Zoey and Sassafras: Books 3, 4 and 5

Zoey and Sassafras, Books 3, 4, 5 by Asia Citro, illustrated by Marion Lindsay    285 total pages

I love these little books aimed at children ages 6 to 10 because they feature a girl using science to solve problems. American cultural has made significant improvements in breaking glass ceilings since the 1960s, but we still have a long way to go. It’s books like these that will help overcome stereotypes and, hopefully, lead more girls into fields that don’t rely on beauty or body type.

Each book is basically the same format, and yet is it not: a magical creature shows up at the barn behind Zoey’s house with a problem. Zoey’s mother has been helping the wide range of creatures for years, and now Zoey, along with her best friend, Sassafras the cat, gets to help too. She has Thinking Goggles (protective eye wear) that she wears to help her think…and without realizing protecting her eyes…and a journal where she keeps all her scientific notes.

The difference between each of the books is the scientific approach Zoey must figure out to use, Sometimes she needs to do some investigation, other times research, and other times she must run experiments.

In Book 3 “Merhorses and Bubbles,” the story opens with Zoey and Sassafras creating a tool to use to see the mayfly babies who live in the water. I love this!  Parents and caregivers learn how to duplicate this tool before they’ve reached page ten. But when Zoey heads to the stream, she isn’t able to find any stream bug babies anywhere. Then Pip, her mother’s old friend and a talking purple frog shows up, alerting Zoey that the merhorses are in danger of starving to death. Zoey must use her research and investigative skills to learn why the stream no longer has any insects and how to fix it. “Merhorses and Bubbles” receives 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

In Book 4 “Caterflies and Ice,” two of tiny caterflies (wait until you read their descriptions; they are so cute!) ring the barn’s magical doorbell needing help. An unexpected spring snowstorm has created danger for the caterflies’ eggs. They are trapped in a cave behind a frozen waterfall.  Zoey knows she must hurry to save the unhatched babies. When her first attempt fails, she relies on her experimental skills to solve the problem. “Caterflies and Ice” is a little less captivating, receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

In Book 5 “The Pod and The Bog,” Pip the purple, talking frog, returns with a glowing rainbow stone.  Pip explains that it’s a seed pod from a magical plant. Zoey and Sassafras have been watching and recording the growth of a pea plant.  Zoey must use her research and experimental skills determine what the pod is. Tension rises as experiment after experiment fails. “The Pod and The Bog” receives 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Intuition

Intuition, by Allegra Goodman, 385 pages

Cancer research can be a cut-throat field, with everyone looking to make the next big breakthrough.  But what is a breakthrough if it can't be reproduced?  This was an interesting, if not totally enjoyable, work of fiction about characters working in a research laboratory.  Cliff's tests start showing amazing results, but Robin, his ex-girlfriend and fellow scientist, has a feeling that all is not what it seems.  This book has alot of great character studies, it raises many good discussion questions regarding intuition in the field of science and out, and was praised by many in the science field for its ability to make the not-so-glamorous process of science research so accessible to lay readers.  It would make for good book discussion if your group can get past the first 100 pages.
Sidenote: this is terrible cover art for this book- it does not reflect in any way the contents of the book.