PETER LEE'S NOTES FROM THE FIELD

Peter Lee can’t wait for summer, but things don’t go quite as expected for the aspiring paleontologist.

On a road trip from British Columbia to Alberta with his parents, annoyingly energetic little sister, and loving grandparents Hammy and Haji, Peter gets to join a museum’s Junior Scientist Dig and experience hands-on his unwavering obsession: paleontology. Structured as field-note entries taking place over the six months from the end of fifth through the beginning of sixth grades, the story captures a period of personal and familial change. Readers get a front-row seat to Peter’s passions, anxieties, and worries—from reevaluating what he loves to trying new hobbies, and all the messy emotions involved. Home is similarly discombobulating with the everyday ups and downs of family life and a new challenge in the form of aging grandparents. The positivity of the resolution will comfort while being realistic and not too tidy. There are sweet, thoughtful moments among the relatable exasperating ones between siblings. Hammy and Haji offer emotional balance in contrast to parents who can be disparaging and too weighty in their expectations. With the focus primarily on the Korean Canadian Lee family, supporting characters, like Peter’s nemesis at school, do not display the growth readers get to see from the Lees, but the fairly diverse cast has many engaging moments. Illustrations charmingly representing Peter’s sketches are peppered throughout.

A sweet, science-y story of struggles and discovery.