Was Robin Brande a science geek (or maybe nerd is the right word?) when she was in school? Both her books have a strong science focus and science fairs come into play in both. Not that I have anything against geeks or nerds of any persuasion. After all, I blog about children's books that I read.
In Fat Cat, Cat is working on a science fair project for a very special science class. It is a class that focuses on creating interesting work for the fair, always engenders the winner of the fair and is a great thing to have on your college application. But instead of choosing a topic that interests the student herself, at the start of the year everyone is given a picture at random. That picture is to inspire a choice of topic for the fair project. Cat gets a picture of early humans and, at first, is totally uninspired. Then it hits her. This can be a vehicle for revenge against the boy who was once her best friend but has been her nemesis for many years. She will emulate the hominid life style--altering her diet and eschewing modern conveniences like cars--she will BE the science experiment. And she will end the year stronger, healthier, extremely fit (possibly thin for once in her life) and, most important of all, the winner of the science fair due to her unusual field of study.
Of course, nothing works exactly as planned but along the way Cat learns a lot about nutrition and exercise, a lot about the life of early humans, and a lot about human relationships in the here and now.
Highly recommended.
Fat Cat by Robin Brande, 9780375844492.
1 comment:
Psst, it's me. Hope you don't mind me answering your question: No, I was never a science geek in school, but now I can't seem to get enough of it. There are just so many cool concepts to explore--I can think of about 18 books I want to write in the next few years, all with some sort of science to them. Just finished writing a new one about animal behavior, and next up is quantum physics! Woot!
Thank you for this wonderful review! And I love your synopsis--you're much better at describing what this book is about than I am! Thanks for all your kind words.
Post a Comment