Mermaid and the Water Magnifying Glass, a STEM picture book

Book Three in the Mermaid Science series

published: July 1, 2022

Synopsis

Maia’s best friend is named Fig. Maia’s imaginary playmate is a mermaid named Trezzie. One of Trezzie’s treasures has a pattern on it. Is it art, or something else? They need to look with a magnifying glass. Maia shows the mermaid how to make a magnifying glass with a drop of water and a plastic veggie box she had among her treasures.

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Review

The adventures of Maia and Trezzie continue in this newest addition to the series. Maia and Fig are playing by the water when Trezzie brings them a small rock with some sort of pattern. Turns out that it is a fossil that they discovered by creating a magnifying glass from a plastic container and a few drops of water. I feel bad for Fig because she can’t see Trezzie, so things appearing out of nowhere is a bit disconcerting. I think she believes she exists but without being able to see her it is hard to keep that faith.

This is a simple explanation of how magnifying glasses work and after the story is a more detailed explanation of the process and science behind the device. While the explanation might be a lot for a younger child, a parent can help explain it in better detail and simplify the explanation for those that are very young. Hopefully, this book (and the others in this series) will encourage young children to think about STEM and grab their interest in the subject.

The illustrations are nicely done and are paired well with the text.

We give this book 5 paws up.

About the Author

Lois Wickstrom earned her BA in biology with Chemistry and English minors. She is the creator of the Imagenie videos on YouTube and “Starting With Safety” available from the American Chemical Society. She also co-authored the Nessie’s Grotto Books with Jean Lorrah, and the Orange Forest Rabbit books with Lucrecia Darling.

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