pops and orange soda, quiz, glossary) (Easy reader. 5-8)Pub Date: April 30, 2024
ISBN: 9780063116634
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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A retro-futuristic romp, literally and figuratively screwy.
Robo-parents Diode and Lugnut present daughter Cathode with a new little brother—who requires, unfortunately, some assembly.
Arriving in pieces from some mechanistic version of Ikea, little Flange turns out to be a cute but complicated tyke who immediately falls apart…and then rockets uncontrollably about the room after an overconfident uncle tinkers with his basic design. As a squad of helpline techies and bevies of neighbors bearing sludge cake and like treats roll in, the cluttered and increasingly crowded scene deteriorates into madcap chaos—until at last Cath, with help from Roomba-like robodog Sprocket, stages an intervention by whisking the hapless new arrival off to a backyard workshop for a proper assembly and software update. “You’re such a good big sister!” warbles her frazzled mom. Wiesner’s robots display his characteristic clean lines and even hues but endearingly look like vaguely anthropomorphic piles of random jet-engine parts and old vacuum cleaners loosely connected by joints of armored cable. They roll hither and thither through neatly squared-off panels and pages in infectiously comical dismay. Even the end’s domestic tranquility lasts only until Cathode spots the little box buried in the bigger one’s packing material: “TWINS!” (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at 52% of actual size.)
A retro-futuristic romp, literally and figuratively screwy. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-544-98731-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2020
A delightful story of a cross-racial friendship between two kids who realize how much they need each other and the passions...
STEM becomes STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) as Melia, an inventor, and Jo, a dancer, discover that they’re a dynamic team.
Melia loves to invent things and tinker all day long in her backyard. Then Jo moves in next door and dances her way into Melia’s inventing space. With total disregard for the sanctity of Melia’s creations, Jo flips Melia’s cereal-bowl radio onto her head to wear it as a hat, sticks a rope of black licorice into the neck of an unfinished robot, and chucks a paper airplane—that Melia is still designing—into the air. Although she’s miffed at Jo’s invasion of her space, Melia realizes that Jo has inadvertently solved some puzzling conundrums. When Melia shows Jo what a difference she has made, Jo refuses to partner with Melia…until one of Melia’s inventions saves her. Their contrasting personalities are effectively delineated in the retro-styled illustrations: Brown-skinned Jo wears a pinky-purple tutu, a pearl necklace, and feathers in her hair; blonde-haired, peachy-skinned Melia wears shorts and an orange cape and boots. The backmatter provides instructions for how to make Melia’s paper airplane and explains the benefits of turning STEM into STEAM.
A delightful story of a cross-racial friendship between two kids who realize how much they need each other and the passions that each brings to the friendship. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-328-91626-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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