A solid start to a new science series.
Ms. Frizzle and her magical bus have some competition.
Ball, the host of PBS’ Design Squad and Design Squad Nation, launches a new book series with this title. Nate himself, as a white, lab-coat–clad “daredevil scientist,” leads his team of investigators—Asian Wendy; white, glasses-wearing Felix; Braden, who is black and sports a sweater vest and bow tie; and Rosa, who has long, straight brown hair and light brown skin. The kids gather at the Science Museum on Saturday mornings an hour before opening, when all the doors turn into portals to other worlds. In order to return to the museum, the kids must answer the investigation questions on their exit tickets. In this outing, they shrink to the size of molecules, form a cloud, rain, flow from the river to the ocean, evaporate, form a snowflake, precipitate, and then soak down into the ground into an underground river. Along the way, readers are introduced to solid science vocabulary and concepts, most of which are explained in excerpts from Braden’s journal. The pencil-and–digital paint illustrations will whet readers’ appetites for their own adventures, though the depictions of molecules are unlikely to help kids understand them. Overall, it’s visually less cluttered than the Magic School Bus books; the characters still speak in dialogue bubbles, but there aren’t quite as many, and the flow of the conversation is easier to follow.
A solid start to a new science series. (Informational picture book. 5-10)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-235740-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again.
Cece loves asking “why” and “what if.”
Her parents encourage her, as does her science teacher, Ms. Curie (a wink to adult readers). When Cece and her best friend, Isaac, pair up for a science project, they choose zoology, brainstorming questions they might research. They decide to investigate whether dogs eat vegetables, using Cece’s schnauzer, Einstein, and the next day they head to Cece’s lab (inside her treehouse). Wearing white lab coats, the two observe their subject and then offer him different kinds of vegetables, alone and with toppings. Cece is discouraged when Einstein won’t eat them. She complains to her parents, “Maybe I’m not a real scientist after all….Our project was boring.” Just then, Einstein sniffs Cece’s dessert, leading her to try a new way to get Einstein to eat vegetables. Cece learns that “real scientists have fun finding answers too.” Harrison’s clean, bright illustrations add expression and personality to the story. Science report inserts are reminiscent of The Magic Schoolbus books, with less detail. Biracial Cece is a brown, freckled girl with curly hair; her father is white, and her mother has brown skin and long, black hair; Isaac and Ms. Curie both have pale skin and dark hair. While the book doesn’t pack a particularly strong emotional or educational punch, this endearing protagonist earns a place on the children’s STEM shelf.
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again. (glossary) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 19, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-249960-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere.
This book is buzzing with trivia.
Follow a swarm of bees as they leave a beekeeper’s apiary in search of a new home. As the scout bees traverse the fields, readers are provided with a potpourri of facts and statements about bees. The information is scattered—much like the scout bees—and as a result, both the nominal plot and informational content are tissue-thin. There are some interesting facts throughout the book, but many pieces of trivia are too, well trivial, to prove useful. For example, as the bees travel, readers learn that “onion flowers are round and fluffy” and “fennel is a plant that is used in cooking.” Other facts are oversimplified and as a result are not accurate. For example, monofloral honey is defined as “made by bees who visit just one kind of flower” with no acknowledgment of the fact that bees may range widely, and swarm activity is described as a springtime event, when it can also occur in summer and early fall. The information in the book, such as species identification and measurement units, is directed toward British readers. The flat, thin-lined artwork does little to enhance the story, but an “I spy” game challenging readers to find a specific bee throughout is amusing.
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere. (Informational picture book. 8-10)Pub Date: May 18, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-500-65265-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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