‘Supa Nova' by Chanté Timothy: A Book Review
Chanté Timothy is on a mission. To get more children into STEM. She has created Nova, a curious young black scientist, to investigate the world around us. Timothy grew up with few visible role models in science leadership, and she is hoping that with Supa Nova, she can inspire the next generation.
Supa Nova is a graphic novel aimed at young middle-grade readers. Nova, or Supa Nova, as she likes to call herself, is the daughter of two scientists. Inspired, she wants to follow in their footsteps. So much so, she has her own secret(ish) underground lab under her house. Accessible by slide. Who doesn't want one of those?
After watching a video about plastic islands in the middle of the ocean and the cool science involving mushrooms and mealworms that eat plastic, Nova decides she needs to scale up the operation. She aims to build herself a plastic-chomping organism. Things don't go according to plan…
Supa Nova is, above everything, a fun, bright, vibrant read. The illustrations are very appealing. The message of the book, about the problem of plastic pollution and how we might tackle it, is an important one, as is its aim to inspire young scientists to investigate the world around them. Supa Nova shows that science isn't boring. (Though there isn't very much in the way of copious note-taking and cross-checking results in the storyline!).
This is the start of a new series, and after this first outing , I'm interested to see where it goes next. There's lots of big science out there for Nova to sink her teeth into! Supa Nova is a light read, with entertaining characters and a fun plot, akin to the sorcerer's apprentice. Giving children access to books like Supa Nova is a great way of enticing them to think about the world around them. It's a quick read, so perhaps one best borrowed from the library. Schools everywhere should make room for Nova and her scientific exploits.
If you would like to pick up a copy of Supa Nova, you can do so here, in the US, and here, in the UK. (Affiliate Links)
If you enjoyed this review, check out my other book reviews, here.
I received a copy of this book in order to write this review. Liked it? Take a second to support GeekDad and GeekMom on Patreon!
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