A young scientist's quest for a little peace and quiet in which to conduct her experiments gets a lively treatment in this age-appropriate introduction to the scientific method. Charlotte, a bunny with a lab coat, a magnifying glass and kelly-green safety goggles, lives in a cozy burrow with her parents and 13 or so sisters and brothers. Her problem: She's squished. At the table, in the tub, even (sigh) in the outhouse. Her question: "How can I get some space around here?!" Her first hypothesis: If she can get rid of her siblings, she will have room to conduct her experiments. That doesn't work out so well, but building a carrot-shaped space rocket? That does the trick.
The book does a nice job of balancing science education and fun, thanks in large part to Farley's brightly colored illustrations. The image of Charlotte, outfitted in a baby-blue space suit, running ecstatically across the barren planet where her rocket ship just landed, speaks volumes about our heroine's thirst for a space of her own. The illustrations are crammed with fun-looking science: There's a blackboard filled with bunny-head equations, hearts and carrots. Even the endpapers, purple graph paper with detailed drawings of the space carrot, capture the excitement of discovery.
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