  | Full Text Reviews: Booklist - 04/15/2018 Cece is a smart and curious girl who loves to get to the bottom of all her complex questions. So it’s fortuitous when Cece’s teacher tells the class to pair up for a new assignment: “Pick a science you are curious about, and come up with a question to investigate.” Cece and her friend Isaac choose zoology and pose the vital question of whether or not Cece’s dog, Einstein, likes vegetables. In an impressively nondidactic way, readers are guided through the process of scientific observation, exploration, experimentation, and discovery, as they first discover Einstein will not eat veggies, and then discover that he will eat them if blended into a smoothie. Harrison’s expressive digital illustrations have a lot of energy, color, and motion, and several incorporate filled-out worksheets with Cece and Isaac’s findings as they progress. Meanwhile, a helpful scientific glossary closes the book. A fun way to introduce scientific methods. - Copyright 2018 Booklist. School Library Journal - 05/01/2018 K-Gr 3—Budding scientist Cece is always asking questions such as "Why?" "How?" and "What if?" Excited by her teacher's assignment to find and investigate a question, she pairs up with a partner, Isaac, to brainstorm ideas, come up with a question, make observations, test possibilities (variables), interpret their data, and make a conclusion. Their question is "Do dogs eat vegetables?" and her dog Einstein is their subject. They try out different vegetables, but Einstein turns up his nose at them all. Harrison's animation-style digital illustrations—a mix of vignettes, full pages and spreads—show a long-haired, brown-skinned girl, her mixed-race family, her lighter-skinned friend, and an adorable terrier. Several of the pages show the questions and their answers on "Ms. Curie's Science Project Worksheet." Cece's disappointment at the uninteresting results of her project is contrasted, on a facing page, with a portrait of a brainstorm, possibly suggested by her banana dessert. Einstein does eat vegetables in smoothies. The story includes images of an inviting science classroom and mentions a variety of sciences and a range of scientists diverse in race and gender. VERDICT Words and pictures combine to make smooth blend of entertainment and education that may be useful in early elementary classrooms. An appealing concoction.—Kathleen Isaacs, Children's Literature Specialist, Pasadena, MD - Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Loading...
 |