Picks up where the last story left off, telling tales of Ellie and her close-to-realistic adventures inventing and engineering solutions to her problems. Great for building up STEAM collections starting female characters.

Ellie and her friends are back in their second middle grade novel about engineering. In this installment she learns how making assumptions about people based on their age or gender can hurt when her latest project (an elevator) goes wrong and the punishment is to help the older woman who lives in her neighborhood.

Jackson Pearce has created a believable, modern young heroine that middle grade readers can relate to in her series about Ellie.. Fans of her first Ellie story will welcome this new one, but this story can also stand alone as it its own self-contained story.

This was a cute book. I like books with strong girls and that this is a science-based book. I think this would be good addition to classroom library or to use as a read aloud.

*I received an e copy of this book for an honest review for NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.*
This book is a really great book that shows that anyone can be an engineer. I like how Ellie shows that girls and boys can be engineers AND how she is determined to change some of the perceptions of how can be engineers. At the end of the book it also describes some of the vocabulary used in the book (ex: pulley, wheel and axle, wedge, incline plane, etc.). This is a fun and interesting book that I think would be great to read to lower elementary school students!

Ellie Engineer: The Next Level is the second book in the series by Jackson Pearce. While the first book explains the friendship and skills of the three main characters of the book, I think newcomers to the series will be able to catch up quickly.

After Ellie's first elevator build goes terribly wrong, her parents decide her "punishment" is to assist an elderly neighbor, Mrs. Curran, around the house. Ellie and her friends Kit and Toby are really only supposed to help with little things, but Ellie can't turn down the opportunity to use her engineering skills here and there where she sees a need--because that's what engineers do! It's no fun, though, when Mrs. Curran always gives Toby the credit for all the ingenious projects, and acts like Kit and Ellie were just helping him. Can Ellie come up with another great build to elevate Mrs. Curran's ideas about this girl engineer?

The Next Level is just as much fun as the first book of the series, and continues to look at stereotypes and assumptions. I like that Ellie's family supports her interest in engineering and make the effort to support her and teach her to be safe. I find the friendship between three very different kids to be fantastic, and think it shows young readers that differences are good, and help us find new ideas and solutions. Having Mrs. Curran be very different from expected but still thinking that others will fit in the expected roles was very realistic, since too often I find this is true in the real world as well. None of us want to fit in the expected mold, but still expect others too to a certain degree. I loved the problem solving and honesty in the story. As a parent I also love that the relationships between the kids and their parents include actual conversation and support- which is not all that common in children's literature. As an added bonus I love the information about simple machines included at the end of the book. I look forward to this series continuing for a long run.

The Next Level is a great read, and I love that it encourages looking past appearances, trying new things, and following your passions.

Ellie Engineer faces new challenges in t the next book in the series. While Ellie continues to build and construct, she is learning how to deal with preconceived notions of some of her neighbors about who should use tools and who can be an engineer. As she changed her approach and perspective she sees that during views aren't always bad and aren't always permanent. I love Ellie and her friends and hope Pearce keeps telling her stories.

Great message: engineering is for everyone. The story shows how Ellie solves some problems, not least of which is how to get her elderly neighbor to recognize that girls can engineer solutions just like boys. I think kids will enjoy these books but I would like to see more fun and more bouncing of ideas between Ellie and her two friends.

Ellie is an excited young girl, ready to try her hand at any kind of engineering need. I loved this empowering and encouraging chapter book, perfect for young readers looking for a fun story. I laughed aloud at the jokes told by Ellie's dad and loved the portrayal of their relationship. I look forward to further entries in this series and hope to recommend it to young readers I know.