My Tiny Universe by Maryam Master

Leif is a unique kid - or at least our insights into his big brain and life experiences make him feel unique. Leif has been born with CIA (Climate Induced Anomalies).  Before you get too worried, I think Maryam Master made up this disease but, in any case, at this time (spoiler alert this book is in set the near future) CIA is not common and in fact Leif is the very first kid with this in the whole world BUT ... being the first kid it means he is subject to all sorts of tests and experiments and this has been going on since he was born. Leif is tired of doctors and hospitals.

What are the symptoms of CIA. Luckily Maryam Master does not go into too much detail but for Leif there is one huge life challenge - he is small - very small. Also, but not connect with CIA, Leif has, as I mentioned, a huge scientific brain which comes from his curiosity about the world of science and his extensive reading on a range of topics. Leif is also a highly self-aware kid. For example, early in the book we learn about all his phobias - these are mostly hilarious such as a phobia of cake icing, the number eight, delivery drones and a fear of phobias - called phobophobia! Leif also has a phobia that you may have too - fear of being without his phone. 

But most of all Leif has a desperate need to make a real friend. 

"I am a certified, card-carrying, genuine science enthusiast. I guess you could say that is the lends through which I see the world. ... I do however fear that it could be this obsession with science that has caused everything else in my life to fall apart. Perhaps it's the reason why most kids my age treat me like I'm a radioactive three-eyed freak. Of course, it could also be my personality. My odd way of speaking, my tendency to notice small details in bit situations ... or it could be my phobias. Which ones you ask? There are simply too many to list ... "

Leif and his family have moved from the Hollow Creek in the OC (Outer Circle) because of a severe drought which has made that area almost uninhabitable. Now they live in Orange Grove in the IC (Inner Circle). 

This story quickly becomes a recount - we read about the events that led to the fire at school which burned down the whole science block. Here is the opening sentence of My Tiny Universe:

"I would like to clarify for the record, one very important, undeniable fact. It wasn't me who burnt down the science block."

Leif has a quirky story voice (which for me could have become slight annoying) so I was pleased to see that Maryam used alternating voices and so we hear his sister's take on the events leading to the fire and almost obsessive relationship with his friend Albie. The switch between narrators is shown with chapter headings and a change of font. It is also clear that Holly can read the chapters written by Leif and when we hear her voice she is able to refute or clarify or elaborate on the Leif version of events.

Publisher blurb: Leif is named after a valiant Viking. But being a two-foot nothing, fraidy-cat kid with a thousand and one phobias is about as far from valiant as you can get. ... He's not one of the cool kids at school. Or the geeks. He's not even one of the misfits. (Have you ever heard of a misfit who didn't fit in with other misfits?) Leif's different in every way, but especially because he was the first kid to be born with CIA (Climate Induced Anomalies). He didn't have a single friend at West Hershey College, before Albie came along. And that's when all the trouble really began.

One really splendid part of this book comes from the way Maryam Master very slowly and almost secretly lets us know that this is the world of the future albeit the very near future. There are dystopian themes in this book such as climate change, but they are not at the forefront of the story. And I didn't really start to think about the time setting until about three quarters of the way through the book.

As an adult reader though, fairly early it in the story, I worked out the 'truth' rather like solving a murder mystery before the detectives have gathered all the clues. Of course, I cannot talk about how I worked this out because that would be a massive spoiler but I will be very interested to hear Maryam Master talking about this book on Sunday (tomorrow) because I expect she will talk about when and why and how she thinks readers will work out 'what is going on here' and her expectations around that discovery for her audience of readers aged 10+.  I will update this post with her comments.

Comment by Rachel Robson Gleebooks: My Tiny Universe is Maryam’s most sophisticated novel yet, she has that wonderful ability to take you into those dark places whilst still showcasing the sunshine and the wonder. Her characters are flawed yet beautiful and they take you on a journey that will have you questioning how we all fit in this crazy universe of ours. I’m so excited to finally see this gorgeous book out in the world and I can’t wait to see the conversations that kids and grown-ups will have about their future and about our connection with each other. ... Hands down, this is book of the year in an ocean of extraordinary book releases.

