The Trouble with Ants

Starred review from June 1, 2015
Fourth-grader Nora Alpers is determined to defy the odds in this entertaining tale, first in the Nora Notebooks series. The youngest child of scientist parents, Nora wants to follow the path where experimentation and data govern decisions. Utterly devoted to her colony of pet ants—“She was probably already the leading 10-year-old expert on myrmecology”—she records ant facts and experiments in her notebook, attempting to capture the world record for youngest published author in a science journal. When Nora brings her ants to class, she is shocked by the hostile reactions of her classmates, who will spar over their love for cats and dogs but have no use for ants. In drily funny writing and b&w illustrations, Mills (the Franklin School Friends series) and Kath capture Nora’s delightful enterprising and willingness to push the boundaries—sometimes (she knows the limit when it comes to sitting with the boys at lunch). Nora’s genuine love for ants will resonate with children who have a passion for something out of the ordinary. Ages 7–10. Author’s agent: Stephen Fraser, Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency. Illustrator’s agency: Shannon Associates.

July 1, 2015
A science-minded fourth-grader observes her classmates and the ants in her ant farm with equal care. Mills' new series stars 10-year-old Nora Alpers but also features classmates at Plainfield Elementary School from her Mason Dixon series. In their first two weeks after winter break, Nora, Mason, and Brody Baxter deal with a skunked dog, play basketball, and write persuasive essays. Nora dresses up for a fancy high tea with cat-loving Emma Averill and takes no side in the best-pet war that divides her classmates. Nora is already a scientist, a myrmecologist; she watches and wonders about ants. She has a scientist's mind, endless questions, and the habit of careful attention. She fills her newest notebook with interesting facts about ants she's learned from library books (from the grown-up section) and her own observations. Each chapter in this engaging third-person narrative ends with an ant fact and includes a grayscale illustration. As always in this author's school stories, the idiosyncratic characters are believable and the school life, realistic. Inspired by an entry in a Guinness World Record book, Nora hopes to become the youngest person ever to get an article published in a peer-reviewed science magazine. She doesn't achieve that lofty goal, but what she does accomplish is quite satisfying. Middle-grade readers will hope for more Nora Notebooks, soon. (Fiction. 7-10)

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July 1, 2015

Gr 3-6-Nora Alpers is not your typical fourth grader. While her classmates enjoy talking about cute, cuddly cats, she is obsessed with facts, especially interesting facts about ants. Nora keeps a notebook in which she writes down all sorts of information about the everyday happenings of ants. Her parents are both scientists and this inspires Nora to study ants in an ant farm in order to write an article about them. She hopes to submit it to a major scientific journal. Unfortunately, none of girls in Nora's class are interested in her aspirations, though her basketball coach, Coach Joe, is a source of encouragement, as well as her friends Mason and Brody. Will Nora find success as a published writer and break the world record for youngest published author of a professional journal? Readers will be drawn into the story by the sincere and realistic characters Mills has created, as well as the pleasing and appealing illustrations found in every chapter. Patrons will be anxiously waiting to find out what the subject of Nora's next notebook will be. VERDICT A solid additional purchase where younger middle grade fiction is needed.-Martha Rico, El Paso ISD, TX

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2015
Grades 2-4 Ten-year-old Nora Alpers is obsessed with science. Her parents and siblings are scientists, and her goal in life is to be the youngest person ever to be published in a scientific journal. Her topic? Ants! Nora observes ant colonies and records her findings in a brand new notebook, which she later turns into a proper scientific article. Though mature and focused for a fourth-grader, Nora finds her hopes of publication dashed by a rejection letter, which brings with it a hard lesson about the world. Meanwhile, her friends, classmates, and their pets provide hilarious grade-school interludes, including appearances by Mason and Brody, who share a delightful dog; Dunk, the bully with a crush; and Emma, who can't stop showing cell phone videos of her cat, Precious Cupcake. In this series starter, bright and charming Nora displays independent thought, vision, and passion, while letting the reader knowthrough her journal and her assigned persuasive speechthat science is unassailably cool.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)