THIS IS HOW YOU KNOW

Words of wisdom for budding scientists.

Science, Larson writes, is more than just a class in school. It’s actually a process—one that begins with “a question / you can’t answer.” Scientists must envision possible answers, search for clues and evidence, test solutions, and often fail time after time until (as she puts it) that “EUREKA!” moment comes at last. Reflecting the author’s abstract language, confettilike squiggles representing ideas and bits of knowledge float through Li’s artwork, but more literal-minded STEM winders will appreciate seeing a bustling, multiracial cast of bright-eyed young investigators looking down at leaves and up at the stars, planting seeds in pots or mixing chemicals in test tubes, trying out different designs for a homemade rocket, and commiserating when results disappoint. “It’s the way science works— / it’s surprising, / messy, / beautiful.” The underlying themes that science opens new worlds to the imagination and is ideally a collaborative effort become explicit at the end, with climactic twin views of a fleet of spacecraft zooming away from our planet and of scientists working hard on every continent and the oceans between to make it “a better place.” Sets of inspirational quotes and recommended information sources close this eloquent appeal to stay curious.

A soaring paean to the scientific method in all its messy, uniquely promising glory.