The Amanda Mini-Mysteries by Lois Wickstrom – Review by Angela Hayes

The Amanda Mini-Mysteries by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3 Stars

The Amanda Mini-Mysteries by Lois Wickstrom is a 42-page children’s chapter book that contains 12 very short ‘mysteries about ‘everyday things’ – teaching some interesting facts along the way
Amanda and her best friend, Elaine, unravel and help explain these ‘mysteries’ through science, and a little imagination- and through all the different experiments they do.
The story isn’t a fully illustrated book- but does have a few (comic-book-style) illustrations sprinkled throughout, usually at the beginning of every ‘mystery’, to help the reader visualize things, as well as keep things interesting.
There are twelve mysteries to follow, which are:
–Amanda and the Blue Blood
This explains how/why blood appears blue beneath our skin
–Amanda and the Wet Cracker
Helps to explain a little about how digestion works, and the role saliva plays in it.
–Amanda and the Flashing Light
Touches a little of the speed of light and how scientists measure it
–Amanda and the World’s Biggest Magnet
Helps to explain a little about how birds (and some other animals) use the earth’s magnetic field to navigate- and how magnets can affect their sense of direction. Then reveals the ‘World’s Biggest Magnet’.
–Amanda and the Dizzy Pencil
Helps to explain how our inner ear helps us keep our balance, and why when we spin quickly, we lose our balance. As well as touching a little on the speed of sound.
–Amanda and the Rainbows
Explains photons, and how we see colours, and how different that is to how colourblind people, and animals, see.
–Amanda and the Recorded Voice
Touches on how we ‘hear’ our voice (internally), and why that sounds different to when we hear a recording of it.
–Amanda and the Suntanned Sheet
Explains how bleaching works, and how/why people tan in the sun, instead of bleaching.
–Amanda and the Secret Spoon Chime
Touches on how sound travels. How different sized spoons make different tones. And how to set up and perform your own ‘sound’ experiment.
–Amanda and the Taste Flower
Touches on how taste buds work
–Amanda and the Snakelike Arms
Explains how bellydancers can move and undulate their arms, and bodies, in a snake-like way.
–Amanda and the Broken Balloon
Touches on how plants make oxygen, and a little on how our lungs work

Happy reading…

Reviewed by @angelahayes

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