March of the Mini Beasts

February 29, 2016
Hopper brings a wealth of humor to this series opener about three Hispanic second-graders nicknamed the Data Set, thanks to their science-minded smarts and taste for adventure. After Gabe Martinez, Laura Reyes, and Cesar Moreno meet a quirky scientist, Dr. Benson, while selling chocolate bars for the school’s science club, one of the man’s inventions brings several animal toys to life, including a stegosaurus. Ricks’s pencil illustrations amplify the story’s freewheeling energy as the kids try to wrangle the fast-growing animals, and a time-travel cliffhanger ending will leave readers reaching for the sequel, Don’t Disturb the Dinosaurs, available simultaneously. Ages 5–9. Illustrator’s agent: Minju Chang, Bookstop Literary.

January 15, 2016
When Dr. Bunsen, Gabe, Laura, and Cesar's mad-scientist neighbor, tries out his growth machine on Gabe's plastic animal toys, there's an unexpected result--they come to life. Second-grade whiz kids Gabriel Martinez, Laura Reyes, and Cesar Moreno meet their strange neighbor while fundraising for a science-club field trip. Known to their classmates as "the Data Set," they each have individual passions: Gabe loves animals; Laura loves to tinker and invent; Cesar loves to read and eat. There's room for all these activities in their well-equipped treehouse. Together, their fantastic adventures will be the stuff of four titles scheduled for 2016 and aimed directly at first- and second-graders already devouring books. This episode introduces the characters, sets up the problem (the cute but rapidly growing baby animals), and finds a solution (sneak them into the zoo) in 126 fast-paced pages written with plenty of dialogue and copiously illustrated with appealing drawings. With these Latino protagonists--Cesar has dark skin and curly hair, while Laura and Gabe have lighter skin and straight hair--and a STEM-infused plot, this would seem to have been made to order for today's elementary school students. While the emphasis is far more on plot than STEM, the kid-friendly fantasy should captivate readers, who will certainly want to gobble up the next installment. (Tantalizingly, the opening pages are included.) First of a tasty if not immediately nourishing new series. (Adventure. 5-8)

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February 1, 2016

Gr 1-3-Gabe, Laura, and Cesar are their town's resident whiz kids, affectionately known by their peers as the Data Set. All three love science, and each of them brings a different specialized skill to their group. Gabe, the leader, loves animals and dinosaurs; Laura is the engineer; and Cesar is the historian with a photographic memory. These skills come in handy when they stumble into an accidental adventure incited by their mad scientist neighbor, Dr. Gustav Bunsen. Dr. Bunsen tests out his newest invention, a growth ray, on Gabe's animal toys. The device works too well, and in addition to causing the toys to grow, it brings them to life! The Data Set, together with Dr. Bunsen, must use their collective knowledge and skills to find a solution to this problem. This is the first in a series of introductory chapter books for emerging readers. The humorous narrative voice is the highlight of this book, which features a large typeface and black-and-white illustrations throughout. The solution to the central problem is unsatisfying, but this may not be of consequence to the target audience, who will enjoy the journey nonetheless. VERDICT Employing quirky humor and capable protagonists, this chapter book will be of interest to young fans of science fiction and adventure.-Tiffany Davis, Mount Saint Mary College, Newburgh, NY

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2016
Grades 1-4 In this series opener, Gabriel Martinez, Laura Reyes, and Cesar Morenoa trio of second-grade science whizzes dubbed The Data Setfall in with absent-minded inventor Gustav Bunsen. They're just in time for an adventure as his new growth ray brings a pile of toy animals to life. When the lively miniature giraffe, hippo, monkey, and elephant also start growing overnight, the pressure's on to find safe homes for them. Butwhat about the stegosaurus? (More on this in the co-published sequel, Don't Disturb the Dinosaurs.) Ricks' frequent scenes of the wide-eyed children and their disheveled new acquaintance add comical notes and break the text into digestible blocks. The young scientists bring complementary skills to the table (for instance, engineer Laura has a tree-house lab with an elevator), and Hopper incorporates multiculturalism with a sprinkle of Spanish words and a reference to Gabe's mom's Colombian accent. Engaging STEM-ware for fans of Einstein Anderson, Phineas L. McGuire, and the Summer Camp Science series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)