Sanity and Tallulah by Molly Brooks

Molly Brooks has done it.  Pink is now the signature color for action and adventure. This brilliant comic stars eighth-graders who are smart and resourceful, devious and daring and __ girls! Sanity Jones, along with her friend Tallulah Vega live onboard space station Wilnick. Tallulah’s mother, Science and Engineering Director, discovers the girls are deep into a clandestine scientific project. Sanity has created a three-headed kitten, affectionately named Princess Sparkle, Destroyer of Worlds. ​"Let me make sure I'm following your thought process here. You're feeding your carnivorous bioengineering experiment experimental bioengineered meat that you cloned yourself-" To everyone's horror, the kitten escapes and havoc reigns on Wilnick. A pet gerbil is murdered, something is chewing up major electrical system wires, and coolant leaks are wide-spread. Naturally everyone suspects the triple-headed feline.

Sneak Peek: More Sanity & Tallulah

Looking for more of the duo's adventures? ​View some sample pages. Head over to Comixology to order these webcomics.

Made by Maxine by Ruth Spiro ill Holly Hatam

Maxine, a thinker and tinkerer, joins the ranks of iconic young inventors.  Her specialty is repurposing items to create something new and better. Our spunky little heroine is determined to create a habitat for her goldfish Milton. He is worthy of more than an ordinary round fishbowl.  Maxine sets to work.

She had already discovered a million ways that would not work. Which meant she was getting closer to finding a way that would work. Her hard work and determination eventually pay off. Maxine includes Milton in the Pet Parade with an invention Made by Maxine.

Companion Resources

Little Whale by Jo Weaver

It begins south of the equator. A mother gray whale senses that it is time to leave the shelter of warm waters and migrate to northern feeding grounds. Her young calf accompanies her for the first time. The journey is filled with wonders as well as dangers: a coral reef, schools of shimmering fish, passing ships, and sharks, ​Realistic physical representation of these noble creatures dovetails nicely with the anthropomorphic elements. Readers young and old can relate to the calf’s repeated query “Are we nearly there?” The protective and loving relationship of a mother for her child is reinforced throughout the text. Migration patterns, an exploration of deep-water life, and a gentle reminder of parental love are all brought to life through gorgeous expressive art.

Bonus: Illustration Workshop

Jo Weaver shares the process for creating her illustrations for the picture book Little One.  ​ After reading Little Whale, view live footage of an encounter with gray whales.  A close-up look at these mammals is fascinating and informative. Inspiration for young researchers and artists. ​Science meets art.

Oliver: The Second-Largest Living Thing on Earth
by Josh Crute ill John Taesoo Kim

Why the obsession with being first?  Josh Crute explores this ever-present phenomena in Oliver: The Second-Largest Living Thing on Earth.  Meet Oliver, a mighty sequoia standing 268.1 feet tall. One would think that this height would be impressive. Unfortunately, it is not.  There is a taller tree: Sherman, coincidentally bearing a marked resemblance to the world's largest sequoia: The General Sherman Tree located in Sequoia National Park.  Oliver notes that Sherman is the recipient of constant attention.  He, on the other hand, receives no notice. Disheartened but not daunted, he begins a regime to increase his stature. "Stretch(ing) limbs" and "munch(ing) on mulch" fail to produce results. Sherman is still bigger and taller.  What's a second-place finisher to do?

The answer comes quite by accident. Oliver changes his point of view. That's when he notices an entire forest of other sequoias. None are as tall as Sherman. However, there are a lot of them. A. Lot. They make up the Sequoia National Forest and it is indeed impressive. John Taesoo Kim renders the sequoias with insightful details. Sherman has a bushy leaf beard, mossy green growth beneath his armpit branches and some impressive tattoos sprouting on his limbs.

Countdown: 2979 Days to the Moon 
by Suzanne Slade ill Thomas Gonzales

Countdown: 2979 Days to the Moon chronicles events leading up to and concluding with the first lunar landing on July 20, 1969. The narrative begins with the challenge uttered by President John F. Kennedy in May 1961. ​I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade it out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth Suzanne Slade, a mechanical engineer who worked on several space projects including the development of Saturn V rocket, is well qualified to write this superlative work of nonfiction. Her lyrical text vivify the marvel of space exploration. The free verse is accompanied by direct quotations, systematically describing each of the eleven Apollo missions.

Then he spots something surprising
almost surreal.
A brilliant blue ball, 
wrapped in wispy white cotton,
rising about the stark horizon.
​Earthrise on Christmas Ever, 1968.

The computer flashes a warning.
"It's a 1202," Armstrong informs Mission Control.
He's never seen this alarm in a simulator.
Not once.
"What is it?" he asks Aldrin.
He gets no response.
​
Fear slithers in.
Will they crash?
Will they have to abort/
Will they be able to return home?

