Lucy's Lab: Nuts About Science

                
Title: Lucy's Lab: Nuts About Science

Author: Michelle Houts

Illustrator: Elizabeth Zechel

Publisher: Sky Pony Press, 2017

Pages: 112

Genre: children's fiction (chapter book ages 7-9)

Obtained: from publisher in exchange for an honest review






Summary: When Lucy arrives at school for her first day of second grade, she immediately notices that the beautiful oak tree that housed the squirrels she enjoyed watching from her first grade classroom is gone!  What happened to it?  Where will the squirrels live now?

Thoughts: This year my son, who is in the fourth grade, started a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) program at school and loves it.  I was very excited to discover the Lucy's Lab series which are STEM based chapter books for ages 7 to 9.  The books are a nice combination of realistic fiction and science.  The series teaches that science is all around us and is really cool, but simultaneously tells a story about Lucy.

This first book in the series focuses on habitats.  It uses classroom lessons to explain habitats while concurrently has the main character exploring the question of what happens to an animal when their habitat disappears?.  This is a wonderful approach to get kids that prefer fiction to nonfiction to read about science.  I found the STEM content to be very basic and believe it would be easy for kids in the suggested age range to understand.  The author does not delve deep into the topic, but gives the reader enough information to have an understanding of what a habitat is, along with some examples.  This is not a book for hard core science kids.

I found the realistic fiction piece of the book to be geared toward the average third or fourth grader, even though the protagonist is a second grader.  Therefore, I would bump the age of interest range up to 10.  This was largely due to the reading level, not the topic.  If a child is being read to, I believe it would hold a first or second grader's attention, but as a read alone book, I would say it would work for third grade and above.  The characters in the story were quirky and interesting and very well developed.  There was humor in the book and the author writes in an organized manner. The characters move all around town which helps to keep the reader engaged.  The chapter lengths vary from about 4 to 9 pages each.

I read this book with my fourth grader who is 10, but at a third grade reading level.  He really enjoyed the book and looked forward to reading it each night.  At the end of the book he believed there were some unanswered questions.  He wanted to know what happened to the squirrels that had been in the tree.  He felt like that was the point of the story and he never found out where the squirrels went.  We discussed how they must have found another tree, possibly in the park, but he was still not happy with this.  He also wanted to know if Lucy got in trouble for making lab coats out of her father's shirts.  It was implied at the end that she probably did.  He also wanted to know more about Lucy's teacher going into space.  I am assuming the author will go into this further along in the series.  Even though he was a little disappointed with the wrap up, believing it was "unfinished" we have started the second book in the series and will let you know what we think when we finish it.

I love when fiction books teach a variety of things and this one really did.  It taught about habitats with lots of other science topics and vocabulary thrown in throughout the book.  It taught about the importance of observation, research, facts, and safety.  It taught vocabulary that might be new to a child such as "specimen", "laboratory", or "arctic".  It taught kids that if you want to convince someone to do something- research, gather facts, and put into an organized presentation why this is a positive idea.  It taught that kids can make their voices heard in different ways and that it is constructive to take action when you believe in something.

I recommend this book for any kid, whether they're interested in STEM topics or not.  If you're an adult looking to get a child interested in STEM, this is a great series to start with.  Also, check out Lucy's very own Pinterest page where you can find more information about the science lessons Lucy had in school along with more STEM ideas.  This series and Pinterest page is a great resource for homeschoolers.







                                                                    

Company: Adagio Teas

Tea: Almond Oolong

Obtained: free sample with purchase








I recently purchased some samplers from Adagio Teas and was able to choose a free sample to go along with my order.  I chose almond oolong because I love almond flavoring.  I expected a little sample, but it was the same size sample as the ones sold on their website.

The ingredients (oolong tea and natural almond flavoring) and steeping directions were listed on the resealable bag that the tea came in.  I cut open the package to find leaves of all shapes and sizes in dark browns. The leaves had a sweet almond scent.

I put one heaping teaspoon of leaves into my tea ball and poured 6 ounces of boiling water over it.  I let this steep for 3 minutes.  The dark orange liquid had the scent of warm sweet almonds and tea.  The taste was of full body oolong blended with sweet fruity almond.  It had almost a cherry taste to it.  The almond taste was more like almond extract than the nut.

I just loved this tea!  The full body oolong and the almond flavoring was a fantastic blend with neither overpowering the other.  It is a bold tea, but not too strong.  If you like almond flavoring, this is a must try.