Here are a few questions I could ask Maryam:

• The opening fire event is very dramatic - was this the first story thread you thought of ?
• When Leif puts on a helmet at the science fair I thought of the famous book Wonder by RJ Palacio. Would you be happy if people compare your story with Auggie's?
• I really like that the setting for your story feels very general and not specifically Australian - was this a deliberate decision?
• I've found some links between your books (see below). As an author do you see overlapping themes and character traits between your stories?
• Do you have a favourite scene in your book? Mine is when Leif runs away - I felt every moment of that train journey and his shock on arriving in his former town and later I gasped when you introduced a 'bot cop' - I think that was the moment I realised we were in a near future/dystopian world.
• How conscious were you of the social commentary in your story about climate change, addiction to technology and AI and the use of and power of Chatbots?

Post update from the event at Gleebooks which was attended by over fifty people including ASLA President Martha Itzcovitz; Alison Cunningham CBCA NSW; a number of school Teacher Librarians; and Paul Macdonald previous owner of The Children's Bookshop. Maryam Master was interviewed by Ursula Dubosarsky. Rachel Robson introduced them both with the most impressive list of awards. Here are the questions:

How did this book begin? Maryam's husband suggested she might explore dystopian ideas and then she thought of the tiny boy living in a vast universe. Yes the world is complex but Maryam is by nature an optimistic person.

Did Maryam know this book is funny? That surprises and delights her. She did want a balance of light and dark.

Was it hard to juggle two narrators and use different fonts and writing styles? No, because she is used to writing scripts. Maryam worked closely with her book designer Astred Hicks. When Maryam wrote the character of Holly it seemed that girl would never shut up - I found that so funny.

Can you see a connection with your own migration to Australia and the need/desire to reconnect with your homeland and the way Leif travels back to his old home? Maryam was delighted by this question and while she had not directly made this connection she conceded it was probably true.

Can you talk about the writing process and your view of the reader? Maryam finds writing can be a struggle. She loves celebrating the final product and is especially thrilled when a young reader writes and tells her their reaction to her story. Readers bring their own experiences to a book and once the book is out in the world it no longer belongs to the author. My Tiny Universe took 9-10 months to write, and it was her high school English teacher who encouraged her to write.

Other news - there might be a movie version of her book No Words and she is pitching a Picture book with publishers right now.

I was right that Maryam invented CIA (Climate Induced Abnormalities). I was also right that Maryam knew just having the voice of Leif could make this story slightly tedious which is why she introduced his sister Holly and used the technique of alternating voices.

My Tiny Universe is sure to be a CBCA 2027 Notable title and I expect it will also reach the shortlist. The cover of this book by Astred Hicks is fantastic - it is sure to grab the attention of kids in libraries and bookshops. Here is a video review. The publisher does have a set of teaching notes/questions but really once again my plea is to just let the readers in your life, classroom or library enjoy the story without doing a micro analysis.

I read it in one sitting, marvelling at the book that looked like a simple tale of school friendships and sibling troubles all mixed in with first person geeky humour, but had become so much more. What book Next

My Tiny Universe by Maryam Master, is a close up exposé of a universal problem; the art of being big when you feel so stupendously small. ... Leify is a beautiful, brilliant and very bruised soul who, like many of us experiencing unwanted change, is grieving in ways no amount of higher thinking can resolve.  Dim's Write Stuff

Companion books:

Wonder

Our sister again

Lenny's Book of everything

The Experiment

The Probability of Everything

Now let's talk about some repeated ideas or themes in other books from Maryam Master that apply to My Tiny Universe. In each previous book we meet an outsider or a kid who is struggling and we are able to experience their life journey and watch and hope they will find true friendship:

Exit Through the Gift Shop

Ana has cancer (non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma) Leif has CIA. Exit through the Gift shop has a reference to Persian tea and in My Tiny Universe Samira (you need to read the book to discover her importance) is Persian. Maryam Master was born in Iran (Persia). 

No words

Aria is the new boy at school - he is mute so, like Leif, we watch him struggle to make friends. Leif tries using a check list of strategies to make friends. A big theme in No Words is the importance of making true friends and for reasons that you will discover when you read it so does My Tiny Universe. And both books have short chapters.

Laughter is the best ending

Zee has no friends and so she is sent to a holiday camp designed for kids with, well as you have guessed, no friends.  Laughter is the best ending also uses changes of font, lists and play scripts. Zee uses more sophisticated language than her peers and so does Leif. Zee talks about the poet Rumi like Leif! And both books also mention Maya Angelou and Shakespeare.