Seconds feel like hours,

Path to the Stars:
​My Journey from Girl Scout to Rocket Scientist 
by Sylvia Acevedo

Meet Sylvia Acevedo, daughter of a Papa, Texas chemist originally from Mexico and Mami, a native of Mexico who didn’t speak English. She recalls this story of her birth: ​Some of the babies had blond hair. Some had brown hair or no hair at all, and nearly all of them had fair skin. Only one baby had very dark hair. “That was me!” Acevedo grew up in Las Cruses, New Mexico, surrounded by a close-knit family. Young Sylvia had the desire to learn about her world and the drive to excel in a wide variety of endeavors. She credits the Girl Scouts with helping her learn to set goals and work to achieve them. From childhood she realized that she had an affinity for numbers and a curiosity to learn how things work. By the age of thirteen, she assumed the responsibility of maintaining the family vehicle, including changing the oil. In junior high school, she opted out of home economics class, choosing instead to take an additional math course. Interestingly, one of the most challenging Girl Scout badges for her to earn was the cooking badge.

​I was nine years old, living in a small desert town. And on that day I decided I would go to Stanford someday.

They'd never had a woman engineer, so they didn’t even have a bathroom for women in the test labs.

From Brownie to NASA scientist. Still the same winning smile!

My Journey from Girl Scout to Rocket Scientist (English edition)   ​is also available in Spanish:  Camino a las estrellas: Mi recorrido de Girl Scout a ingeniera astronáutica This autobiography is enhanced with liberal use of personal and family photographs inserted throughout the text. The author's "Note about Girl Scouts Yesterday and Today" provides context.

Companion Reading

Super Women: ​Six Scientists Who Changed the World

First Girl Scout: ​The Life of Juliette Gordon Low

Hidden Figures: ​Young Readers Edition

Calling All Minds ​​by Temple Grandin with Betsy Lerner

How to Think and Create Like an Inventor

Calling All Minds is an intriguing mix of inventor mini-biographies, images of registered inventions from the U.S. Patent office, and step-by step project instructions for youngsters.  Grandin frames all these elements within a running narrative describing her personal journey of discovery.  She introduces readers to her thinking process, her experiments with various concepts, and schematic drawings of her creations.  "There is no better way to start than by making things of your own design. All the projects I made when I was young contributed to the inventions I've made throughout my life. And they have given my life meaning. I hope these projects and the ones you create will do the same for you." The book is organized into five general sections: "Things Made of Paper," "Levers and Pulleys," "Things Made of Wood," "Things That Fly", and "Optical Illusions." Each section includes a cornucopia of material that is loosely connected. Like the discovery process, they do not flow in a strict linear fashion, instead inviting moments of serendipity along the way.

Izzy Gizmo by Pip Jones ill Sara Ogilvie

There's a new little inventor in Kid Lit and her name is Izzy Gizmo. She maintains a massive collection of various pieces and parts. Always on the lookout for new and creative invention ideas, she designs such items as a spaghetti eating contraption and a mechanized teapot. Unfortunately, many of these brilliant ideas do not work out. It is only when she recognizes the need to help a crow with a broken wing that Izzy's efforts succeed. Everything about this book is a delight! The title is spelled out in stylized letters resembling gears and parts. Wide-eyed Izzy: sporting round spectacles, pencil behind the ear, and held aloft with a bizarre contraption is the epitome of our plucky young heroine. End papers created from relief images of moving parts echo the theme. Then there's Izzy's ever-present tool belt and her boots. How could I forget the boots?

Pip Jones’ rhyming text is lively, making this picture book an excellent read aloud. Words such as “tweak" "glitch" "piston" "circuits" and "sprockets” provide opportunities for discussion and exploration.

Sara Ogilvie's illustrations capture the enthusiasm, discouragement, and determination of young Izzy. However, grandpa often steals the show. His long-suffering patience with Izzy and her string of inventions, allowing himself to be the object of her study, is priceless. His optimism after his granddaughter shaves a large swath down the middle of his head, is a testament to the power of his love. When Izzy gets discouraged, his never-failing confidence in her ability to solve a problem spurs her on.

Makers Make It Happen

The Most Magnificent Thing ​by Ashley Spires Mary Had a Little Lab ​by Sue Fliess  ill by Petros Bouloubasis

Ada Twist, Scientist ​by Andrea Beaty ill by David Roberts The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes ​by Mark Pett, Gary Rubinstein

Leaf Litter Critters by Leslie Bulion ill Robert Meganck

Rodent Rascals by Roxie Munro

Rodent Rascals instantly captures attention with a cover showcasing a trio of adorable little critters. The subtext reveals that this picture book contains a selection of astonishing facts about some relatively small mammals, all of them rodents. I could reasonably  identify the hamster and the gerbil featured on the cover. However, I wondered about the creature with humongous protruding eyes, strangely long tail, and folded legs which appear longer that its entire body? I puzzled: What is that animal?  I wanted to find out more. ​ I was also captivated by the "actual size" concept. How would Roxie Munro illustrate a book of animals showing true-to-life dimensions within a book approximately 10 1/4 inches wide? I imagined all kinds of possibilities. ​I couldn't wait to discover how she accomplishes this feat.

Readers will want to spend time poring over these pages. Munro manages to give each animal a distinct charm and character without sacrificing anatomical accuracy. For readers like me who have lived a life filled with hamsters and guinea pigs, this book will bring fond memories. The guinea pig has an uncanny resemblance to a class pet named Daphne. I could almost hear her sweet little squeak. For those who have are fascinated by flying squirrels and naked mole rats, this is the book for you. Rodent Rascals is a novel and engaging way to approach nonfiction.