Dragons vs. Unicorns

Kate the Chemist #1

by Kate Biberdorf, Hillary Homzie

Science explosions! Theater! Mystery! Friendship! Fifth grader Kate the Chemist uses STEM knowledge to do incredible things!

Kate the Chemist is her neighborhood's ten-year-old science problem solver. There's no problem Kate can't fix! When her best friend Brinda is cast as the lead unicorn in their school musical Dragons vs. Unicorns, and Kate is chosen to be the assistant director, they agree this is going to be the best musical EVER! Kate is a natural assistant director; like all good scientists, she's smart and organized, but she also comes up with great ideas, like making liquid nitrogen Cheetos so the Dragons can look like they're breathing fire! But when everything starts going wrong with the musical and Kate realizes someone is sabotaging the show, she will have to use her special science sleuthing skills to find a solution.

Help young Kate the Chemist as she solves science problems in her community, starting with the school musical: Dragons vs. Unicorns!

Genres: Science, Middle Grade, Childrens, Realistic Fiction, School, Friendship, Mystery

144 pages, Hardcover

First published March 31, 2020

About the author

Dr. Kate Biberdorf is a scientist and a chemistry professor at The University of Texas. She has a PhD in inorganic chemistry and has published her work in Catalysis, Science, and Technology. Her 7-book series for kids with Penguin breaks down the image of the stereotypical scientist, while reaching those who may be intimidated by science. She has appeared on The Today Show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, Wendy Williams Show, and Late Night with Stephen Colbert. She lives in Austin TX with her family.

Reviews

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was impressed how this middle school fiction story mixed in as much science as it did, without the story sounding ridiculous or too nerdy. You mix in too much information and you lose too many readers, you provide minor information and you lose readers, you do this and you lose readers, I feel that there’s this fine line of what information you can include in these types of books to be successful. I’ve read a couple of the author’s science experiment books so I thought it was only fitting that I try one of her fiction stories. My advice: if you’re thinking about this book, do it! Dr. Biberdorf mixes in science terminology, knowledge, and excitement into a fictional story of a small group of fifth grade friends who find that their fall break camp has more drama than they signed up for.

I liked Kate’s excitement about science. Her willingness to try and her great attitude even if things get out of control, she’s giving it everything that she has. She really wants others to love science and experience it like she does. I loved how the author mixed in the science terminology within the story. I found this book to be a fast read, containing short chapters with just a handful of important characters. I hope that the author includes more male characters in this series as I feel both boys and girls would enjoy reading them. This looks to be a great start to a fun, educational series!

[Pine Reads Review]

“…Chemistry is way more than a bunch of facts in a book. Chemistry is what you eat, it’s how you sleep, it’s why shampoo stings your eyes in the shower. You can taste science, you can smell it. And you can watch it explode. And that was the reason I had to breathe fire.”

Kate Crawford is a typical ten-year-old with a hankering for fun and science experiments. She loves riding bikes and playing with her best friends, but what makes her stand out the most is her love for chemistry. Chemistry is engrained in her thoughts every minute of the day, from making homemade brownies to getting glue that accidentally spilled on her mom’s leather bag to come right back off. Kate and her best friends, Birdie and Elijah, want to make the most out of their five days of fall break, but tragedy strikes when their science teacher goes on vacation and Kate can’t go to chemistry camp. The three put their heads together and decide on theater camp, where Birdie can be the lead unicorn, Elijah will work on lighting, and Kate can focus on becoming the assistant director. As roles are assigned and rehearsal begins, Kate uses her traits as a scientist to keep everything organized and running smoothly. But when things keep getting messed up and Kate notices that someone is sabotaging the show, something must be done to save fall break. With loads of teamwork and a whole bunch of energy, the children learn to work together to pull everything off…with just enough chemistry to hold the musical together.

Dr. Kate Biberdorf brings forth the perfect blend of unicorns, dragons, and science in her latest release. This book is a bright and action-packed read for a middle-grade audience and serves as the perfect first introduction to the basic topics of chemistry. Packed full of vocabulary words like “thermal shock” and “polymers,” Biberdorf seamlessly blurs the line between school and fun, showing her readers that science can fun in and of itself and actually plays a huge role in the little things we do every day! Kate shows readers of any age that with determination and a whole lot of belief in ourselves, we can all work as a team to make the show go on.

Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @pinereadsreview and check out our website at www.pinereadsreview.com for reviews, interviews, blogs, podcast episodes, and more!

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Middle Grade Fiction: Contemporary Realistic. Kate and her friends are preparing for fall break, when there apparently is no school but a lot of extracurricular activities. Kate loves science experiments, and watches everything Dr. Caroline posts on youtube. She is bummed there is no science option for fall break, but her friends convince her that drama will be something they can all do together. Kate zeroes in on the role of assistant director-- a chance to help behind the scenes and maybe even add some science based special effects. Kate lands her desired role and feels confident that she can help the director stay organized even though her knowledge of anything related to acting is minimal. But as she sets out to prove herself, strange things start happening to Kate. Could someone be trying to make her look bad? Who would do such a thing, and why?!

Though the premise of this book seemed a little strange (what school has a week off in fall? Wouldn't summer break have made more sense?) this was a cute friendship story with a STEM twist. It does seem like a publicity vehicle for the author's own science videos (Dr. Kate, or Kate the Chemist) but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Readers will find one of the science experiments in the book, and there is also a companion book coming out Kate the Chemist: The Big Book of Experiments. I find it a little strange that the series title is the sane as the author;s name, but perhaps it's meant to be a fictionalized account of her childhood. Overall, a cute story that has a decent showing of diversity and a healthy dollop of scientific intrigue.

**Thank you to Penguin Random House for providing me with an Advance Reader's Copy of this book. **

[Amanda Sanders · Rating 1 out of 5]

Little history before the review--soon after I first started leaving my daughter home alone at age 10, she decided to bake cookies while I was gone. I was horrified. So many things could have gone wrong. There could have been a fire or she might have burned herself and there was no adult present to help solve these problems. I calmly told her to never bake without an adult supervising again. The cookies were absolutely delicious though and I enjoyed them. Now to this book of bad parenting. I did not like the main character. She wasn't realistic at all. I don't believe many average 4th graders reading the book can relate to someone who thinks only about Chemistry and even uses similes with Chem terms (Keep things moving as smooth as enzymes). She even wants to run a club--at least that idea fell through. In the story her father leaves after she starts baking brownies, knowing she will be using the oven. I have no respect for a parent who thinks a 4th grader can safely use an oven without supervision and no respect for an author who promotes this. The mother comes home as glass is shattering and does not offer to help clean it up. Cleaning up shattered glass is difficult for an adult. My children were always barefoot around the house and the glass that isn't cleaned up is always found the hard way with the bare feet. I always helped my children clean up broken glass. I cringed when the mother told the daughter to be thorough in her cleaning and then walked away. I thought the plot was dull and I don't believe children fight over the part of assistant director of a school play. I was just too horrified by the bad parenting to enjoy any aspect of this book.

[寿理 宮本 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I tagged "science-fiction despite it being real science, since... it's fiction about science!

I think the main reason I knocked off a star, though, is it feels like I missed the setup for Avery's villainy, like when a Sherlock Holmes mystery leaves out clues that would allow the reader to solve the case without Holmes's post-mortem explanation. It could be I read too fast, or it COULD be that Kate didn't pay enough attention (unreliable narrator!).

Also, there's a dog (Dribble), but... what kind? I like having at least a rough idea of what the token pet in a book looks like. At least they point out that chocolate is bad for dogs! (Definitely not still mad at Encyclopedia Brown not knowing this!)

It's still a fun book, though! I like the touches of real science, plus having the chapter headings include a scientific term that relates to the chapter! Recommended for young scientists!

[Melanie Dulaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kate the Chemist is a fifth grade science junky who does her best to incorporate chemistry into everything she does. Just like in real life science experiments, her efforts do not always go as planned, but she uses her failed results to bring about one that works that it should. In this first installment of what is likely to be a series, Kate and her friends are working on a play and as assistant director, Kate must anticipate the needs of the director, the actors, stage hands, and find solutions to prop difficulties...and figure out who is trying to sabotage her efforts. At the beginning of each chapter, real life chemistry professor Dr. Kate Biberdorf includes a chemistry term and a simple definition and then finds ways to incorporate that word and its meaning throughout the book. The text is accompanied by small sketches in the margin and the plot is straight forward and uncomplicated meaning that the series will be perfect for budding scientists and fans of realistic fiction in grades 3-6 and will have enough science to appeal to the talented student, but won't be so challenging and put off the reluctant reader. Great choice to offer to readers of Franny K Stein, Frank Einstein, Lerner's EngiNerds, and Bill Nye's Jack and the Geniuses. Content is free of profanity, violence (with the exception of flame bursts and various science explosions), and sexual content. One character does refer to her two dads in several places.