The Wild Unknown by Emily Gale

The year is 2045 so it's not that far into the future. There are plenty of ideas in this book that actually could happen such as personal assistants worn in the ear called 'mica'; body transplants such as hearts from animals; food orders delivered by robots called 'Goodbots'; government surveillance drones everywhere; student progress monitored by robots at school with reports sent regularly to parents; and talking appliances!

The idea of humans with body parts from animals is a key concept in this story but you might over look it.  It links with the strange changes happening to Eddie and a couple of his classmates and is introduced about two thirds of the way through the book. Eddie begins to grow feathers; he is fully awake at night and so exhausted all day; his eyes seem to have changed to night vision; he can run like an athlete way beyond his usual pace; and he can even stay under the water for a long period with no ill effects.

What is happening? How did this start? Eddie receives a delicious food delivery during the school holidays.

The Goodbot "was the size and shape of a stocky black labrador with a flat face consisting of two shining eyes and a fixed smile. It made it's way to the gate on wheels and rose to smoothly unlatch it. Then it activated its legs to navigate the step and padded towards Eddie like a cat approaching prey. ... (the treat) had to be eaten within the hour, it must be something fresh and delicious. ...the smell was something else - an aroma of fried chicken, freshly baked bread and something mysterious but delicious. ... Maybe it would taste as good as it smelt, instead of as bad as it looked. It did! Wow! WOW!"

Eddie does not question this gift from his dad even though his dad has never sent a food gift like this before and more importantly his father never uses and is even suspicious of Goodbots.

Meanwhile a boy named Theo is missing. You also need to know Eddie's mother works as a fact checker for an organisation called TruthUp because in the past "deep fakes and news-bots had turned the world upside down. No one had been able to trust a single thing they read or watched. TruthUp was trying to make news real again." Luckily Eddie has help to solve or partly solve all of this, his own body changes and the missing boy,  from his friend Kit, Kit's sister Romy and his own computer-game playing brother Jude. 

There is an interesting if somewhat minor theme explored in this story is about politics. A new political party has emerged - it is called Revive and it consists of dead former Prime Ministers. That part did give me a jolt. 

Blurb from author page: It’s 2045 and the world is full of tech. Eddie has a bot in his ear giving him advice all day, a bathroom scale that identifies illnesses, and classroom bots keeping track of him at school. The streets are full of delivery bots and game tech is amazing. But tech can’t help the police find a missing boy called Theo, who was last seen at the river. When they abandon the search, Eddie and his friends sneak down to the river to look for clues. What they find doesn’t make any sense. Then strange things start happening to Eddie. He’s never been sporty but suddenly he’s a brilliant runner. When a friend is caught in the bottom of the pool, Eddie rescues her from drowning by holding his breath for a suspiciously long amount of time. He has excellent night vision – and there are hair-like feathers growing out of his skin. It’s exciting. It’s terrifying. How can it be both? And what do the changes in Eddie have to do with Theo’s disappearance?

I did read this book quite quickly which means the story held my attention and I did enjoy the "hopefully invented" world of the future. Sadly though, two things let this book down - one, in my view, is the pastel colour choice for the cover and the second is the rushed and slightly unresolved ending - I don't think a sequel is planned. By the end of the book (spoiler alert) I was still unsure why the kids had been used in this experiment run by Theo's parents. I did find a reviewer who loved the cover - these things are always so subjective and personal. You can read more plot details here. Here is a Q and A with Emil Gale. Emily also talks about her book on this podcast (40+ minutes).

The Wild Unknown is a thrilling and suspenseful novel that explores the consequences of AI reliance and how this will shape our future. Emily Gale opens up a discussion, prompting children to ask what the benefits of AI are, and what should they be concerned about? She also hints at how AI might influence people in complex spaces, such as political parties misusing it for their own ends, or the media manipulating it. Through Eddie’s transformation and search for Theo, Gale highlights the importance of human relationships, of being able to turn to each other for help and support, and the beauty of the natural world. For ages 9+.  Readings Melbourne

(Its's) an unsettling, yet a compelling mystery that reminds us that human connection, using our own smarts and working together is better and more effective than the most up-to-date technology. It shows that we need a balance, to save humanity, to keep the world safe, and to make sure we don’t destroy the environment. This is in part a warning, and in part an examination of what could happen if gene modification and manipulation become weapons against humanity. Emily Gale has done a wonderful job of exploring this, departing from her usual historical fiction which I adore. A great example of not letting technology rule our lives. The Book Muse

