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Frankie Sparks #3
Frankie Sparks and the Big Sled Challenge
Frankie Sparks uses her inventing skills to build the best sled ever in this third chapter book in the STEM inspired Frankie Sparks, Third-Grade Inventor series.
Frankie Sparks can’t wait to enter the town-wide sled design contest. With the help of a team, she must design and build a sled using only cardboard and duct tape. And there are PRIZES!
Each team in the contest will be judged on:
1. Best looking sled.
2. Fastest sled.
3. Most team spirit.
Even though Frankie might know a lot about building a sled, it turns out she still has a lot to learn about building a team. With lots of twists, turns, and big bumps along the way, can Frankie and her fellow super-sled designers create a dream machine—and a dream team?
Frankie Sparks can’t wait to enter the town-wide sled design contest. With the help of a team, she must design and build a sled using only cardboard and duct tape. And there are PRIZES!
Each team in the contest will be judged on:
1. Best looking sled.
2. Fastest sled.
3. Most team spirit.
Even though Frankie might know a lot about building a sled, it turns out she still has a lot to learn about building a team. With lots of twists, turns, and big bumps along the way, can Frankie and her fellow super-sled designers create a dream machine—and a dream team?
128 pages, Paperback
Published November 19, 2019
8 people are currently reading
23 people want to read
About the author
Megan Frazer Blakemore
18 books170 followersMegan Frazer Blakemore is an author for children and young adults. She lives with her husband and children in Maine. She has worked in both school and public libraries, and is currently pursuing a doctorate in library science at Simmons SLIS.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 14, 2024
I don't love this series honestly. In this book the 3rd graders are tasked with building a sled using only cardboard and tape and they have to make it the fastest sled. Frankie identifies herself as the best inventor of the 3rd grade so she has a lot of self imposed pressure to be the best. She has a lot of design fails and has an honest, kind of bratty reaction to failure. I think the author could've done a little more. Shes working with teammates and doesn't give them much of an input. Even when she sees that she needs to, she barely changes. The chapters are kind of long and this just felt a little boring.
January 9, 2021
Sanaya Talks Books:
I like Frankie Sparks because she is an inventor. She invents the coolest things. She has a very creative mind. She works hard and never gives up. But sometimes she is a little mean to Lila Jones and Ravi.
I like Frankie Sparks’ books because it teaches me to think wildly and be creative. Frankie invents such nice things which makes me want to invent some designs myself.
I like Frankie and Maya’s friendship. They are very strong as friends and even when they are angry with each other they never get apart.
Mommy Likes:
I came to know about this series through the Texas Bluebonnet Master list. This list comprises of 20 books for students from Grade 3 to Grade 5. At the end of the year students from various schools vote for their favorite books. The first book in this series, ‘Frankie Sparks and the class pet‘ has been nominated for the Bluebonnet award for 2020-21.
Though this series features in the Bluebonnet list which is meant for higher grades, its premise was intriguing enough for us to order the first book in the series. Frankie Sparks is in 3rd grade and likes to invent new things. She considers herself to be the best 3rd grade inventor. The series is a look at her life and problems while she is busy inventing things.
The series has 4 books currently;
Frankie Sparks and the Class Pet
Frankie Sparks and the Talent Show Trick
Frankie Sparks and the Big Sled Challenge
Frankie Sparks and the Lucky Charm
We have read all four and have really liked the character of Frankie Sparks. Though the premise of these books sound like some scientific knowledge would be imparted through Frankie Sparks, these books deal more with the interpersonal problems that kids of these age face. At the age when they are discovering their own self worth and competitiveness, how do they handle working with people who do not probably think the same or have different opinions than theirs.
In the first book, each student in Frankie’s class is asked to nominate an animal for class pet but there are many conditions to it. The problem that Frankie faces is that while she wants a rat for class pet her best friend Maya wants a betta fish. Not having her best friend on her side makes Frankie upset and the story is a peek into how she comes around while also finding a solution to feed the rat (if chosen as class pet) on weekends.
