Asha and Baz Meet Mary Sherman Morgan, by Caroline Fernandez (Common Deer Press, 2022, $7.99, 106 pp, ages 6-9, kindergarten - grade 3) Review by Skye Anderson
In the vein of The Magic Tree House series about history comes a series for budding scientists starring Asha and Baz - the amazing Asha and her friend, the brainy Baz. First in the series* (of two, so far) is Asha and Baz Meet Mary Sherman Morgan.
The friends are typical: Asha loves to talk and take over while Baz is quieter and likes to work behind the scenes.
Asha and Baz have a school assignment: to build and fly a rocket farther than any other pair of students in their class. But they are stuck: they have made the rocket but can't figure out how to make it fly. They really want to win in order to meet a real live astronaut, Chris Hadfield, who will be visiting their school!
To the Rescue!
The friends find a magic stick and draw a picture in the sand, say where they want to go and voila! They are transported back in time to 1957 to find someone named Mary Sherman Morgan. They find themselves in a large hangar with offices on the top floor but have trouble finding any women at all!
Do they ever find Mary? And if they do, what other adventures will they have with real rockets?
Bonus
Books today tell a story as always but they often include a page or two of history and further explanation. Asha and Baz is no exception. A timeline of the space race between the Soviet Union and the US takes up a few pages in the back for those who are interested in either history or rocket science - or both! Also included is more information about Chris Hadfield, the Soviet Union and other sources to learn about space - plus the first chapter of the Hedy Lamarr book.
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*Second in the series is Asha and Baz Meet Hedy Lamarr in which the friends try to solve a coding problem and visit a movie star in 1941!
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