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Ada Lace, on the Case

Illustrated by Renée Kurilla / With Tamson Weston
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About The Book

From Emily Calandrelli—host of Xploration Outer Space, correspondent on Bill Nye Saves the World, and graduate of MIT—comes the first novel in a brand-new chapter book series about an eight-year-old girl with a knack for science, math, and solving mysteries with technology.

Ada Lace—third-grade scientist and inventor extraordinaire—has discovered something awful: her neighbor’s beloved Yorkie has been dognapped!

With the assistance of a quirky neighbor named Nina (who is convinced an alien took the doggie) and her ever-growing collection of gadgets, Ada sets out to find the wrongdoer. As their investigation becomes more and more mysterious, Ada and Nina grow closer, proving that opposites do, in fact, attract.

About The Author

Photograph (c) 2022 by Morgan Demeter
Emily Calandrelli

Emily Calandrelli is an MIT engineer turned Emmy-nominated science TV host. She’s the host and coexecutive producer of Emily’s Wonder Lab on Netflix, featured as a correspondent on Netflix’s Bill Nye Saves the World, and an executive producer and host of Fox’s Xploration Outer Space. Emily is the author of the picture book Reach for the Stars, the science experiment book Stay Curious and Keep Exploring, and the science chapter book series the Ada Lace Adventures. The third book in the series was launched to the International Space Station through the Story Time from Space program. Learn more at TheSpaceGal.com.

About The Illustrator

Renée Kurilla

Renée Kurilla is an illustrator of many books for kids, including Orangutanka: A Story in Poems by Margarita Engle, The Owls of Blossom Wood series by Catherine Coe, and the Ada Lace Adventure series by Emily Calandrelli. She has written a few books as well, including the picture book One Springy, Singy Day and the graphic novel The Flower Garden. She currently lives in Bellingham, Massachusetts, with her illustrator husband Keith Zoo, their six-year-old daughter Zoey, and Yoshi the fish. Visit her at Kurillastration.com.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (August 29, 2017)
  • Length: 128 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781481486002
  • Ages: 6 - 10
  • Lexile ® 590L The Lexile reading levels have been certified by the Lexile developer, MetaMetrics®

Raves and Reviews

"Ada will be a welcome addition to the small circle of science-loving girls in the chapter-book world."

– Kirkus Reviews

"Calandrelli smoothly incorporates numerous references to scientific principles (such as Occam’s Razor) into the story, and the banter between Ada and Nina keeps things moving briskly."

– Publishers Weekly

Awards and Honors

  • Kansas NEA Reading Circle List Intermediate Title
  • Wisconsin State Reading Association's Reading List

Resources and Downloads

High Resolution Images

More books from this author: Emily Calandrelli

More books from this illustrator: Renée Kurilla

More books in this series: An Ada Lace Adventure