The second book is about Frankie wanting to participate in a talent show as a magician but Maya as her assistant is too nervous to perform. How will Frankie deal with this problem which seems hopeless and doesn’t seem to have a solution?
The third book is about designing a sled using only cardboards and duct tape for a contest where Frankie is supposed to work in a team. Till now all the things Frankie has designed are completely her own, so how will she deal working in a team where people have different ideas?
The fourth book in the series again deals with difference in opinions between Frankie and Maya with regards to leprechauns. In the end Frankie learns an important lesson in experimenting and failing.
Though Frankie Sparks series seems very similar to the Zoey and Sassafras books that we reviewed recently, they are poles apart. Though both feature African-American protagonist and have science at its core, Frankie’s books deal more with interpersonal issues as compared to actual science. (To check my review of Zoey and Sassafras please click here: https://inbetweenbookmarks.wordpress....)
Frankie Sparks as a character is as real to actual children as we can get in fiction. She is not saccharine sweet nor is she a bully. She has her strengths and she has weaknesses. Her strengths are her intelligence, her fierce loyalty to her best friend, and her acceptance of someone’s better ideas as well as her own academic weaknesses.
However, Frankie can at times become utterly selfish due to her ambition, thus forgetting to consider other’s feelings, which could turn her into a mean child. But always at the end of the book Frankie realizes her mistakes and apologizes as well as compensates for her mistake. And for me as a parent that is the best part of the book. Having some ambitions of your own are good but realizing that those ambitions and feelings might hurt someone else and then to amend them, however, while still maintaining your individuality , now that’s a win-win.
The books come with black and white illustrations which are not many. I guess that is because the books are meant for advanced readers and the author would like them to use their imagination. However, when Frankie’s designs are being described, a few illustrations would have helped the kids understand the designing process better thus helping them in their own little projects. That is the only negative that I felt about the book.
Though the books are part of a series they can easily be read as standalone and in any order. The books are almost 100-120 pages but with big fonts, and the overall size of the book is small. An advanced reader might be able to finish the books in an hour. For an inside peek into the books head over to my Instagram page at http://www.instagram.com/inbetweenboo...
Given the varied emotions that this books deal with and many details of Frankie’s designing process of her inventions, the book is suggested for kids of 7.5 yrs and above. Though Sanaya just turned 7 and reads fluently it took my intervention for her to grasp the underlying themes of the books. These books as read-aloud won’t be that effective as much as reading them on their own.
Verdict:
We would definitely recommend this series for kids in higher grade, this book has a lot of possibilities and learnings for the young minds.
I like Frankie Sparks because she is an inventor. She invents the coolest things. She has a very creative mind. She works hard and never gives up. But sometimes she is a little mean to Lila Jones and Ravi.
I like Frankie Sparks’ books because it teaches me to think wildly and be creative. Frankie invents such nice things which makes me want to invent some designs myself.
I like Frankie and Maya’s friendship. They are very strong as friends and even when they are angry with each other they never get apart.
Mommy Likes:
I came to know about this series through the Texas Bluebonnet Master list. This list comprises of 20 books for students from Grade 3 to Grade 5. At the end of the year students from various schools vote for their favorite books. The first book in this series, ‘Frankie Sparks and the class pet‘ has been nominated for the Bluebonnet award for 2020-21.
Though this series features in the Bluebonnet list which is meant for higher grades, its premise was intriguing enough for us to order the first book in the series. Frankie Sparks is in 3rd grade and likes to invent new things. She considers herself to be the best 3rd grade inventor. The series is a look at her life and problems while she is busy inventing things.
The series has 4 books currently;
Frankie Sparks and the Class Pet
Frankie Sparks and the Talent Show Trick
Frankie Sparks and the Big Sled Challenge
Frankie Sparks and the Lucky Charm
We have read all four and have really liked the character of Frankie Sparks. Though the premise of these books sound like some scientific knowledge would be imparted through Frankie Sparks, these books deal more with the interpersonal problems that kids of these age face. At the age when they are discovering their own self worth and competitiveness, how do they handle working with people who do not probably think the same or have different opinions than theirs.