The manipulation of humans using animal parts reminded me of this very old book (part of a series of three):

The Experiment by Rebecca Stead

The Experiment is a thrilling suspenseful dramatic exploration of friendship, family 

and what it means to be human. It’s dynamite! Story Links

Compelling and page-turning. Kirkus

Nathan and his parents know they are actually aliens living on Earth as a part of an experiment (yes that is the title). Nathan lives in New York and to some extent he lives like a normal kid - going to school, using his phone to talk to his friend, enjoying sleepovers, and reading his favourite comic - Calvin and Hobbes. But early on in the story a few things seem strange. He has to brush his teeth five times a day including at school with a special pink paste, his mother documents all his food and Nathan himself is weighed and measured regularly. Nathan also has some friends who live in different parts of America - Izzy (Isabel) from Illinois; Nina from New Mexico; Annie from Alabama; Leo from Louisiana; and Miriam from Missouri. Are you noticing a pattern here? And then we read that some kids have disappeared. 

The action moves with a swift pace as we watch a count down at the start of each section - Lift off minus eight days; Lift off minus seven days; Lift off minus six days; Lift off minus ten hours; Lift off minus ten minutes; Fate and Happiness. You should also stop and notice the chapter headings.

There is a moment in this book on page 255 where I found myself screaming at Rebecca Stead. I was sure Nathan was either going to die or be whisked off to Kast. I read The Experiment late into the night and again around 3am and then this morning I finished it off. This is a long book (207 pages of smallish print) but readers aged 9+ with reading stamina are sure to find themselves quickly hooked into the story. 

I want to mention a couple of things that I loved and that are quite different in this story - Nathan does not hide things from his parents - as a group they feel like a team and all of them want to discover the truth about The Kast and Hester and also find out why Nathan now has a tail (he names her Tuck) - you can see this on the cover. The other aspect of this story that was very different from other books about power and control came at the end (spoiler alert) when Hester is taken away on the spaceship and not punished and it seems she might have some sort of odd, but nevertheless happy, ending. 

Publisher blurb: Nathan never understood what was ‘fun’ about secrets, probably because he’s always had to keep a very big one, even from his best friend, Victor. Although he appears to be a typical grade-six kid, Nathan learned at an early age that his family is from another planet, and he’s part of an experiment to work out how to behave like a human and blend in. But the experiment suddenly seems to be going wrong. Some of the other experimenters, including Nathan’s first crush, Izzy, are disappearing without a word. After his family is called back to the mothership, Nathan begins to question everything he’s been taught to believe about who he is and why he’s on Earth. Can he, Victor and Izzy uncover the truth? The Experiment is a fast-paced adventure—with aliens—that asks universal questions about how we figure out who we want to be, whether it’s ever too late to change, and the importance of friendship.

Betsy Bird has penned a very detailed review of The Experiment (but be warned it is filled with spoilers). She links this book with Charlotte's Web, and like my experience of reading this book, that idea has also blown my mind! Betsy recommends reading her review AFTER reading The Experiment - and I whole heartly agree. Also DO NOT SKIP to the end of The Experiment - please let the story unfold and know you can trust Rebecca Stead that there will be answers to all of your (and Nathan's) questions.

Strong character development, like the complicated backstory of a villain, brings further depth, as do the believably strong relationships, including Nathan’s unbreakable friendship with Victor. Stead’s creativity shines here, from Nathan’s unusual tail to later plot twists and turns (not to mention the tattletale, alien-enhanced cat). Anyone who enjoys Stead’s writing, along with sci-fi lovers and even superhero fans will easily devour this latest offering, staying up late under the covers with flashlight in hand to read just one more chapter. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

In this video Rebecca Stead talks about her books including The Experiment and Rebecca is interviewed by Betsy Bird. Here is the Reading Time review (but I disagree with the idea that this is 'tongue in cheek') Here is the review from Ms Yingling.

A few years ago I penned a post about Science Fiction books for young readers. For myself I well remember reading Trillions by Nicholas Fisk and The World Eater by Robert Swindells and having my mind blown because that's what Science Fiction can do - and now that has happened again with The Experiment - my mind is officially blown again. But by far the best books to compare with The Experiment are Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left by Robin Klein and Edsel Grizzler and the Voyage to Verdana by James Roy. Sorry, these are both old books now so you will have to hunt in a library.

