How to Test a Friendship

The Magnificent Makers #1

by Theanne Griffith, Reggie Brown (Illustrator)

BOOM! SNAP! WHIZ! ZAP! The Magnificent Makers series is filled with science, adventure, and characters that readers will love! A modern-day Magic School Bus for chapter book readers!

This book includes two science activities kids can do at home! These quick educational activities (30 minutes or less) use items you probably already have on hand!

Violet and Pablo are best friends who love science! So when they discover a riddle that opens a magic portal in the Science Space at school, they can't wait to check it out! Along with their new classmate, Deepak, the friends discover a magical makerspace called the Maker Maze. It's a laboratory full of robots, 3D printers, an antigravity chamber, and more. Doors line the walls of the makerspace, with a new science adventure waiting behind each one.

With the help of a hilarious and odd scientist, the Magnificent Makers embark on out-of-this-world adventures that help them master the science concepts they are learning in school. This series will cover several scientific topics (at an age-appropriate level) ranging from human biology to ecology, while also exploring issues such as managing failure, teamwork, courage, and jealousy.

Genres: Childrens, Science, Chapter Books, Stem, Adventure, Friendship, Middle Grade

112 pages, Paperback

First published May 19, 2020

About the author

Theanne Griffith can’t get you into the Maker Maze (only Dr. Crisp can do that). But she can tell you a lot of cool science facts. By day, she is a brain scientist at Rutgers University (no, she’s not a zombie). At night, she turns into a storyteller. She loves tinkering in the lab as much as she loves writing children’s books. As a writer, her goal is to spark a love for science and discovery in children. She currently lives in New Jersey with her family and three cats. Visit Theanne online at theannegriffith.com.

Reviews

[Kellee Moye · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a mom of 1st grader who loves to read, we are always looking for new early chapter books that will grab his attention and this book is everything we could want. First, it is relatable. The dynamics between the three characters are accurate and just on point. It also deals with real feelings like jealousy and competitiveness. Second, it is about science! Trent is definitely a science loving kid, and adding some science into his books makes him love them more. Third, it is a reflection of the real world (even though they travel to another dimension) because there are a diversity of kids and adults both in looks and behavior. We have already gone to buy the next three in the series, and we cannot wait to see what adventure happens next!

Full review with teaching tools: http://www.unleashingreaders.com/?p=2...

[Nadina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay, I listened to the audiobook and was not a huge fan of the narrator. As a story itself it seemed very fast-paced, but I suppose it was okay for children just starting to read chapter books.
Just average feel over all, character development went at a decent pace. Definitely fantasy elements to it in terms of the maze and entry into it.
It would probably appeal more to kids into S.T.E.A.M.

[Ashley H · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do enjoy the idea of the story, and I would definitely recommend this book to younger readers.

[W.T. Kosmos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great STEM book with multicultural characters engaging in an imaginative adventure while learning lessons about science and friendship. What a sweet combo!

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun series combining science facts and puzzles to solve, diverse characters and realistic kid interactions and dialogue!

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 7 year old really liked reading this book (and book 2). It was fun with a little science education mixed in.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute book about three kids learning science and making new friends! Bonus: the characters are diverse.

[M.L.D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute.

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super fast and easy. Got it for my rising 2nd grader to read on his own, but he wanted it as a bedtime book. Both he and my 4.5 year old sat and listened really well to it, which for the younger is a miracle. My son insisted we immediately start on book 2, so I think this one is a win!

[Marika Gillis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently reread this book with a sweet third grader and it was just as good as I remembered. There's lots to appreciate about this series!

March, 2021-
I have found a magical new children's book series thanks to my friend and co-worker, Mickee! The Magnificent Makers is a series that revolves around three friends- Violet, Pablo, and Deepak- who go on magical science adventures. This first book in the series, How to Test a Friendship, has the three friends working together to beat a challenge that involves solving riddles and traveling through mazes centered around some solid science content. And they are racing against the clock, which adds a nice intensity to the story! The book also handles an easily relateable friendship issue, jealousy, with care.

Ultimately, this series would be perfect for the reader who is newer to chapter books, wants an engaging, fast-paced story, and loves diverse, relateable characters. (I mean, who doesn't want those things in their next book, really?!) And, as you can probably guess, there is a sprinkle of the Magic School Bus magic in this book, so if your kid liked those books, this series might be a great choice.

