Some kids never stop the 'asking why about everything' phase. They become scientists.

 

"Ada Twist, Scientist" 
Written by Andrea Beaty, Illustrated by David Roberts 
Recommended Age: PreK-2nd Grade

As soon as the 3-year-old Ada Twist was big enough to crawl out of her crib on her own, she was exploring, showing her boundless curiosity before she could speak. She pushed at the outlines of her toddler world, made messes, and climbed to dangerous heights on furniture, spurred by an intense need to know more. Her first-ever word was “Why” – the word behind the wonder that inspires scientists to wake up every morning.

She is a practicing scientist as soon as she has enough hand-eye coordination and language skills to ask, to draw, and to test theories.

Her parents react with loving encouragement, keeping up with her questions and intense interests. As she makes it through second grade, her science-based play progresses from cause-and-effect demonstrations to more advanced theorizing, and she finds a mystery that focuses her freewheeling curiosity into the rigor of a real experiment. During this exploration, she missteps, coming close to hurting someone. Her parents finally must step in, and stop her. Does her research career end here, before it can even begin? Is there a limit to her parents’ and her classmates’ acceptance of her spirited scientific self?

This book’s text is written in unforced rhymes of simple words, which topple and fall out of the mouth like normal speech that just happens to rhyme. This is ideal for reading aloud to children between four and six years old, as the rhythm, language, and rhymes make the text enjoyable to both read aloud and listen to.

The illustrations are both neat and expressive. The precise pen lines and watercolor fills are an ideal choice for a story about the controlled chaos of scientific experiment. The emotions on the simply-drawn faces are universal and clear to young readers, while piles of detailed objects on many pages lend visual interest to children. They will enjoy reading the subtle language of the pictures while listening to the written words.

This book is part of a collection of many sequels, including a series of chapter books for transitional readers, as well as a Netflix television adaptation. I see why. It is charming, well-drawn, and relevant to the last few decades’ intense focus on STEM immersion for all K-12 students. The original picture book is recommended for class read-alongs, especially as an introduction to a science unit for this age range.

Word Count: 374