Halfway across the Galaxy and Turn Left

Edsel Grizzler and the Voyage to Verdada

Here are the teachers notes

Galax Arena by Gillian Rubinstein (1992) is a far more sinister story but it is also a book that I thought of after reading The Experiment. 

Read a detailed description of the plot here

And try to find these too:

The Last Cuentista

The Raven's Song

You might also look for this book:

The Future Trap

I think parts of The Experiment will also linger with me because earlier this week I re-read The Giver by Lois Lowry which, as you probably know, also talks about control and manipulation. 

Here are other books I have read and enjoyed by Rebecca Stead:

When you reach me

The list of things that will not change

Liar and Spy Five posts

Bob

The Lost Library

Masterminds by Gordon Korman

Korman is awesome. This book was not only exciting, but thought provoking as well. 

Definitely buying a copy and waiting avidly for the sequel! Ms Yingling

This town is very small. The parents either work at the plastics factory or work in the town as the teacher, doctor, mayor or as shopkeepers. The other group of men are security guards called the Surety. The kids call them Purple People Eaters.

As the story opens one of the kids named Randy convinces Eli (his father is the local doctor) to travel outside the town perimeter but as they reach the edge of town Eli becomes very unwell. Helicopters arrive and he his taken to hospital. Not long after this Randy is sent away but the reason does not sound feasible. Eli enlists the help of three other kids from the town - Malik, Tori and Hector. There is something strange about the factory which 'supposedly' makes plastic traffic cones. Who are these kids? What is really going on in that factory? Why did Eli get so sick? Surely there is something strange about the street names and even the local newspaper does not seem entirely trustworthy. Then Eli is somehow able to access the 'real' internet and so the kids begin to unravel a set of lies that will upset everything they think they know about their lives and families. 

Boy oh boy this book is a wild ride! I was totally engrossed from beginning to end following the lives of these four kids and the weird-sounding community where they live with the prophetic name of Serenity. I do need to warn you this is book one in a trilogy and the ending of book one is a cliffhanger - I plan to borrow book two from the library on my next visit. 

Blurb: Eli Frieden lives in the most perfect town in the world: Serenity, New Mexico. Everyone has a great house, with a pool. Money problems and crime are unheard of. Honesty and integrity are valued above all else. The thirty kids who live there never lie. They know it’s a short leap from that to the awful problems of other, less fortunate places. Eli has never left Serenity … until, one day, he bikes to the edge of the city limits and something so crazy and unexpected happens that it changes everything. Eli convinces his friends to help him investigate further, and it soon becomes clear that nothing is as it seems in Serenity. The clues mount to reveal a shocking discovery, linking their ideal community to some of the greatest criminal masterminds ever known.

This review has lots of plot details: This amazing book is perfectly paced, building in tension as Eli, Tory, Hector, and the other children discover the truth about their town and their lives, and as they try to figure out what they should do about the incredibly difficult situation they have been put in. The chapters alternate between the characters so that we get to see things through several different pairs of eyes, which gives us a wonderful insight into the feelings reactions of Eli and his friends. Readers will be eager to find out if children who have been living in a controlled environment all their lives will be able to truly be who they are. 

Companion book:

Eventown

Which cover do you like? I prefer the second one. This book was published in 2016 but it is still available. 

Here are the covers of books two and three:

Update: Here's my blog post about Criminal Destiny

Criminal Destiny: Follow Eli, Tori, Malik, and Amber as they try to discover the truth of their origins and carve a life for themselves in an outside world that is unfamiliar, baffling, and dangerous. But Project Osiris and its enforcers, the Purple People Eaters, are hot on their trail. They’re free for now. But for how long …? (Here is the review from Ms Yingling)

Payback: After a serious betrayal from one of their former friends, the clones of Project Osiris are on the run again. Now separated into pairs, Eli and Tori and Amber and Malik are fighting to survive in the real world. Amber and Malik track down the one person they think can help them prove the existence of Project Osiris, notorious mob boss Gus Alabaster, also known as Malik's DNA donor. But as Malik gets pulled into the criminal world-tantalized by hints of a real family-his actions put him and Amber into greater danger. Eli and Tori get sucked into even bigger conspiracies as they hunt down Project Osiris's most closely guarded secrets-who does Eli's DNA come from? With a surprising new ally and another cross-country adventure, the four will have to work together to overcome the worst parts of themselves if they are going to end Project Osiris once and for all. (Take a look at this review from Ms Yingling)

