Ellie, Engineer: In the Spotlight
Reviewed By Janet Mawdesley October 13, 2020
Author Jackson Pearce
Distributor: Bloomsbury Children's Books
ISBN: 9781547601851
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's Books
Release Date: 2020
Website: https://www.bloomsbury.com
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Ellie Bell is a little girl on a mission to build things; she considers herself not only a girl who loves ‘girlie’ things, but also loves to build all sorts of things that are based in Science of one kind or another.
Her latest project is a skateboard ramp with lights for her bestie Kit, who is going to compete in the Miss Junior Peachy Keen contest, but something goes wrong; the lights fail on the first trial and Ellie has to carry out a quick fix to get the lights working on this rather unique skateboard ramp.
Eventually Ellie, Kit, Toby, who does not fix anything nor compete as he is a boy, and their Mothers check in to the Hotel where the contest will be held, with all contestants being judged over the weekend, not just for their skills but also for congeniality, and begin what is going to be a momentous weekend for them all.
There is of course a problem waiting in the wings, that of Melody Harris, last year’s winner and no real friend of Ellie and Kits’, who is not all that nice, finding fault with everything particularly with Kit, Ellie and Toby, but she accepts Ellie’s skills as an Engineer to help solve so many of the little issues that vex her.
A dramatic announcement is made the next morning at breakfast, as it seems Melody Harris’s pet rabbit, a vital part of her magic act, has disappeared; stolen, according to Melody by Kit, which really upsets the three friends who immediately set out to try and work out where Pancakes could possibly be hiding.
Ellie, Engineer In the Spotlight is an excellent platform to address many of the issues young children face such as kindness, responsibilities, assumptions and friendship, as Ellie also has to overcome her fear of being without her beloved tool-belt. Problem solving is discussed with some very sensible solutions found by using applied simple science, which is ideal to encourage children to investigate further, the subject matter which in this story is electricity.
An excellent section at the rear of the book is Ellie Bell’s Guide to Electricity which along with a few very safe scientific experiments , some great line drawings illustration throughout the pages, makes an excellent learning platform for young children who have not been introduced in any detail to Science.