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A review by jecoats
Bips and Roses: Zoey and Sassafras #8 by Asia Citro
5.0
I read the first book in this series, as well as the last book in the series (I'll be focusing on the last book for my review). I found this book while exploring Dr. Quiroa’s fantasy/sci-fi shelf on Goodreads. The first book won the Washington State Book Award for Books for Young Readers (ages 6-8). This most current title has not yet won or been nominated for any awards.
These books follow Zoey, a bright young girl, and her cat Sassafras as they help the magical animals that live in the forest near her home. They come to her barn and ring a magic doorbell that only Zoey and her mother can hear. Zoey then has to figure out how to help the creatures (many of them can’t speak our language!) using a series of science experiments that she and her mother come up with. In Bips and Roses, a mysterious swarm of bugs have eaten all the “bips” - an algae-like organism - off the magical roses that baby hippogriphs need in order to survive. Without the bips, the roses cannot grow. As soon as Zoey learns of this, she springs into action, conducting experiments to figure out how to make the bips multiply so there are plenty of roses in time for the hatching of the baby hippogriphs.
I did very much enjoy these stories - they are lighthearted and whimsical, which helps break up my weekly reading as some of what I consume is more serious in tone. Zoey and Sassafras are a fun pair, and it’s hard not to like them as they attempt to solve the various mysteries surrounding the magical creatures they help. The reader always knows (SPOILER!) that Zoey and Sassafras will solve the case, but that is part of the book's charm. We, the reader, want her to succeed because we know how much she cares about being a good, helpful person.
The book is a mix of both fantasy and science fiction. The magical creatures, such as dragons and talking frogs, make up the fantasy aspect. Zoey using various scientific experiments in order to solve a problem afflicting the creatures of the forest is the science fiction aspect. In Bips and Roses, for instance, Zoey develops a hypothesis about what might help the bips grow. She then collects the bips, exposes them to various stimuli - such as various amounts of heat and moisture - and records her data, just like a scientist from the real world. To be fair, CBCH does imply on page 226 that a science fiction book should contain story elements that could be plausible in our world. The experiments Zoey conducts could therefore be considered pure fantasy as they are predicated on the magical nature of the creatures she encounters. Said another way, the experiments she conducts could never happen in our world. However, I would maintain that the scientific methodology Zoey employs makes the series a hybrid fantasy/sci-fi genre (not necessarily science fantasy, as I think the two elements are presented as very distinct as separate from each other), and gives the books some “credibility” as they do reflect the kind of “real” science someone might actually employ if they encountered magical animals.
I do have one major complaint about the book - Zoey is depicted as a person of color, but the series is written and illustrated by two people, who as far as I can find, are both white. This becomes startling apparent when the reader realizes that Zoey could be any race or ethnicity and that her cultural background does not play a role in the story. To be sure, I have only read two of the six books in the series. But never once was her culture a part of the story (except for maybe the night cap she wears to bed to maintain her curly locks - but even that feels like it's based on the character’s aesthetics and not an integrated cultural aspect of Zoey’s character). If it were not for the fact that the illustrations present Zoey as a person of color, my implicit bias would have led me to believe that she was white. Now, I think it’s great that the series features a main character of color. However, it is apparent that the series is written from an outsider's perspective, and lacks the authenticity of books like the Planet Omar series, Swim Team, and King and the Dragonflies.
That said, I would recommend these books for younger readers in the 3rd to 6th grade range. I think they would find the amusing and lighthearted nature of the books fun and engaging.
These books follow Zoey, a bright young girl, and her cat Sassafras as they help the magical animals that live in the forest near her home. They come to her barn and ring a magic doorbell that only Zoey and her mother can hear. Zoey then has to figure out how to help the creatures (many of them can’t speak our language!) using a series of science experiments that she and her mother come up with. In Bips and Roses, a mysterious swarm of bugs have eaten all the “bips” - an algae-like organism - off the magical roses that baby hippogriphs need in order to survive. Without the bips, the roses cannot grow. As soon as Zoey learns of this, she springs into action, conducting experiments to figure out how to make the bips multiply so there are plenty of roses in time for the hatching of the baby hippogriphs.
I did very much enjoy these stories - they are lighthearted and whimsical, which helps break up my weekly reading as some of what I consume is more serious in tone. Zoey and Sassafras are a fun pair, and it’s hard not to like them as they attempt to solve the various mysteries surrounding the magical creatures they help. The reader always knows (SPOILER!) that Zoey and Sassafras will solve the case, but that is part of the book's charm. We, the reader, want her to succeed because we know how much she cares about being a good, helpful person.
The book is a mix of both fantasy and science fiction. The magical creatures, such as dragons and talking frogs, make up the fantasy aspect. Zoey using various scientific experiments in order to solve a problem afflicting the creatures of the forest is the science fiction aspect. In Bips and Roses, for instance, Zoey develops a hypothesis about what might help the bips grow. She then collects the bips, exposes them to various stimuli - such as various amounts of heat and moisture - and records her data, just like a scientist from the real world. To be fair, CBCH does imply on page 226 that a science fiction book should contain story elements that could be plausible in our world. The experiments Zoey conducts could therefore be considered pure fantasy as they are predicated on the magical nature of the creatures she encounters. Said another way, the experiments she conducts could never happen in our world. However, I would maintain that the scientific methodology Zoey employs makes the series a hybrid fantasy/sci-fi genre (not necessarily science fantasy, as I think the two elements are presented as very distinct as separate from each other), and gives the books some “credibility” as they do reflect the kind of “real” science someone might actually employ if they encountered magical animals.
I do have one major complaint about the book - Zoey is depicted as a person of color, but the series is written and illustrated by two people, who as far as I can find, are both white. This becomes startling apparent when the reader realizes that Zoey could be any race or ethnicity and that her cultural background does not play a role in the story. To be sure, I have only read two of the six books in the series. But never once was her culture a part of the story (except for maybe the night cap she wears to bed to maintain her curly locks - but even that feels like it's based on the character’s aesthetics and not an integrated cultural aspect of Zoey’s character). If it were not for the fact that the illustrations present Zoey as a person of color, my implicit bias would have led me to believe that she was white. Now, I think it’s great that the series features a main character of color. However, it is apparent that the series is written from an outsider's perspective, and lacks the authenticity of books like the Planet Omar series, Swim Team, and King and the Dragonflies.
That said, I would recommend these books for younger readers in the 3rd to 6th grade range. I think they would find the amusing and lighthearted nature of the books fun and engaging.