Gordon Korman writes thrilling stories that are sure to appeal to readers aged 10+. Years ago I read books from three of his trilogies - Island; Everest and Dive. Each of these have around 175 pages and are perfect for reluctant readers. Look for this one too:

The Unteachables

The Science of Baking - Ada Twist Scientist - The Why Files - by Andrea Beaty and Dr Theanne Griffin

When I make a cake - something I do every week - I marvel that odd ingredients can meld together into something delicious. I cannot image eating a dish of flour or a raw egg but adding these to a cake recipe, baking it in an oven for less than an hour and voila - a cake emerges. YUM. Actually as I write this post my cake is in the oven - the smell is wafting around my house - banana walnut cake. 

Most libraries have good collections of books filled with recipes but this one is very different. Ada Twist, Scientist explains how baking actually works. She spends time explaining this one ingredient at a time - flour, sugar, butter or another fat, eggs, milk, baking powder (this has always been a mystery to me) and if you are making bread you can also read all about yeast. There is also so much science in baking - biology, chemistry, physics, and of course maths. This book also contains a recipe and a science experiment. The first modern pastry chef was Marie-Antoine Careme from France (1784-1833).

Yes this book is nonfiction, yes, it is contains all the relevant facts BUT it is also a joy to read because it is filled with fun illustrations and photos and has a big font and very appealing page layouts. 

If you have any of the Ada Twist book series by Andrea Beaty I highly recommend adding the four small non fiction books to your collection. 

Read a review of Ada Twist, Scientist from Kirkus

Check out all the books in the Questioneers Series:

The Questioneers Picture Book Series: Iggy Peck, Architect | Rosie Revere, Engineer | Ada Twist, Scientist | Sofia Valdez, Future Prez | Aaron Slater, Illustrator | Lila Greer, Teacher of the Year

The Questioneers Chapter Book Series: Rosie Revere and the Raucous Riveters | Ada Twist and the Perilous Pants | Iggy Peck and the Mysterious Mansion | Sofia Valdez and the Vanishing Vote | Ada Twist and the Disappearing Dogs | Aaron Slater and the Sneaky Snake

Questioneers: The Why Files Series: Exploring Flight! | All About Plants! | The Science of Baking | Bug Bonanza! | Rockin’ Robots!

Questioneers: Ada Twist, Scientist Series: Ghost Busted | Show Me the Bunny | Ada Twist, Scientist: Brainstorm Book | 5-Minute Ada Twist, Scientist Stories

The Questioneers Big Project Book Series: Iggy Peck’s Big Project Book for Amazing Architects | Rosie Revere’s Big Project Book for Bold Engineers | Ada Twist’s Big Project Book for Stellar Scientists | Sofia Valdez’s Big Project Book for Awesome Activists | Aaron Slater’s Big Project Book for Astonishing Artists

Ouch! Tales of Gravity by Kate Simpson illustrated by Andy Hardiman

 

Someone could or should do a PhD thesis on "modern" non fiction and the link to our ability to search for information online. Note I didn't say easily search for information online because this process is often difficult especially for children in Primary schools. This is where brilliant non fiction (and so much of it has appeared in the last decade) fits in beautifully. There seem to be so many fabulous non fiction books being published on all manner of subjects.

If you child is curious about gravity then this new book from Allen and Unwin (Australia) is perfect. If your child has never thought about gravity then this new book is perfect. If, you, the adult reader, have limited knowledge of the science of gravity then this book is one you should borrow from your child's school library or from your local public library. If your child has a school assignment about gravity this book will introduce the topic. Even if none of this applies to you surely the title of this book and the emotion and action on the cover will catch your eye.

I do also need to mention the brilliant end papers which are filled with falling apples. 

Here are some of the things I learned from this book:

• Isaac Newton did not "discover" gravity. All through history things have been falling onto people and people have been falling off things - ouch!
• Without gravity Earth would fly out into space.
• Isaac Newton explained what gravity does and Albert Einstein explained how this happens.

The air we breathe would float away if there was no gravity.

