(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Marta Altés. George, the new kid in Daniel's class, is "weird." Lacking in affect, stiff, and overly literal, he arrives with an aide who takes notes on his every action. When George's ear falls off, revealing a USB port, Daniel and his friends realize, as the reader has probably already guessed (with help from the jaunty cartoonlike illustrations), that he is a robot. By this time, however, the other kids have become fond of him, and when members of the evil corporation that "owns" George come to retrieve him (after what has been a kind of beta test), his classmates rally to save him. At this point the story morphs from a lighthearted romp to something dreamier, in which George spends a single idyllic day in Almond's (Skellig, rev. 5/99; The Color of the Sun, rev. 11/19) favorite territory, a wild place at the edge of a town. He gets grubby, roughhouses with the other kids, learns to tell a joke, and becomes alert to the natural world. The other children face big questions. For example, Daniel contemplates the mind-body problem: "Do you have to be a thing that can pee if you're going to be a thing that can think?" Inevitably, the denouement is bittersweet, leaving us with a simple and sturdy answer to one of the most relevant questions of our time. What defines us as humans? This story's answer is friendship.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2022

(2) YA If someone offered you the opportunity to forget your most painful memories, would you take it? In the year 2032, it's not a rhetorical question. Seventeen-year-old Blue notices some disturbing gaps in her memory; then she meets Adam, a boy her age who seems familiar. Adam helps Blue discover that she elected to undergo a medical procedure, called Release, to erase all memories of him. But why? Desperate for answers, Blue convinces the assistant at the memory clinic (which is called, appropriately, Tabula Rasa), to reverse the procedure. In extended flashbacks that make up most of the book's second half, Blue remembers falling in love with Adam--and faces the tragedy that precipitated her decision. Blue finds strength in experiencing and acknowledging her feelings: "I let [pain] break me apart, and I'm amazed every single time at how I come back together and am whole." She has the support of family and friends, too, including Adam; her grandmother; her best friend, Turtle; and Turtle's nonbinary partner, Jack. While the science-fiction element allows for an intriguing storytelling device, this is really a story about grief--and the love and courage it takes to live with it--told in lyrical, emotional prose.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2022

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Ashley Belote. ...three recipes for slime are appended. Still reading? Those who love the gluey, gooey stuff--such as young lab coat–clad protagonist Victoria Franken--will thrill to this story of scientific curiosity, creativity, and a sentient, slime-ient experiment. Locally famous for her viscous creations--varieties of which include rainbow cloud, intergalactic space, and ketchup--Victoria, assisted by bespectacled canine Igor, unintentionally brings one to life. "IT'S ALIVE!" shouts the text, as Victoria and Igor flee in terror. Turns out, however, the creature is a friiiiend--and also a fellow scientist. With its lively, science-y text and pore-over-able cartoony illustrations (including LOL-worthy endpapers), this picture book, with its welcome brown-skinned-science-grrl protagonist, will stick with readers.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2021

(4) YA Natalia (Nat)'s little brother Calvino is ten, the age when people lose their ability to feel emotion. But Cal isn't "fading"--and now synthetic-emotion company RealCorp wants to test him cruelly. Nat will fight for her brother as hard as if she still loved him. While the world-building is not fully fleshed out, this intriguing dystopian premise makes for a fast-paced, thought-provoking read.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Anna Raff. Light, energy, color, shadows, and reflection are all covered in this engaging, information-packed picture book. Simple activities with household objects (spoons, drinking straws, etc.) demonstrate the properties of light, such as how it travels in a straight line or how light waves can be bent. The illustrations, featuring a smiling boy and girl and (oddly) their cow professor, support the information in the text. Glos.

Reviewer: Janet Dawson

(4) K-3 Super Simple Earth Investigations series. After a brief introduction to each earth science topic, readers are provided with instructions for activities that demonstrate the concepts. The activities vary in quality: some capture the science well and prompt good questions, others are merely art projects with few connections to the underlying science. Photographs of children engaged in each step of the activities are helpful. A quiz is included. Glos. Review covers these Super Simple Earth Investigations titles: Super Simple Earthquake Projects, Super Simple Fossil Projects, Super Simple Mineral Projects, Super Simple Rock Cycle Projects, Super Simple Volcano Projects, and Super Simple Weather Projects.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(4) K-3 Super Simple Earth Investigations series. After a brief introduction to each earth science topic, readers are provided with instructions for activities that demonstrate the concepts. The activities vary in quality: some capture the science well and prompt good questions, others are merely art projects with few connections to the underlying science. Photographs of children engaged in each step of the activities are helpful. A quiz is included. Glos. Review covers these Super Simple Earth Investigations titles: Super Simple Earthquake Projects, Super Simple Fossil Projects, Super Simple Mineral Projects, Super Simple Rock Cycle Projects, Super Simple Volcano Projects, and Super Simple Weather Projects.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(4) K-3 Super Simple Earth Investigations series. After a brief introduction to each earth science topic, readers are provided with instructions for activities that demonstrate the concepts. The activities vary in quality: some capture the science well and prompt good questions, others are merely art projects with few connections to the underlying science. Photographs of children engaged in each step of the activities are helpful. A quiz is included. Glos. Review covers these Super Simple Earth Investigations titles: Super Simple Earthquake Projects, Super Simple Fossil Projects, Super Simple Mineral Projects, Super Simple Rock Cycle Projects, Super Simple Volcano Projects, and Super Simple Weather Projects.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(4) K-3 Super Simple Earth Investigations series. After a brief introduction to each earth science topic, readers are provided with instructions for activities that demonstrate the concepts. The activities vary in quality: some capture the science well and prompt good questions, others are merely art projects with few connections to the underlying science. Photographs of children engaged in each step of the activities are helpful. A quiz is included. Glos. Review covers these Super Simple Earth Investigations titles: Super Simple Earthquake Projects, Super Simple Fossil Projects, Super Simple Mineral Projects, Super Simple Rock Cycle Projects, Super Simple Volcano Projects, and Super Simple Weather Projects.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(4) K-3 Super Simple Earth Investigations series. After a brief introduction to each earth science topic, readers are provided with instructions for activities that demonstrate the concepts. The activities vary in quality: some capture the science well and prompt good questions, others are merely art projects with few connections to the underlying science. Photographs of children engaged in each step of the activities are helpful. A quiz is included. Glos. Review covers these Super Simple Earth Investigations titles: Super Simple Earthquake Projects, Super Simple Fossil Projects, Super Simple Mineral Projects, Super Simple Rock Cycle Projects, Super Simple Volcano Projects, and Super Simple Weather Projects.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(4) K-3 Super Simple Earth Investigations series. After a brief introduction to each earth science topic, readers are provided with instructions for activities that demonstrate the concepts. The activities vary in quality: some capture the science well and prompt good questions, others are merely art projects with few connections to the underlying science. Photographs of children engaged in each step of the activities are helpful. A quiz is included. Glos. Review covers these Super Simple Earth Investigations titles: Super Simple Earthquake Projects, Super Simple Fossil Projects, Super Simple Mineral Projects, Super Simple Rock Cycle Projects, Super Simple Volcano Projects, and Super Simple Weather Projects.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(3) 4-6 Besties Sanity Jones and Tallulah Vega live on boring, isolated Wilnick SS. When Sanity's lab-grown three-headed kitten gets loose and functions on the space station stop working, the friends must find the kitten, the culprit, and a way to save their home. This graphic novel has sharp, limited-palette art, and its simple plot is elevated by charismatic protagonists and a creative sci-fi world.

