Ellie, Engineer is the story of a girl named Ellie who is an engineer. There are also some neighborhood boys and girls and her best friend, Kit. In the story, it is Kit’s birthday and Ellie has something for her. Kit convinces Ellie to show it to her and everything falls apart. So now Ellie needs something new to give Kit. The story is about her making the new item, which is a dog house for Kit’s new dog. I will let you figure out the rest of the story when you read it.

I liked that this was a story about friendship. I am very curious about friendship and how they are all different. This is a STEM book. It is nice to have a girl as the Engineer. I have met girl engineers at Mom’s work but I don’t see them as often in books.

One thing is I read this on my tablet. Sure it is convenient for traveling but there is just something about a paper book.

I would recommend Ellie, Engineer to kids who are curious about building. A class project could be to build something while reading the book.

Ellie is a tool belt wielding girl who is always planning her next project. She’s an engineer in the making and a great one, too. That career choice will for sure come later. For now Ellie wants to build a dog house for a best friend who’s positive a new furry canine will arrive on her birthday.

While Ellie sports a drill, the boy she befriends has a liking for tea parties. How’s that for a much needed role reversal? Filled with gender confrontations and misunderstandings, the story charms its way to a surprising conclusion. There are plenty of lessons learned about lying and stereotypes. Girls though will probably flock to this one more than boys, but even our young male friends could learn something if they take a look.

This would make a great series for younger MG readers.

For my full review visit: https://gpattridge.com/2018/01/28/ellie-engineer/

Ellie loves to solve problems by building solutions. For instance, when the neighborhood boys won’t let Ellie and her friend Kit join in their soccer game, she designs and builds a water balloon launcher and soaks them! When she hears that Kit’s mom is going to get Kit a dog for her birthday she decides to build her a dog house for her birthday present. It’s going to be her biggest project yet and will require help from a lot of other kids. Can she keep this project a secret from her very best friend until Kit’s birthday party?

This book incorporated a STEM aspect into it without hitting the reader over the head with it or getting too technical for the intended age group – two through fourth grade. Ellie loves projects but she’s a well-rounded kid with tons of personality. She likes tea parties too. I liked that before she started a project, she sketched it out and that the sketch was included in the book. That’s really helpful for readers like me that have trouble picturing those types of things in their heads. I’ve never seen a home-made French braider before! There is also a handy dandy illustrated glossary of tools at the end. I think this book will appeal to girls and boys alike, no matter how handy they themselves actually are. It’s a great story that shows that girls can be into more than just dolls and tea parties. Highly recommended.

I so often hear stories from women my age that share that they loved science or nature or math when they were younger but that they were steered away from that those interests in little ways that they don’t even remember, but they do remember just not loving science anymore. This is exactly the scenario that has raised awareness in the need for STEM or STEAM books, programs, and role models for young girls. Ellie Bell is a perfect girl for this mission! Ellie wants to be an engineer when she grows up and even has her own workshop where her parents give her free reign to work on projects (with the safer tools–power tools require supervision). Pearce has even set up Ellie Engineer to include drawings and plans for Ellie’s projects to show readers how Ellie goes from an idea to a project. And Ellie’s story is one that all readers will connect with as well, so it is a win-win in narrative and STEM!

When the boys of the neighborhood exclude the girls from their soccer game, Ellie Engineer and her best friend Kit strike back by building an amazing water balloon launcher and soaking them all. The water balloon launcher is just one of the many engineering ideas that Ellie keeps in a notebook in her tool belt along with her hammer, two screwdrivers, and her prized possession, a mini electric drill. Ellie loves engineering, and all the neighborhood kids are eager to help, but the ins and outs of friendship prove a bit harder to solve than the problems Ellie encounters with a hammer and nails. Nevertheless, Ellie persists and puts her brain to work to solve problems both physical and personal.

I predict that Ellie, Engineer will inspire a generation of tool-carrying, invention-drawing kids in the same way that Harriet the Spy inspired note-scribbling, sneaking kids in my generation. Readers will root for Ellie as she designs solutions to problems and gets herself out of scrapes. Themes include questioning gender roles, friendship, and inventiveness. For teachers looking for strong girls and STEM connections, you’ll find them in this delightful new series.

