Melia and Jo

Starred review from May 15, 2018
STEM becomes STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) as Melia, an inventor, and Jo, a dancer, discover that they're a dynamic team.Melia loves to invent things and tinker all day long in her backyard. Then Jo moves in next door and dances her way into Melia's inventing space. With total disregard for the sanctity of Melia's creations, Jo flips Melia's cereal-bowl radio onto her head to wear it as a hat, sticks a rope of black licorice into the neck of an unfinished robot, and chucks a paper airplane--that Melia is still designing--into the air. Although she's miffed at Jo's invasion of her space, Melia realizes that Jo has inadvertently solved some puzzling conundrums. When Melia shows Jo what a difference she has made, Jo refuses to partner with Melia...until one of Melia's inventions saves her. Their contrasting personalities are effectively delineated in the retro-styled illustrations: Brown-skinned Jo wears a pinky-purple tutu, a pearl necklace, and feathers in her hair; blonde-haired, peachy-skinned Melia wears shorts and an orange cape and boots. The backmatter provides instructions for how to make Melia's paper airplane and explains the benefits of turning STEM into STEAM.A delightful story of a cross-racial friendship between two kids who realize how much they need each other and the passions that each brings to the friendship. (Picture book. 5-8)

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July 16, 2018
Aronson and Oxley (creators of the PBS Kids series Peg + Cat) celebrate the power of STEAM in this unsubtle story about teamwork and the value of diverse perspectives. Melia (after Amelia Earhart) is a budding inventor wearing a cape and a pilot helmet. Jo, clad in flapper attire (a visual shout-out to Josephine Baker), is the artsy performer next door who wreaks havoc on Melia’s most beloved inventions, sticking licorice in Melia’s robot and sailing her paper plane into the mud. But Melia’s initial annoyance turns to awe when she realizes that Jo’s “silly ideas” fix her malfunctioning creations’ flaws. After Jo literally finds herself up a tree, the two predictably decide they work better as a team. (“By combining Jo’s art skills with Melia’s science skills, they could create more super-cool stuff together than either could create alone.”) Backmatter includes instructions for making a plane like Melia’s and a prompt asking readers to reflect on their own artistic and scientific skills. Heavy-handed STEAM messaging aside, Melia and Jo are likable protagonists, and Aronson and Oxley’s roots in animation are on full display in the action-filled illustrations. Ages 4–7.

August 1, 2018

K-Gr 2-The methodical Melia loves creating machines. The artistic Josephine loves to express herself. When the two cross paths, they don't appreciate one another at first. However, Jo's dabbling eventually turns into a source of inspiration for Melia. Likewise, Melia and her inventions prove useful to Jo. Once they discover this, they quickly realize that together, their strengths complement each other, allowing them to create things that neither could alone. Set within the STEAM model, this narrative imparts a lot of good life lessons. Melia and Jo's story shows how creativity can take different shapes, and that, even though the arts and sciences generally serve different purposes, and require different skill sets, they are not so unlike that they can't come together and be on equal footing. Fans of Andrea Beaty's books will appreciate the cute, digitally painted style, with colors that will attract the eye, and the girl-powered message. This also include a note about STEAM, and simple instructions for making an airplane in the back. VERDICT A great book for encouraging kids to apply themselves to the STEAM disciplines, work together, and make friends. A strong choice.-Rachel Forbes, Oakville Public Library, Ont.

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