Solve This! Forensics: Super Science and Curious Capers for the Daring Detective in You

Hands-On STEM

by Kate Messner

C.S.I. meets National Geographic in this forensics-filled adventure. Examine the evidence and consider the suspects to put your crime-solving skills to the test.

Calling all budding sleuths! Solve your way through each entertaining, imaginary G-rated mystery to explore the forensic science of investigating and analyzing evidence. You'll study smudges on a computer keyboard, dust for fingerprints, examine bite marks on a discarded snack, analyze toxicology tests on blood samples, and much, much more. Piece together the clues to see if you can solve each case.

Fans of true crime dramas, escape rooms, mysteries, and preeminent author Kate Messner will love this introduction to forensic science.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science

160 pages, Paperback

Published March 19, 2020

About the author

KATE MESSNER is the New York Times bestselling author of more than eighty books for young readers. Her titles include award-winning picture books like Over and Under the Snow,The Whale’s Tale and the Otter’s Side of the Story, and Axolotl-Ella; novels like All the Answers, The Trouble with Heroes, and Keep the Ghost Light On; graphic novels like Camp Monster; and the Ranger in Time and Wildlife Rescue chapter books. Kate also writes the popular History Smashers graphic nonfiction series and leads the multi-author team behind The Kids in Mrs. Z’s Class series.

Kate's titles have been honored with the American Booksellers Association Indies Choice Award, the E.B. White Read Aloud Award, the NAIBA Book of the Year Award, SCBWI's Golden Kite and Crystal Kite Awards and many state book awards. She's a frequent speaker at conferences, schools, and libraries around the world.

When she's not traveling, Kate lives on Lake Champlain with her family and spends her free time hiking, kayaking, and listening to way too many Broadway cast recordings.

Reviews

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This does a good job of taking some complicated processes and concepts, and breaking them down into understandable chunks. I liked that the 4 sample cases covered a lot of bases, from fingerprinting, to DNA analysis, to shoe print analysis and bite analysis, yet provided a thin veneer of a story to let the reader have a chance at guessing the culprit at the end. For that's what forensics is: using science to tell the story of "who dunnit". And because this includes several experiments that a budding forensic analyst can do at home, this would make for the basis of a great library program, too.

[Claude · Rating 4 out of 5]

purchased this to read as part of my assignment (INF205 Literature and Other Resources for Children and Young Adults) and had a great time. if i had this book about 6-8 years ago when I was my 'i want to be a forensic psychologist/criminologist' was at its highest, i would have been unbelievably hyped, but i was still really excited to dive into this one. defs suitable for a cosy-winter-blanket-fort-adventure-reading!

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book aloud to my third graders and they waited impatiently every day for our chance to keep reading. As we neared the end they asked me to find another book like it as our next read aloud.

[Kristin]

reviewed for SLJ