Ellie, Engineer is the first of Jackson Pearce’s books I’ve read, but I’m now inspired to look for more. You can bet I’ll be waiting expectantly for the next book in the Ellie, Engineer series to come out.

I received a review copy of Ellie, Engineer from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. It will be on sale Tuesday, January 16, 2018.

Ellie’s the kind of girl who has a tool belt strapped over her skirt. She’s got an engineer’s brain and wants to design, create, and build whenever she has the chance and her best friend Kit’s birthday gives her just that. Ellie will make Kit the best doghouse ever created, but to do so she needs to enlist the help of her friends (who are girls) and the neighborhood boys. The two groups don’t get along, and Ellie has to navigate the two plus Kit’s concerns as she tries to build her friend the best birthday present ever.

I appreciate that Ellie, Engineer has a central female character who “breaks the mold” of stereotypes, but at times the book hits this theme a bit too on the nose. Overall Ellie, Engineer has a good story that kids will like, but I found it a little superficial at times.

Ellie Engineer is a middle grade novel by Jackson Pearce, and is the first book in a new series about a girl who loves to build. Ellie is an engineer. With a tool belt strapped over her favorite skirt (who says you can’t wear a dress and have two kinds of screwdrivers handy, just in case?), she invents and builds amazing creations in her backyard workshop. Together with her best friend Kit, Ellie can make anything. As Kit’s birthday nears, Ellie doesn’t know what gift to make until the girls overhear Kit’s mom talking about her present—the dog Kit always wanted! Ellie plans to make an amazing doghouse, but her plans grow so elaborate that she has to enlist help from the neighbor boys and crafty girls, even though the two groups don’t get along. Will Ellie be able to pull off her biggest project yet?

Ellie Engineer is a wonderful story about friendship and being yourself. It also covers the changes in friend groups and friendship dynamics in those in between years when boys and girls tend to separate. Ellie and Kit are different, but they are still best friends with a love of building. When things are not going according to plan Ellie needs to adjust, and keeping her doghouse a secret from Kit- and getting help from those she does not ordinarily spend time with during the summer, leads to a series of problems. I liked Ellie's flexibility ith her projects, and how she gets things done, and I sympathized with her attempts to keep everyone happy, when she should have just been honest with everyone from the beginning. I think young readers will relate to at least one character in the story, even if it is not Ellie. Some might connect with Kit feeling left out, or those helping Ellie but being kept a secret from each other. I love that the book includes information about the tools Ellie uses in the story, and those that readers might get access to, and permission to use. The how-tos and information just might get readers making their own inventions, and testing or repairing gadgets of their own.

Ellie Engineer is a fun middle grade read that encourages friendship and ingenuity outside the normal limits most kids feel constrained by. I found the emotion and social queues to be on point, and I loved the message of the story.

To read a guest post feature by author Jackson Pearce of ELLIE ENGINEER, go to https://dulemba.blogspot.co.uk/2018/03/jackson-pearces-ellie-engineer.html

This is a book with a clear agenda, but it's one I can fully support. It's a book about engineering, as one might imagine. We see Ellie's full process, from concept to design, to the actual construction and accompanying troubleshooting. More important is the depiction of gender roles. Ellie loves to build things. She also loves pink, dresses, ballet, and glitter body wash. She can be an engineer and still be traditionally girly. Kit, on the other hand, love all things feminine. She doesn't like to be dirty and participates in beauty pageants. Neither is depicted as "right". We meet a neighborhood boy who loves bugs, soccer, pretty much all things traditionally masculine, but also adores tea parties. All of this along with messages about friendship, secrets, and control. A solid story for young readers.

Ellie is awesome! With STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) taking over the world, it is so important to teach our children that yes, both boys and girls can be in STEM! Ellie is a great role model for our children in a way that will resonate with both boys and girls. Ellie has her own little workshop, her own little tool belt and her own plans for life. Design plans by Ellie are illustrated throughout the book, giving the reader an insight into what it means to be an engineer. She shares a wonderful friendship with Kit and at the end there is a positive message for our girls. “Ellie, Engineer” is a fresh take on a classic story. I am so pleased to see books with strong girl characters taking center stage.