Short Wave, the NPR podcast featured this series in one of their shows. Check it out here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1TOM...

[Linda (The Arizona Bookstagrammer) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Random House Children’s Books @randomhousekids #randomhousekidspartner and Theanne Griffith @doctheagrif for these 3 free books!
The Magnificent Makers series by Theanne Griffith. Illustrated by Reggie Brown⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Genre: STEM Chapter book.

The Magnificent Makers series follows the adventures of best friends Violet and Pablo as they explore the Maker Maze (a magical laboratory filled with robots, 3D printers, and other cool technology), and embark on science-themed adventures. Just solve a riddle and the portal to the Maze will appear! But there’s a catch…if the kids don’t complete a challenge fast enough, they can never come back to the Maze. Along the way, Violet and Pablo face challenges like teamwork, managing failure, and overcoming jealousy. Each book focuses on a different scientific topic, and includes 2 interactive science activities for readers to do at home.
#1 HOW TO TEST A FRIENDSHIP: Violet, Pablo, and new classmate Deepak discover a riddle that opens a magic portal in the Science Space at school. It’s full of robots, 3D printers, an antigravity chamber, and more. Doors line the walls, with a new science adventure behind each. With help from wacky scientist Dr Crisp, they have out-of-this-world adventures to help them master school science concepts.
#2 BRAIN TROUBLE: Violet and Pablo enter the Maker Maze with a set of twins who are interested in learning all about the brain. They can’t wait to solve science puzzles-if they can learn to work together!
#3 RIDING SOUND WAVES: Pablo and Violet are with a classmate they don’t know well–Henry. As they enter the Maze and learn about touch, hearing, and vision, they learn there’s more to Henry and his odd behavior than meets the eye–he has a sensory processing disorder. Together they learn about feelings (literally!), acceptance, and what makes us special.
It’s STEM-focused, fun, interactive, and it’s 5 stars from me 📚👩🏼‍🦳 #themagnificentmakers #theannegriffith

[Alexa Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was adorable and sweet.

I got it online from the library and read it through Kindle using a screen reader. Kindle described it as being meant for third graders, and I suspect that’s right. There were a few sketch illustrations but it’s a chapter book.

The story is about Pablo (a boy from Puerto Rico) and Violet (a Black girl) who have been friends since the first grade. Among their shared interests is science. Pablo wants to be an astronaut when he grows up; Violet would like to be a doctor.

On the first day of third grade, a new boy joins Mr. Eng’s Science class and is assigned to their group. Pablo is instantly jealous of Deepak and how nice Violet is to him.

Then, suddenly they are whisked away into a magical makers maze, where they must solve some scientific problems as a team. Hijinks ensue and everyone (including the readers) learns some important scientific principles; as well as the importance of communication in a friendship.

At the back of the book, there are activities for creating some of the same things the kids in the book created which I thought was a great approach. Then there was the beginning of the next book, which I have decided not to read, so I didn’t listen to it.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this would be a very fun science book to read near the end of summer with younger kids to prepare for the new school year. I don't have kids of my own, but I think it would be fun to get this for my friends' kids as they grow older and begin elementary school. I enjoyed the illustrations by Reggie Brown. I wasn't sure if the illustrations would turn out well in the ebook version, but I read it on my phone through the Libby app and they looked great. I agree that this definitely has Magic School Bus vibes. As I was reading, I could definitely imagine this as a PBS Kids cartoon, à la Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum.

I thought that the audiobook narrated by Giordan Diaz was alright, though there were some parts that fell a bit flat. If reading with a kid, I'd recommend a physical copy so you can enjoy the illustrations along with the story.

[Ellon · Rating 4 out of 5]

For like half the book, I wanted the author to make up her mind. Either make the book about this friendship or about this science adventures but then she brought the two together when talking about how animals need to adapt sometimes (like friendships). It did take me a little bit of time to decide I liked the book.
I definitely agree with the description of it being the “new magic school bus.” It’s definitely fun and science orientated. This book would be great for a unit on the food chain as that is what all their tasks are about. I like that the author included information about how important bees are.
Also the characters are BIPOC so that’s great to see. Highly recommended.

