Ada Twist, Scientist

What a delightful book!

The charming author–illustrator team of Iggy Peck, Architect and Rosie Revere, Engineer, brings us another brilliant youngster who happens to be in the same schoolroom: Ada Twist. By not speaking until she is three, Ada echoes that famous scientific genius, Einstein, but once she does speak she makes up for lost time by asking question after question. She confounds both her parents and her hapless schoolteacher, Miss Greer, but when a terrible stench finds her investigating smells, Ada discovers the importance of the scientific method and soon gets her family involved in finding solutions.

The illustrations by David Roberts, like the other two books in the series, are absolutely stunning and filled with mid-century modern design. Ada’s befuddled older brother and harried cat are fun to search for in many spreads, and the chaos Ada creates around her is a joy to the wandering eye. The rhyming text is just perfect and shows a strong-willed child following her passion for a scientific career. This is another wonderful must-have addition to the series on the young geniuses in Miss Greer’s classroom and a beautiful stand-alone book that will be enjoyed by adults as much as children.

Angela Crocombe