Thanks, PenguinKids, for including this ARC in my gift box of books!

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ten-year-old Kate the Chemist is a science problem solver: meaning, she can solve just about any problem that she faces with science! In her first STEM adventure, Dragons vs. Unicorns, Kate is the assistant director on her school play, and her best friend is the lead unicorn. But someone is sabotaging the production! Kate has to use her science skills to figure out who's trying to hurt the show, and how to save the day when the unicorns face a last-minute costume malfunction. The narration is fast-paced and comprehensive in its look at science, and how chemistry is a big help in day-to-day situations (baking = science! special effects = science!). Scientist Kate Biberdorf includes a recipe for Unicorn Glue at the end of the book (looks easy enough - I haven't tried it yet) and an explanation of how it works. Ellie May series author Hillary Homzie and Kate Biberdorf come together to give readers a fun intermediate/middle school mix of drama (literal and figurative), friendship, and science. This one is a good series to watch. There are some black and white illustrations throughout; usually journal pages and scientific items like flasks and volcanoes, to add to the fun.

Kate Biberdorf is a science entertainer with a series of videos and a Big Book of Experiments to introduce kids to fun, safe, science. Her website has videos, information about her books, and contact information. Hillary Homzie's author webpage has great info for aspiring writers, links to her blog and social media, and more information about her books.

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute story about a 5th grader who is really into science and her friends as they prepare to present a play during a school break. The science is interesting.

There were a couple of things I did not like about the story.
1. One of Kate's 'friend's' behavior is totally unacceptable bullying. That Kate and the adults in the story are so accepting of this behavior is disturbing. It is not ok to ruin someone else's belongings and undermine their success because you don't get what you want or feel you were not listened to.
2. The girl that has parents that own a theater are two dads. Because of course if they are theater people they are LGBTQ right? Seriously!?

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kate is very determined, organized and intelligent, but sometimes she doesn't listen to her friends. She is so excited about special effects for the play that she doesn't realize she usurped her friend's role as assistant director. She has some mysteries to solve as well as fulfill her challenging role and not make her mom's life any harder (and her mom is the principal of her school). Science is interwoven in this middle-grade book which has friendship at its heart.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Philomel and Penguin Random House for the advance copy.

Solid mix of science and everyday life issues. The friend and family aspects will be relatable to kids, and I enjoyed how passionate the main character was about science. The author is a scientist herself and it shows in the details, bringing a level of authenticity to that part of the story.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

New series.
Readers meet Kate, a budding scientist, who loves doing experiments and wants to solve problems using chemistry. She becomes the Assistant Director for the school play and has to figure out how to solve problems including learning to listen to friends.
Middle grade readers will appreciate the STEM focus woven through the story itself.

[Dax · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great science focused junior fiction read! My only issue is that the bullying was never brought to a teacher. Why that message was never discussed, just assumed that the kids would handle it all on their own. While it tends to be how it goes, I do believe something should have been brought up.

[Kent Archie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick book about kids who are enthusiastic about science, specifically chemistry.
It could have used more examples of using the scientific method to solve problems rather
than using chemistry demonstrations in a play. I liked it, and I think it's a good book for
the age group its written for

[Roben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you for the ARC, Philomel Books! Kicking off a new series, Dr. Kate is doing her best to encourage girls that science is cool! And you get a recipe for unicorn glue.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[V Nichole Rowland · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book for tween and teen girls to fall in love with science with. I love the science. Definitely recommend this series.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute for the 3rd/4th graders! I'm picturing the kids who love the Questioneers or who have moved on from Zoey and Sassafras will eat it up.

[Mia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the science integrated into the story!

[Cindi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite a fun little book, and educational too. I picked this up for my kids but quickly got hooked myself. I am looking forward to the rest of the series.