Wanda's Better Way

By Laura Pedersen and Penny Weber

Young Wanda is a girl on a mission; she wants to decide what to do when she grows up. Will she be a dancer? A landscape designer? Maybe a pastry chef? Her teachers and parents all make suggestions, but Wanda sets out to explore each option on her own. Along the way she invents a clever pulley system, a squirrel-proof bird feeder, and the best way to separate eggs. With the school career fair (and adulthood) looming on the horizon, what will Wanda decide? From the award-winning children's author Laura Pedersen comes Wanda's Better Way, an educational picture book about believing in yourself and pursuing your passion.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fulcrum Publishing
• Release date: Oct 23, 2020
• ISBN: 9781682753057

Laura Pedersen

Laura Pedersen is a former New York Times columnist and the author of sixteen books and four plays. She has appeared on national shows including Oprah, Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, Today, Primetime, Late Show with David Letterman, and many others. Her book Life in New York won the Seven Sisters Book Award for best nonfiction. Laura writes for several well-known comedians. She currently resides in New York City, and more information can be found at www.laurapedersenbooks.com.

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Reviews for Wanda's Better Way

[carlathelibrarian · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wanda’s Better Way by Laura Pedersen is a story about a young girl named Wanda. When she sees a problem, rather than getting frustrated, she problem solves and comes up with an invention that will solve the situation. She uses her knowledge from school or books (pulley systems) to design her inventions. Her final innovation becomes her Science Project that is a big hit. Everytime she comes upon a perceived problem, the illustrations show the scientific method she uses via thought bubbles. Not only is the problem solving method shown, but this book also shows a bit about decisions of what you might want to do in the future as well as determining what your interests really are. The illustrations are large, colourful and add to the story. There is not a lot going on so the reader can pay attention to what is being shown as the process. There are pages at the back of the book explaining the scientific method, which starts with observation and goes through several steps to a conclusion, which may include trying again. They are simply expressed and easy to follow. This would be a great book to use when introducing the Scientific Process to students as well as when Science Fair might be coming up. Hopefully this book will get young readers to try solving problems they come across in their lives. A good book to add to any library. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley.