For kids who find the study of science intimidating, wait till they meet the male counterpart to Ms. Frizzle (who kids already know and love from Joanna Cole’s “The Magic School Bus” books)—Mr. Whiskers, a teacher with a beard, a blond crew cut, and a passion for “the big idea.” His mission is to make science scintillating. In his “Note to Big People,” the fictional teacher explains: “Kids learn about science by exploring.” In his classroom, he sets up seven science stations and encourages his eight curious young students to discover all they can about matter, using hands-on discovery methods: investigation, observation, exploration, experiments, and play. The gung-ho classmates work with water droppers and find the first of seven big ideas: “Everything around us is matter and all matter takes up space.” They make gloop and oobleck, turn ice into water, weigh rocks, and make mud, before coming together to share everything they've learned. Which is a lot. Cheerful and detailed pen and ink and watercolor illustrations will make your kids eager to duplicate each experiment. You’ll find easy-to-follow gloop and oobleck recipes at the back of the book, and other ideas for setting up each of the science stations. Mr. Whiskers' style and technique will be inspiring to grown-ups and youngsters alike. Author Michael Elsohn Ross, a naturalist at Yosemite National Park, has written many science books for children. We can only hope he’s working on a new one about Mr. Whiskers.

You’ll want to do a companion reading of Dr. Seuss's classic story, Bartholomew and the Oobleck about a sticky new substance that falls from the sky and the young page boy who saves the day. Learn more about water with the kids in Mrs. Page's class in The Incredible Water Show by Debra Frasier. Walter Wick’s photo-filled A Drop of Water is also filled with simple water experiments to try.


THEMES: EXPERIMENTS. MATTER. ROCKS. SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS. TEACHERS. WATER.