Perfect for home or school, Ouch: Tales of Gravity is a great book for introducing and explaining an important concept to children, whatever their age. Kids' Book Review

Here are some things I enjoyed about this book:

• The colloquial way the text speaks directly to the reader.
• The science experiment on the last page.
• And the little jokes Kate Simpson inserts into the text. 
• You can find a set of excellent Teachers notes on the publisher web page. 

Kate Simpson hosts a children's literature Podcast - One More Page.

Thea's tree by Alison Jackson illustrated by Janet Pedersen

 

Ms Rankin sets her students a free choice science project. Thea Teawinkle loves science. She finds a purple seed and decides to plant it in her garden in Topeka, Kansas. I have discovered (remember I am in Australia) that Topeka is the capital city of Kansas.

Thea is puzzled about the plant that emerges from her seed so she writes a letter to her teacher. Ms Rankin cannot help but she suggests Thea might contact an expert at the Topeka Horticultural Society.  This is the beginning of a series of letters written to all sorts of "experts" none of whom have an answer about this mysterious seed which is now a huge tree.

She writes to:

Bertram Beaman a botanist at the Horticultural Society; Anna Applebaum an arborealist at the Arboretum; Carl Capshaw curator at the Natural History Museum; Zoe Zimmerman zoologist at the Topeka Zoo; Ada Adler at the First Bank of Kansas. Look again at this list - every expert has an alliterative name and you might want to think about why she wrote to the zoo and the bank!

Odd things appear under the tree which grows taller than her house. She finds a golden egg, three gold pieces and a singing harp.  Can you guess what is going on?  Does it help if I describe the seed as a purple bean?

The discovery of this truly special book emphasises to me the absolute importance of libraries - public libraries and school libraries.  Thea's tree was published in 2008 so it is now out of print. Luckily I found a copy in a very well stocked school library. 

Save a spot on the shelves for this one  Kirkus

The best thing about Thea's Tree is the disconnect between Thea's experiences and the adult determination to categorize them properly, as everyone from botanists to bank managers weighs in on the plant and associated findings. Book Aunt

I do enjoy picture books written as letters. This form is called epistolary. I also love this book as a way to explore scientific methods and character voices. The illustrations are also perfect. Here are some other examples (spoiler alert) with Fairy Tale references:

One more thing - I am smiling an enormous smile of delight at the discovery that Janet Pedersen is the illustrator of one of my ALL time most favourite picture books - A friend like Ed.

Clever Trevor's stupendous inventions by Andrew Weldon

I have loved this little comic-style book, Clever Trevor's stupendous inventions, for a long time (first published 1999) so you can imagine my delight when I discovered recently that it had been reprinted.  You can see the old cover here and the new cover below.

My favourite part of this book is not the story (which is very funny and so easy to read) it is the imprint information and other pages found at the beginning and end of the book .  Sadly it seems these riotous details have been left out of the new copy. I wonder why?

The first page for example says :
Also by Andrew Weldon
Treasure Island
The cat in the hat
Alice in Wonderland
Great Expectations
Where the wild things are
The Magic Pudding
Catcher in the Rye
 and more....

At the end of the book :
What the critics say about Andrew Weldon's The Kid with the Amazing Head:
Sydney Morning Herald (not reviewed)
The Age (not reviewed)
Australian (not reviewed)
Guardian (UK) (not reviewed)
New York Review of books (not reviewed)

Here are some parts of the imprint information
Puffin Books
Penguin Books, a division of Pearson Canada
10 Alcorn Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4V 3B2
(Over the bridge on your right, next to the fish paste factory)
Penguin Books (NZ) Ltd
Crn Rosedale and Airborne Roads, Albany, Auckland, New Zealand
(Through paddock. Close the gate behind you)

All right reserved .... Keep refrigerated.

... All pigments used in this book are derived from the author's own body wastes.

Trevor is an inventor.  His teacher Mr Shmedric does not appreciate this talent.  Things finally come to head for Trevor and his friends when this despicable teacher appropriates one of Trevor's inventions, organizes a marketing campaign and rakes in tons of money.

Trevor and his friends devise a terrific plan to bankrupt their corrupt teacher and ensure Trevor can move on to a different grade (and hopefully a better teacher) next year.

Keep your eye out for the companion volume The Kid with the Amazing head.  This pair of books are perfect for reluctant readers and for anyone who likes to laugh.

You might also enjoy Problem Child by James Roy and Writing in wet cement by Andrew Daddo. Here is an interview with the author.