Classroom libraries be warned: This one could wind up floating off your shelves.
Schoolmarms in space? Well, not exactly.
However, there is a one-room school. The Baxters, who present as Black and Latine, are a family of space travelers on the international space station OASIS. Mami and Papa’s work takes them to space, and this year, the station has opened up a school, so Abby and her little brother, Nico, can join their parents in space. The kids are ready for their first day at the OASIS One Pod Schoolhouse. With only 13 students aboard the space station, you might think school would be easy. Not exactly. Third grader Abby makes a new friend, Gracie Chen, who presents as Asian, but clashes with bossy fourth grader Dmitry (depicted as light-skinned in illustrations). The three of them set off on a quest when Abby discovers she has accidently swapped tablets with Mami. And on the day of her mother’s big experiment, too! By grounding the children in a setting that’s simultaneously familiar—the first day of school—and strange (in space), Loney offers an appealing take on the back-to-school story. Characterization is effective, such as Papa and his painfully bad puns (“Why did the little astronaut get in trouble at school?” “Because she kept spacing out!”). Accessible writing brimming with funny lines (“His socks smelled like sweat and peppermint. Who gets toothpaste on their toes?”) will hold readers’ attention. Takashi’s gray-toned illustrations depict a diverse group of students.
Classroom libraries be warned: This one could wind up floating off your shelves. (Chapter book. 6-9)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-8075-0099-6
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: July 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2022
Adventure, humor, and smart, likable characters make for a winning chapter book.
Ada Twist’s incessant stream of questions leads to answers that help solve a neighborhood crisis.
Ada conducts experiments at home to answer questions such as, why does Mom’s coffee smell stronger than Dad’s coffee? Each answer leads to another question, another hypothesis, and another experiment, which is how she goes from collecting data on backyard birds for a citizen-science project to helping Rosie Revere figure out how to get her uncle Ned down from the sky, where his helium-filled “perilous pants” are keeping him afloat. The Questioneers—Rosie the engineer, Iggy Peck the architect, and Ada the scientist—work together, asking questions like scientists. Armed with knowledge (of molecules and air pressure, force and temperature) but more importantly, with curiosity, Ada works out a solution. Ada is a recognizable, three-dimensional girl in this delightfully silly chapter book: tirelessly curious and determined yet easily excited and still learning to express herself. If science concepts aren’t completely clear in this romp, relationships and emotions certainly are. In playful full- and half-page illustrations that break up the text, Ada is black with Afro-textured hair; Rosie and Iggy are white. A closing section on citizen science may inspire readers to get involved in science too; on the other hand, the “Ode to a Gas!” may just puzzle them. Other backmatter topics include the importance of bird study and the threat palm-oil use poses to rainforests.
Adventure, humor, and smart, likable characters make for a winning chapter book. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: April 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3422-9
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The story feels a bit contrived, but Ada will be a welcome addition to the small circle of science-loving girls in the...
Using science and technology, third-grader Ada Lace kicks off her new series by solving a mystery even with her leg in a cast.
Temporarily housebound after a badly executed bungee jump, Ada uses binoculars to document the ecosystem of her new neighborhood in San Francisco. She records her observations in a field journal, a project that intrigues new friend Nina, who lives nearby. When they see that Ms. Reed’s dog, Marguerite, is missing, they leap to the conclusion that it has been stolen. Nina does the legwork and Ada provides the technology for their search for the dognapper. Story-crafting takes a back seat to scene-setting in this series kickoff that introduces the major players. As part of the series formula, science topics and gadgetry are integrated into the stories and further explained in a “Behind the Science” afterword. This installment incorporates drones, a wireless camera, gecko gloves, and the Turing test as well as the concept of an ecosystem. There are no ethnic indicators in the text, but the illustrations reveal that Ada, her family, and bratty neighbor Milton are white; Nina appears to be Southeast Asian; and Mr. Peebles, an inventor who lives nearby, is black.
The story feels a bit contrived, but Ada will be a welcome addition to the small circle of science-loving girls in the chapter-book world. (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-8599-9
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
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