Elinor Wonders Why: How to Carry a Cupcake

by Jorge Cham (Creator), Daniel Whiteson (Creator)

From the popular early reader graphic novel series, Elinor and her friends discover how nature provides many living things with hard outsides to keep their insides safe! Elinor, Ari and Olive want to bring a cupcake to school to give to their teacher, Ms. Mole, for her birthday. But the last time Olive brought a cupcake, it got squished in her book bag. So Elinor and her friends need to figure out the best way to “stop the squish” and get the cupcake safely to school. On their walk home they notice that some animals, such as turtles and armadillos, are protected by hard shells. And coconuts are, too. Hmm, this may have given Elinor a perfect idea for transporting Ms. Mole’s cupcake! This early reader graphic novel is part of the popular series from Jorge Cham and Daniel Whiteson, the creators of the Emmy-nominated PBS KIDS TV series Elinor Wonders Why . It focuses on a topic that spans several science subjects, examining the characteristics and needs of both animals and plants in life science, as well as the technology of structures and even some engineering. As always in this series, science facts are presented as discoveries resulting from the characters’ curiosity and their desire to solve a relatable problem. Sidebars with science facts and vocabulary words, along with their pronunciations, are interspersed throughout the story. An activity at the end of the book teaches how to test the strength of an eggshell. The engaging series, with bright visuals and simple text, encourages readers to have a curious mindset and use science to understand the world.

Genres: Science, Childrens

40 pages, Hardcover

First published June 6, 2023

About the author

Jorge Cham is a Chinese-Panamanian post-doc best known for his popular newspaper and web comic strip Piled Higher and Deeper (PhD Comics). He first started drawing PhD Comics as a graduate student at Stanford University, and has since been syndicated in several university newspapers and in three published book collections.

Jorge Cham received his Bachelor's degree from Georgia Tech in 1997, and earned a PhD in mechanical engineering from Stanford. He subsequently worked at Caltech as an instructor and as a researcher on neural prosthetics.

In 2005, Cham began an invited speaking tour of over 80 major universities delivering his talk titled "The Power of Procrastination". In this lecture, Cham talks about his experiences creating the comic strip and examines the sources of grad students' anxieties. He also explores the guilt and the myths associated with procrastination and argues that in many cases it is actually a good thing.

Reviews

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you, Kids Can Press, for the advance reading copy.
This is such a cute graphic novel series on how the kids and the animal characters try to decide on carrying out specific tasks they have to accomplish. Our main character Elinor and her friends are trying to figure a way out on how not to squish the cupcake while carrying it to school.

I find the illustrations really simple and charming. The dialogue box and the art sequences are easy to follow.

The creators have done a very good work for this series. Expecting more from the series.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute characters use Science to have fun. These books are adapted from a TV series. Kids learn about "Keratin" here (fingernails, or in turtle shells). This fun trio of kids (Elinor/Rabbit; Olive/Elephant; Ari/Bat) exemplifies having fun as they do science.

I'm sure the TV show can be fun. The age group for this book (children) match well to the simple text here. Nice appendix on how to do slightly more with this idea. This science experiment secretly uses trig/similar-triangles to solve the height of a Sequoia using only a pencil! Great activity to show kids!

This book not quite as much fun as the other Elinor Wonders books.
3.5* max

[Stacey Feehley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so cute, my daughter really liked it! Elinor, Ari and Olive want to surprise their teacher with a gift for her birthday. They decided on a cupcake when they see that Elinor has one for lunch, but it got smashed in her lunch bag. How will they get one here the next day without it getting smashed again? They put their heads together to come up with a solution. This was such a great book to teach little ones about teamwork and how working together you can come up a solution!

Thank you Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC!

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story Elinor Wonders Why: How to Carry a Cupcake is a super cute story about Elinor and her friends trying to figure out how to get a cupcake to school without squishing it. As the characters are trying to figure out how to carry the cupcake, they notice a bunch of animals with hard shells and that inspires an idea.

This book is an early reader style graphic novel which was perfect for my emerging reader to be able to read on their own. The story also had brightly coloured graphics which made the story more interesting to kids.

As a parent, what I liked about this story was that each of the animals Elinor and her friends found was described using age-appropriate STEM terminology. This was a great story for kids to learn about different animals while trying to figure out a creative way to carry their cupcake. The other thing I liked about this story was that at the end, there was an activity to test the hardness of an egg shell.

