What Do the Plants Say? (Alex, the Inventor) by Lois Wickstrom

 

What Do the Plants Say? by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Alex hears the plants talking to her. She's very intrigued by this and wants to learn more of what they are saying to her. She tries a variety of methods to distinguish between the different "pops" and learns that they want to have a party. What's the best way to have a party? With helium of course!

This was a fun book but not my favorite by this author. She writes a lot of books with a science them, and while this one was still science focused, it had more of a mythical approach to it as well. I was not fond of the "talking to plants and thinking they speak to you" aspect. I do know that there is some research out there about talking to plants but I'm not super convinced of this having a true effect. I think for kids, it's best to keep it simple. I still recommend this book though!

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How to Make a Flying Carpet (Alex, the Inventor) by Lois Wickstrom

 

How to Make a Flying Carpet by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Alex is a cool kid who's looking to turn something old into something new and useful. When a refrigerator magnet breaks, he takes the magnet and tries various things to see if he can create something useful with what's left.

There's a key that fell down in the floor grate. Will his magnet pick that up? What about the desk drawer? What will he pick up there?

Alex learns about different properties of magnets during this science adventure.

I love that Lois Wickstrom writes book with a STEAM focus. These are great for ages 4-8 but I enjoyed it as someone that's a grandma too! The illustrations are also very well done in these books and there is a guide at the end of the book for further learning.

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