Author: Dr. Kate Biberdorf with Hillary Homzie
Illustrator: I sadly don’t know
© Date: 2020
Publisher: Philomel Books
Pages: 131
Chapters: Yes
Illustrations: Yes, a lot of the pages have a small illustration, like a soccer ball or flashlight
Publisher Recommended Age: 8-12 years
Bonus Activities at End of Book: Yes, instructions to make your own unicorn glue (sticks a horn to your skin) and a description of how the science works
Summary from Book: Kate the Chemist is a ten-year-old science problem solver. There’s no problem she can’t fix! When her best friend, Birdie, is cast the lead unicorn in their school’s musical Dragons vs. Unicorns, and Kate is chosen to be the assistant director, they agree that this is going to be the best musical ever! Kate is a natural assistant director; like all good scientists, she’s smart and organized, but she also comes up with great ideas. But when everything starts going wrong and Kate realizes someone is sabotaging the musical, will her special science sleuthing skills help save the day—and the show?
Page Pig Thoughts: The story was not bad, but the chemistry was so much the focus that it kinda took away from the story. Everything had a chemistry reference. When Kate gets embarrassed, her cheeks turned phenol red. The book mentions that is a special dye that determines if something is an acid or base, but my point is that everything was chemistry. I think a story that has chemistry included is a lovely idea, but this one was a bit much.
Each chapter starts with a chemistry term and definition that loosely applies to the chapter. The definition is intended to be relatable, but I wonder if the reader will understand some of them. A few had a definition with potential to be confusing or a reference to something that might not register. I appreciate the effort though.
I was rather confused/annoyed at the end though. After the play, the cast hands out three flower bouquets. One is white roses, one is yellow tulips, and the third is Texas bluebonnets. While I have never seen a bouquet of bluebonnets, I suppose that is possible. My issue is with the time of year. The story says the play is on October 17. Tulips and bluebonnets are spring flowers. While it is maybe possible to get a tulip bouquet, the fall season makes that bluebonnet bouquet seem even more unlikely. I liked the idea of the flower type, but that disconnect made me wonder about the realism of all of the science.
I may read another of these to see if the science gets toned down a notch, which would make for a decent story.
Use caution with younger readers, kids may find some experiment ideas that need parental supervision. At one point, Kate tries out a glue formula on her younger brother’s forehead. The glue did not stick, but there is the potential for something to get seriously stuck on someone’s head. Kate also uses cornstarch to breathe fire. The safety cautions are mentioned for things like breathing fire and liquid nitrogen, but be particularly cautious if you have a kid that likes to test things.
Family Unit: Kate (10yo) lives with her mother, father, and little brother, Liam (5yo?)
Items of Interest:
- Kate is given permission to cook and experiment on her own, within reason. Kate is expected to clean up her own messes, even when it is an exploded glass bowl because she overheated it. Kate cleans up the glue that got into her mother’s backpack after she borrowed it.
- Chemistry saves the day and helps Kate find solutions to many problems that come her way.
- Birdie is Kate’s best friend and they seem to have a very supportive relationship.
- One character, Avery, has two dads.
- Avery is jealous of Kate and sabotages some of her stuff (e.g. markers out a script, blobs glue in her backpack). The girls get in trouble for having a heated argument, but the teachers didn’t inquire what the issue was about. Kate blames Avery for stealing Cheetos from her bag, even when she didn’t.
- The recipe at the back of the book is for unicorn glue. That glue is intended to be used on human skin to stick things like unicorn horns.
Other Books in Series (At Time of Posting):
- Book 2 – The Great Escape
- Book 3 – The STEM Night Disaster
- Book 4 – The Birthday Blastoff
- Book 5 – Some Penguin Problems