Thank you to the publishers for allowing me to share this advance copy with my children. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Lorie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming early reader graphic novel based upon the PBS series Elinor Wonders Why. This is book 4 and adapts an episode where Eiinor and her friends learn about shells when they want to find a way to carry a cupcake to school for their teacher's birthday. In addition to the story panels, the book also explains the science in the book with What's That Word and Let's Find Out panels to encourage more learning. There is also a science experiment included that uses easily accessible materials and one that is safe for elementary children to replicate with minimal supervision.

The book is hard bound for library use and with its tie-in to a popular show, it will be a popular draw for kids 5-10 years of age when they are browsing in the library. Reading level averages at about 2nd grade, with most of the text easily accessible and some challenging words to improve vocabulary.

I would highly recommend this book for purchase by school and public libraries.

This book was provided by the publisher for professional review by SWON Libraries.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This cute picture book is written in comic book/graphic novel style and merges both fiction and nonfiction elements, truly bending all genres and book types haha! The story follows Elinor, an inquisitive girl who loves learning about the world around her. When her classmates find out that it is almost their teacher's birthday, Elinor and her friends try to figure out the best way to transport a cupcake to school. This leads to an inquiry adventure learning all about hard shells like turtles and coconuts. This is a fun and informative book that will definitely appeal to young readers in a fun and unique way. I would definitely recommend this book and look forward to checking out the others in this series! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book!

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

This small series for small scientists gains two more volumes, one pleasantly having the rabbit character (who is of course the same size as her elephant and bat friends) explore butterflies and make a costume so she can dress as one for the school's insect day, and the other much more clumsily discussing shells and natural protection, through the use of eggs, armadillos, and coconuts – oh, and the need to get a fragile cup-cake to school. I guess that while the elephant has a satchel none of these characters have heard of a lunch-box. Certainly the butterfly one is a bit more coherent and gains from not going all over the place with different looks at the same, ill-defined subject. But they don't do under-eights science too badly.

[Ag · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another short and sweet book about the cutest and most curious little Elinor!
The graphic novel with exquisite drawings and easy-to-comprehend text, this one is about schoolkids (of various species) who want to surprise their teacher with a gift, and they decide to get their teacher a cupcake.
But, they face a problem. How do they deliver the cupcake without smashing it?
They go on an adventure where they find out about lots of other things too, there are fun facts about turtles and about coconuts, and more. And they end up finding a solution to their cupcake problem – what a fun read this is!

[Amanda Sanders · Rating 2 out of 5]

Elinor and her friends want to bring their teacher a cupcake and try to come up with a safe way to carry it. They see a turtle and an armadillo and a coconut. Then they come up with a plan. The description of what happens to the present right before it is given to their teacher makes the story implausible. The cupcake would have been ruined no matter what kind of packaging it was in. The story is dry and slow and I don’t find the characters or the science facts engaging. I do think there is an audience out there that will enjoy getting some science facts this way though.

[Jeanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

How do you carry a cupcake without it getting frosting everywhere. You will be surprised and to think that asking why, you solved problem. That is what Elinor does with all her school friends. Together they find answers. It appears that there are different ways to carry a cupcake. Elinor and her friends make it fun to learn!

A special thank you to Kid's Can Press and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

[Sheena Mae · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter and I read this together. She was a little meh about it when I told her the title because she said she knew how to carry a cupcake but the book was really about hard shells like turtles and coconuts, which she loved! I love how in these books there are sections to give additional information or word meaning.

Dani’s Review (age 8) I liked that the cupcake didn’t get squished and I want to try the experiment with the eggs at the end. Rating: 👍🏻

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

These books pose a question to a group of kids, and they research an answer. In this book the question is, how do you get a cupcake to school without it getting squashed. By observing nature and those around them, the kids come up with the perfect answer. Overall, this book works. It’s laid out partially as a picture book, but then partially as a graphic novel. it teaches a lesson and entertains so the lesson will be memorable.

[Trina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another Elinor Wonders Why book with brightly colored illustrations and little facts in the book about the different things with shells. I like how the book covers not only animals like turtles having shells but also plants like coconuts. The end of the book has experiments to do with kiddos too.

[sinag · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 stars!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book is so cute and offer interesting facts such as shells and other protective exteriors in nature. This one encourages curiosity and research to children as it offers new information in a digestible way.

[Elizabeth Dickerson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great story but a bit young for my students. Would be a great addition in a preschool classroom or library.