In the first book, each student in Frankie’s class is asked to nominate an animal for class pet but there are many conditions to it. The problem that Frankie faces is that while she wants a rat for class pet her best friend Maya wants a betta fish. Not having her best friend on her side makes Frankie upset and the story is a peek into how she comes around while also finding a solution to feed the rat (if chosen as class pet) on weekends.
The second book is about Frankie wanting to participate in a talent show as a magician but Maya as her assistant is too nervous to perform. How will Frankie deal with this problem which seems hopeless and doesn’t seem to have a solution?
The third book is about designing a sled using only cardboards and duct tape for a contest where Frankie is supposed to work in a team. Till now all the things Frankie has designed are completely her own, so how will she deal working in a team where people have different ideas?
The fourth book in the series again deals with difference in opinions between Frankie and Maya with regards to leprechauns. In the end Frankie learns an important lesson in experimenting and failing.
Though Frankie Sparks series seems very similar to the Zoey and Sassafras books that we reviewed recently, they are poles apart. Though both feature African-American protagonist and have science at its core, Frankie’s books deal more with interpersonal issues as compared to actual science. (To check my review of Zoey and Sassafras please click here: https://inbetweenbookmarks.wordpress....)
Frankie Sparks as a character is as real to actual children as we can get in fiction. She is not saccharine sweet nor is she a bully. She has her strengths and she has weaknesses. Her strengths are her intelligence, her fierce loyalty to her best friend, and her acceptance of someone’s better ideas as well as her own academic weaknesses.
However, Frankie can at times become utterly selfish due to her ambition, thus forgetting to consider other’s feelings, which could turn her into a mean child. But always at the end of the book Frankie realizes her mistakes and apologizes as well as compensates for her mistake. And for me as a parent that is the best part of the book. Having some ambitions of your own are good but realizing that those ambitions and feelings might hurt someone else and then to amend them, however, while still maintaining your individuality , now that’s a win-win.
The books come with black and white illustrations which are not many. I guess that is because the books are meant for advanced readers and the author would like them to use their imagination. However, when Frankie’s designs are being described, a few illustrations would have helped the kids understand the designing process better thus helping them in their own little projects. That is the only negative that I felt about the book.
Though the books are part of a series they can easily be read as standalone and in any order. The books are almost 100-120 pages but with big fonts, and the overall size of the book is small. An advanced reader might be able to finish the books in an hour. For an inside peek into the books head over to my Instagram page at http://www.instagram.com/inbetweenboo...
Given the varied emotions that this books deal with and many details of Frankie’s designing process of her inventions, the book is suggested for kids of 7.5 yrs and above. Though Sanaya just turned 7 and reads fluently it took my intervention for her to grasp the underlying themes of the books. These books as read-aloud won’t be that effective as much as reading them on their own.
Verdict:
We would definitely recommend this series for kids in higher grade, this book has a lot of possibilities and learnings for the young minds.
November 20, 2019
The latest Frankie Sparks book is perfect for winter. In this one Frankie and her friends enter a sled building competition. This is such an awesome series for kids. Frankie is one of the most flawed but lovable characters written. She struggles with big emotions and difficulties with reading and writing and in this one has a hard time working as a team member at first, but seeing her work through all of that is incredibly endearing and relatable. I also love this series for the example it provides kids on how to invent and engineer and create. We can’t wait to read book 4.
August 18, 2020
Maybe I shouldn't have started with book 3 - I didn't really understand why Frankie thought she was the best 3rd grade inventor ever. Did she win an award? Has someone told her she is? Maybe it doesn't matter, but I was confused. Anyway, I liked Frankie a lot. She is smart and knows it, but also is impatient and a bit domineering, so she isn't perfect.
April 24, 2025
A fun read aloud with my 6 year old. The story is easy to follow, and attacks big feelings (frustration, disappointment) head on in a kid friendly manner. My kiddo enjoyed it, and I think the themes of teamwork and perseverance got through to her!
December 9, 2021
Good lessons and I love that it's stem based
Read
January 1, 2023Goes along really well with the Unit 5 Benchmark Advance reading unit on inventors and technology for 3rd grade.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews