Ada Twist, Scientist

August 8, 2016
Beaty and Roberts return to the classroom featured in Iggy Peck, Architect and Rosie Revere, Engineer as they introduce an insatiably curious girl named Ada Marie, who comes from an African-American family so stylish that its time-out chair is an Eames. As Ada attempts to determine the source of a noxious smell, Beaty’s bouncy rhymes emphasize the qualities that make for a great scientist: “She asked a small question, and then she asked two./ And each of those led to three questions more,/ and some of those questions resulted in four.” Scientific research can be messy and thorny (and smelly), Beaty and Roberts suggest, but it’s well worth the effort. Ages 5–7. Author’s agent: Edward Necarsulmer IV, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner. Illustrator’s agent: Artist Partners.

July 15, 2016
Her intellectual curiosity is surpassed only by her passion for science. But what to do about her messy experiments?Ada is speechless until she turns 3. But once she learns how to break out of her crib, there's no stopping the kinky-haired, brown-skinned girl. "She tore through the house on a fact-finding spree." When she does start speaking, her favorite words are "why," "how," and "when." Her parents, a fashion-forward black couple who sport a variety of trendy outfits, are dumbfounded, and her older brother can only point at her in astonishment. She amazes her friends with her experiments. Ada examines all the clocks in the house, studies the solar system, and analyzes all the smells she encounters. Fortunately, her parents stop her from putting the cat in the dryer, sending her instead to the Thinking Chair. But while there, she covers the wall with formulae. What can her parents do? Instead of punishing her passion, they decide to try to understand it. "It's all in the heart of a young scientist." Though her plot is negligible--Ada's parents arguably change more than she does--Beaty delightfully advocates for girls in science in her now-trademark crisply rhyming text. Roberts' illustrations, in watercolor, pen, and ink, manage to be both smart and silly; the page compositions artfully evoke the tumult of Ada's curiosity, filling white backgrounds with questions and clutter. Cool and stylish. (Picture book. 5-8)

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October 1, 2016

K-Gr 2-Ada Marie Twist is an inquisitive African American second grader and a born scientist. She possesses a keen yet peculiar need to question everything she encounters, whether it be a tick-tocking clock, a pointy-stemmed rose, or the hairs in her dad's nose. Ada's parents and her teacher, Miss Greer, have their hands full as the child's science experiments wreak day-to-day havoc. On the first day of spring, the title character is tinkering outside her home when she notices an unpleasant odor. She sets out to discover what might have caused it. Beaty shows Ada using the scientific method in developing hypotheses in her smelly pursuit. The little girl demonstrates trial and error in her endeavors, while appreciating her family's full support. In one experiment, she douses fragrances on her cat and then attempts to place the feline in the washing machine. Her parents, startled by her actions, send her to the Thinking Chair, where she starts to reflect on the art of questioning by writing her thoughts on the wall-now the Great Thinking Hall. Ada shines on each page as a young scientist, like her cohorts in the author's charming series. The rhyming text playfully complements the cartoon illustrations, drawing readers into the narrative. VERDICT A winner for storytime reading and for young children interested in STEM activities. Pair with science nonfiction for an interesting elementary cross-curricular project.-Krista Welz, North Bergen High School, NJ

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