An important, appropriate novel for young readers in a rapidly changing world.
In debut author Mechael’s middle-grade series starter, a team of fifth graders use their aptitude for science to keep their families, friends, and others safe.
Marylander Girgis “Gir” Orenson-Gobrial is a whip-smart, headstrong boy with his marine biologist father’s knack for science. Gir starts to be concerned when his talkative dad is eerily quiet one morning before asking Gir about an important-sounding missing research notebook. After his father mentions that dangerous plastic-eating bacteria are releasing toxins into Chesapeake Bay, Gir becomes very concerned, and so does his classmate Izi, a timid girl who recently moved to the United States from Japan. Together, the pair found the Antidotes, a team of passionate kids who all got through a recent unspecified pandemic and who swear to do all they can to keep anything similar from happening. They find creative ways to raise awareness and stop the spread of illness. Over the course of this novel, the characters, both children and adults, feel sympathetic and real, and readers of all ages will find someone who’s relatable in these pages. Mechael’s timely, poignant, and urgent novel grapples with familiar issues that have plagued the entire planet in the past few years as well as serious problems that may lie ahead. It comes complete with pictures, maps, charts, as well as accessible explanations of potential solutions to environmental issues. The novel also effectively touches on other serious themes, including gender bias and corporate greed. Mechael seems to understand what it was like to be a concerned preteen in recent years—although, notably, neither Covid-19 nor a specific year is ever named in the novel. Overall, though, the story provides cautious hope for the future.
An important, appropriate novel for young readers in a rapidly changing world.Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2022
ISBN: 9781954805248
Page Count: 242
Publisher: Bold Story Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 16, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
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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
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