Books that are aimed at girls with science can either be too preachy or a little wishy washy for me. I went at Libby Loves Science with no preconceived notions. And when I was finished reading Kimberly Derting and Shelli R. Johannes’ book, I saw it was neither. Libby is a fun story about friendship, trying, failing and doing your best. The way the characters do that is through science.
Libby and her friends are going to head the school science booth at the fair. But nobody wants to stop by! What can they do? The lead up, during and afterwards is a nice story about trying and making mistakes. When a science experiment is mentioned, the kid-friendly science experiment instructions are included right next to that part of the story. There is also lots of information about science, experimenting, making mistakes and messes, and giving it your all as well sprinkled about the story. This is a story first, but one that deals with science. There is no “big deal” about genders, race or other topics. It is a happy book. This is shown with Joelle Murray’s illustrations. They are bold, sassy and detailed. They are bright and get you into things. Text and art compliment and move the other along.
The author has continued their series of books that featured Cece with another gal who loves science. Ages 5 to 8 are the best audience. This works well in a classroom setting but if you and your child want to do some rainy-day activities, this would work as well.