Sophie Simon Solves Them All

by Lisa Graff

Farrar Straus Giroux, 2010. 103 pgs. Intermediate.

Sophie Simon, 3rd-grade brainchild, is studying calculus and wants more than anything a Pembo Q-60 calculator. Her parents want more than anything for her to be "well-adjusted" and to have friends. Horrified that she loves math and actually likes to go to the library, they say no to the calculator. Sophie's problem now is how to get the calculator without her parents' help. Unbeknownst to her, three of her classmates also have problems with their parents that would require a genius to solve. Luckily, Sophie is one. In exchange for the cold hard cash she needs to buy the Pembo Q-60, Sophie undertakes to help Daisy avoid dance recitals under the tutelage of the terrible Ms. Robespierre, to help Owen get the rabbit he wants for his birthday instead of the more "exciting" animal his mother thinks he should have, and to help Julia get the scoop that will keep her in the reporters' club instead of moving to the math team where her father wants her to be. In the end, some surprising developments give each child what he or she wants most, and Sophie gets something she didn't even want--friends.

Comments

Dude, That's Rude! (Get Some Manners) by Pamela Espeland & Elizabeth Verdick

If there's one book today's kids need to read, it is Dude, That's Rude! (Get Some Manners) . The authors provide a fun format for teaching etiquette to children. They discuss proper behavior at home, at school, at other people's homes and in public places. The information is completely up-to-date with cellphone manners and netiquette included. Fun, cartoony illustrations are on practically every page giving the book great visual appeal. This book is perfect for boys and girls in the fourth grade or older. WARNING: Bodily functions are discussed.

Faces of the Moon by Bob Crelin

Faces of the Moon by Bob Crelin Illustrated by Leslie Evans Charlesburg; 2009; unpaged Faces of the Moon is a short nonfiction book that describes the different phases of the moon and why the moon appears like it does on certain nights. This book is short and sweet so even the youngest of moon lovers will enjoy it. The layout is simplistic and easy to follow. I don’t know much about the moon so I found it very interesting.

Review: The Factory

The Factory By Catherine Egan New York, NY : Scholastic Inc., 2025. Fiction. 306 pages. Thirteen-year-old Asher Doyle has been invited to join the Factory, a secretive research facility in the desert which ostensibly extracts renewable energy from the electromagnetic fields of its young recruits. But Asher soon realizes something sinister is going on. Kids are getting sick. The adults who run the Factory seem to be keeping secrets. And the extraction process is not only painful and exhausting, but existentially troubling. Asher makes a handful of new friends who help him with an investigation that turns into a resistance, which turns into...a cliffhanger! The Factory is a page-turning sci-fi with multidimensional characters, an intriguing plot, and refreshingly straight-forward writing. Egan weaves in detail about climate crises and social unrest, making the story's dystopian setting feel rich and plausible. With its sophisticated themes and accessible storytelling, I would recomm...

Provo Library Children's Book Blog

Search This Blog