Reviewer: Jessica Costello

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Cara Bean. Each of twenty familiar elements (helium, carbon, sodium, etc.) is explored in a chapter offering detailed information on its characteristics, discovery, uses, and relationships to other elements represented in the periodic table. Sidebars introduce additional general chemistry concepts, and appropriate activities allow readers to experiment. The final chapter covers a "Dirty Dozen" elements deadly to humans. Cartoonlike illustrations and a chipper narrative voice lighten the book's tone. Glos.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Holly Hatam. Amiable kid-scientist Acadia wonders about seasonal phenomena she observes: Who is eating her blueberries in summer? Why do leaves change color in the fall? She develops hypotheses, then tests them with experiments. Kids will relate to her everyday experiences and learn from her colorful lab reports and illustrations. Acadia's unanswered questions at the end of each chapter could lead readers on their own investigations. Websites. Review covers these titles: Acadia Files: Autumn Science and Acadia Files: Summer Science.

Reviewer: Janet Dawson

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Holly Hatam. Amiable kid-scientist Acadia wonders about seasonal phenomena she observes: Who is eating her blueberries in summer? Why do leaves change color in the fall? She develops hypotheses, then tests them with experiments. Kids will relate to her everyday experiences and learn from her colorful lab reports and illustrations. Acadia's unanswered questions at the end of each chapter could lead readers on their own investigations. Websites. Review covers these titles: Acadia Files: Autumn Science and Acadia Files: Summer Science.

Reviewer: Janet Dawson

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Vashti Harrison. Teacher Ms. Curie encourages Cece's love of science. When her class gets a research assignment, Cece and friend Isaac choose to investigate whether dogs will eat vegetables. Cece's dog Einstein refuses all veggies until Cece makes a keen observation that leads to an answer. In this kid-friendly introduction to the scientific method, data collection, and persistence, cartoony digital illustrations include the kids' science-project worksheets. Glos.

Reviewer: Janet Dawson

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Diego Funck. Robert Goddard, who successfully launched the first liquid-fueled rocket in 1926, was a pioneer whose innovations continue to influence space exploration. Fulton's picture book biography emphasizes Goddard's perseverance and meticulous scientific documentation, which aided in his important breakthroughs. Funck's warmhearted illustrations document Goddard's growth from curious boy to scientist, the evolution of his experiments, and the technological trappings of the early-twentieth-century era. Bib.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(2) 4-6 Grandpa Melvin (The Fourteenth Goldfish), still stuck in the body of a teenager, is ready to help granddaughter Ellie devise a winning science-fair project. In between performing experiments on fruit flies, Ellie is also learning new lessons about relationships. Holm packs an impressive amount of character development into a concise story, while Ellie’s first-person narration and Melvin's scenery-chewing tendencies make for engaging reading.

Reviewer: Sarah Rettger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2018

(3) 4-6 Odds series. The Odds' (The Mighty Odds; Against the Odds) quirky superpowers are getting stronger, and none too soon: classmates who all mysteriously received high scores on a test are suddenly exhibiting out-of-control behavior, all apparently tied to Auxano Labs. In its third installment, the humorous series--punctuated as usual with cartoons, articles, and blog posts--picks up speed, and characters show welcome development.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(4) K-3 A+ Books: Simply Science series. James skims through basic physics principles with simple texts and large illustrative photographs. Real-life examples, such as banging a drum or pushing a shopping cart, adequately demonstrate principles for young learners. Readers are encouraged to try simple activities throughout, with a slightly more detailed experiment at the end. Final critical thinking questions seem to simply be testing reading comprehension. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these A+ Books: Simply Science titles: The Simple Science of Motion and The Simple Science of Sound.

Reviewer: Janet Dawson