[Katie Lawrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was kind of like a modernized version of Magic School Bus a bit. Great fun! Pablo, Violet and Deepak are classroom table mates who get whisked into the Maker Maze and conquer some fun ecosystem challenges together along with rainbow haired whimsical scientist Dr. Crisp. Great friendship messages as well as details about food chains etc. Instructions for two maker/STEM activities are included in the back. Violet appears to be black from the illustrations, Pablo is Puerto Rican and speaks Spanish on the page and Deepak is South Asian. A fun start to a science-focused series.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Emily read this book weeks ago and I finally checked it out. I’m so disappointed! It feels like a really crazy, disjointed TV episode. There’s so little explanation for what’s happening, the story moves super fast, the “learning” is rapid fire, and the SEL issues popped up and then got resolved in just a few pages. There are so many books in this series that I thought for sure they’d be good… if Emily asks to read the next ones I will of course get them from the library but I’m not going to offer them up…

[Beth Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read aloud to Gwen and Alec. This is another STEM focused book with a friendship story. There was a lot of science and learning woven into this book - focused on food chains. As much as I liked that aspect, the book felt a little long, a little too wordy at times, not as enjoyable to read aloud as the DATA set series. But it also was a little longer with less pictures. Will give book 2 in this series a try.

[Jes Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great early chapter book. Perfect for Magic School Bus and Magic Treehouse fans. #ownvoices author and illustrator. The characters are diverse and focused on social emotional learning as well as Stem activities. There are exploration activities at the end of the book to further learning.

Pablo, violet and Deepak have 120 minutes to complete the maker maze. Can they work through their differences and
Work together to solve the puzzles in time?

Reading interest age 7-10.

[Jennybeast · Rating 3 out of 5]

3rd grader Pablo (originally from Puerto Rico), his best friend Violet and a new boy, Deepak, have a science adventure -- there's so much going on here! The love of science shines through, and there are quick plot twists and turns, with great illustrations. Some friendship drama rounds out the book and there are kid-friendly experiments in the back. The story is very beginning chapter book standard, but it has some depth that will appeal to young readers.

[Katrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

A gentle science adventure with a diverse friend group. For kids who are upset by big drama, this might be a good choice.

Friends Pablo and Violet’s perfect pair is shaken up by new table-mate Deepak and Pablo is jealous, but the three must work together to solve science puzzles put forth by a Ms Frizzle-esque woman and her Maker Maze.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great addition to Nana Camp. We read this in the morning and then built different ecosystems and habitats later in the morning. Animals purchased provided the consumer part. Producers were gleaned from the garden. Scavengers were placed in the sky and mushrooms, the decomposers were taken from my fridge. It was a fun day. This is a Sunshine State Reader for 3rd-5th graders.

[Tracie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two friends find their friendship tested when a new student is assigned to their group at the start of a school year. They manage to find common ground when they are transported to a place called the Maker Maze where they are challenged to complete puzzles and games to return.

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

We did not really like this one. It was much more academic then our usual bedtime books. So, it was somewhat slow going. We are probably too young for it! But, my kid did make the right choices about 70% of the time.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 7 year old and I really enjoyed reading book #1 together. She enjoys Science and spending time in my MakerSpace (I’m a librarian). So the combo was perfect.

Highly recommend for children who enjoy the Magic Tree House!

[Angelika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Similar to magic Schoolbus in voice and science. Deepak joins Violet and Pablo in a science puzzle and Pablo learns that he gains a friend rather than loses one. Has a few project instruction at the end.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was looking for science fiction for the younger crowd. Lots of science facts, but also a bit of a scifi element with the time freeze/almost virtual reality element. In addition to working through science challenges, the kids work through friendship challenges too.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A beginning chapter book for science! This one is about producers, consumers etc... Kind of along the Magic School Bus line.... it tries to do a lot! Friendship, being the new kid, the science content, the maker content.. it's a lot. Some kids would enjoy this! Includes directions for making a boat. I am looking to read more in this series to see how the author handles other subjects.

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, fast read. Will really appeal to Magic School Bus fans and may also be a good alternative for Magic Tree House (diverse cast, science content and suspenseful without being scary).

[Ellen Lindow]

terrific early grades book by a real scientists. Read this one and gave to Keifer.

[Lisa Welch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read aloud that's a nice blend of fiction and nonfiction and addresses aspects of social emotional skills.