Ellie, Engineer, by Jackson Pearce, (Jan. 2018, Bloomsbury USA), $15.99, ISBN: 9781681195193

Recommended for readers 7-10

Ellie is a 9 year-old engineer: she can take darn near anything apart and make it something even cooler. Most of the time. When she sets out to make an amazing birthday gift for her best friend, Kit, she finds herself in the middle of a friendship mess: the girls normally don't like the "jerk boys", but Ellie's discovered that they're not so bad after all. So she works with each group in secret, hoping to avoid drama. Oops. Ellie has to get both groups talking to her again, and to each other, to finish Kit's birthday present on time!

This is such a fun story about a positive female character who wears what she wants and does what she wants: she rocks a tool belt over her skirts and matches outfits with her best friend. She draws up her own blueprints and can make anything, from a water balloon launcher to a security system that will keep annoying little brother's out of her friend's room. Her best friend, Kit, is a pageant girl and ballet dancer who works right alongside Ellie, and the boys in the neighborhood enjoy a good tea party as much as they do a soccer game. Get it? They're kids. They like to play. This whole story is about bringing boys and girls together under common interests, and it does so nicely. Girls will see themselves in Ellie, especially those who find themselves confused about whether or not girls *can* be friends with boys, or wonder if it's okay to still like pretty dresses if they can rock a screwdriver. There are some laughs: Ellie's got a few backfires, and a few successes that will make kids laugh, and the heart of the story - cooperation and friendship - is a gratifying message. Black and white illustrations showcase Ellie's sketches for different projects, and a section at the end provides illustrations and a guide to basic tools for burgeoning builders and engineers. Give this to the kids who have grown out of Andrea Beaty's Rosie Revere, Engineer; Iggy Peck, Architect; and Ada Twist, Scientist. Display and booktalk with the Girls Who Code and the Lucy's Lab chapter books. Put out paper and ask kids to come up with their own plans - what do they want to make? Leave straws, pipe cleaners, cardboard, toothpicks, glue, marshmallows - anything the kids can build with - out and let the room have at it.

What a fun book! The book starts with a boys vs girls issue that Ellie solves by inventing a giant water balloon launcher, but as the book progresses, Ellie learns that we can't and shouldn't always divide things by gender. One area where Ellie is sure that gender doesn't matter is engineering and it is her biggest passion.

I really liked that there were a wide variety of characters in this book. This book does a great job as an enticement for young girls to consider engineering. She is always thinking outside of the box and problem solving and is good at thinking quickly on her feet. As we continue to encourage more and more kids to embrace STEM, books like this are a wonderful addition to their arsenal.

I also love that gender roles are seen as problematic in this book. The girls had been left out of the soccer game in the beginning of the book, even though Ellie is apparently a better goalie than the Dylan. Kit didn't invite any boys to her birthday party because it was a tea party, but Toby loves tea and the idea of a fancy party. In the end, all of the kids learn that working together gets great results.

This is a great addition for grades 2-5.

What a well-written adventure that makes engineering seem enticing and creative! After a disasterous "french braid machine" tangles her best friend's hair, Ellie, who already identifies herself as an engineer, plans to make her BFF a new birthday present -- a dog house! She gets help from a neighbor boy and girl friends from school who are bitter rivals up until Ellie helps them work together.

The upcoming Ellie Engineer series by Jackson Pearce is full of girl power, friendships, coping with change and fun! Ellie is a girl who has trusting, loving parents in her life that have taught her how to use tools and be anything she wants to be. In this story she demonstrates her incredible engineering ability by building and creating gifts for her best friend Kit. Along the way, she is able to teach both boys and girls how to do the same types of activities. My favorite line in the book (and I one I plan to use often) was. "There are no girl-things or boy-things. There are only Ellie things and non-Ellie things." This was in response to someone saying a tea party was a "girl thing" and soccer was a "boy thing." I loved the not so subtle notes of boys and girls are capable of doing whatever they are interested in. This is one of those books that will draw in both male and female readers while having a female lead characters. Pearce was masterful in driving this point home throughout the events of the story.
Another wonderful theme in the book was friendships and change. Kit and Ellie have always been best friends, but now Ellie needs some time away from her to complete her birthday present. Without realizing why this is, Kit's feelings are hurt because she thinks Ellie is choosing others over her. How these hurt feelings and additions of new friends is handled by the girls will be a great example for readers. In the end, boys and girls are all friends together and I can't wait to see where this series goes. It really could be instrumental in changing the "girl book/boy book" talk we hear so often.

Ellie, Engineer is a great, STEAM focused middle grade novel about a girl, Ellie, who is a fantastic and realistic engineer. She uses tools to build inventions and machines in her every day life, like a water balloon launcher to soak some boys who said that she couldn't play soccer with them. Ellie and her friends experience great lessons in friendship (especially how to come back from an argument), gender roles (Ellie explicitly states that she believes that there aren't boy things and girls things, just things she likes and doesn't like), and using your brain to solve a problem. Ellie solves many problems, both engineering and friendship based, by stopping to think about them. Great for all kinds of kids who love building, dogs, art, soccer, or friends.

Ellie is a STEM-oriented girl who loves to build things and self-identifies as an engineer. She loves finding out how things work by not only building but by taking things apart (which sometimes gets her into trouble). 

There is typical age-appropriate friend drama included, and I liked how Ellie eventually involved all her friends in her hobby. There are end pages which describe various hand tools and their uses. Overall I'd place this as an ok read for kids up to 5th grade. 

There isn't anything wrong with it- I just don't love it. The story was predictable and I have a low tolerance for peer drama so it may just be me.
Verdict- borrow

I was not a fan of much of the grammar and wording in this book, but it was nice to see a character modeled after a young aspiring engineer, but somehow Ellie did not feel completely realistic. But perhaps it was meant to be a bit fantastical. Perhaps in the manner of Roald Dahl? Further evidence of this in the part where Ellie's mother says:
<i>'If anyone gets electrocuted, come find me, OK?'

eeeeeeee

A little odd, a little creepy, but without addressing it in the story itself. Kind of a question mark.

Ellie is a girl who likes to build things, and imagines herself to be en engineer like her father.

I do love that the book breaks gender stereotypes, and I really loved the line where Ellie says something to the effect that "there are not 'girl things' and 'boy things', just 'Ellie things" to explain that she likes to do lots of different things. The reader can easily predict things are going to eventually go awry when Ellie starts telling little white lies about who is working on her latest project, which is a good talking point and teachable moment.

I do have a hard time evaluating these beginning readers/early chapter books because they are so simplistic, and while this one doesn't necessarily blow me away, it is a good solid 3 to 3.5.

Ellie loves to build things, drawing up plans and using her impressive array of tools to create and build all manner of innovative projects. When her best friend Kit's birthday is approaching, and the friends overhear that Kit is getting Miss Penelope, a dog, Ellie sets out to build a dog house. She needs some help, and even though the neighborhood boys are annoying, she enlists the help of Toby for a lot of the project. She also asks some other girls to help with the wall paper, and as the project progresses, has to keep a lot of secrets from Kit. When Ellie is afraid that the house won't be done in time, she has a large group of people to help her, and invites them all to Kit's beauty pageant party. Luckily, everyone is understanding, and Ellie's project is a big hit.
Strengths: This is absolutely on trend for how young girls with progressive parents are being raised today. Pink and sparkles are okay, and so are wrenches and building things. Lots of STEM sorts of issues, and Ellie is insistent that she is an engineer. The friend drama is true to life, and it's nice that all of the children eventually learn to work together. There is even a bit of a twist at the end.
Weaknesses: This would be a hard sell for middle school, and the initial reaction to the boys alarmed me a little, although Ellie did manage to work things out with everyone and establish that while boys sometimes do stinky things, this doesn't make all of them stinky all the time.
What I really think: This just made me feel old. When my daughters were this age 20 years ago, the philosophy was just different, although my older daughter went through a phase where she would answer "chemical engineer" when asked what she was going to be when she grew up. My younger daughter wanted to be a super hero princess, which is why I encouraged more gender neutral trappings for everyone... it's hard to explain. So I think I find myself annoyed not because of the change of philosophy so much, but by the fact that so much time has passed. To my credit, my older daughter in working in organic farming, and my younger one is in college to be either a forensic account or an actuary, so I think I did okay with math and science and girls!

This book was absolutely delightful. Such an important STEAM novel for readers of all ages.