THERE'S A LIZARD IN MY BLIZZARD

Meteorology and school life combine in this series starter.

Fourth grader Zeke Abramovich loves all things weather (particularly snow), tracking conditions with his backyard station and noting his findings in Sky Tracker, his daily log. He’s especially thrilled that his hero, TV meteorologist Freeze Jones, has predicted a major blizzard for the city of Green River. It’s Zeke’s ninth birthday today, and he’s hoping for a Saint Bernard puppy—perfect for saving lives during blizzards. He receives a pet…a bearded lizard that excites his dino-loving little brother, Bub, but leaves Zeke cold. Zeke also desperately wants to win his class’s Winter Photo Contest, but the competition is stiff: his best friend Kiho, a math whiz from Uganda, and, especially, his supercompetitive neighbor Luna Díaz, cued as Latine. But could Zeke’s new pet be the key to his success? Pages with information on meteorology are scattered throughout but not always well integrated. This is no Magic School Bus, where science and Ms. Frizzle’s classroom aligned perfectly. Nonetheless, the grayscale digital illustrations are amusing, the science is sound, family and school episodes are realistically humorous, and kids wanting easy doses of science will be engaged. Zeke’s family is depicted as light-skinned in the images; Freeze Jones is dark-skinned.

A likable protagonist, a fun premise, and science galore.