Cute STEM time traveling novel about the twins Leen & Wiki and their adventures at Cosmos Camp that almost turns out to be a whole new life due to the evil machinations of Petty-Grew and the overly ambitious greed of Petey Thunkle. I loved the relationship between the girls and their twin power which took center stage later in the novel.

This is simply adorable, and I was so excited while reading this anything in the Shaun room that is aimed toward little black boys and girls I’m going to read it and I was not disappointed. Please give us more of that.

At first I was pretty on board with this book. I liked the balance between the Ellisons working well together and wanting to establish their own identities. And when things are off between them, when they are out of sync, everything goes wrong. I liked, too, the exploration of classism and racism as influences on characters and interactions. It was just when the plot got really sci-fi, into time loops and aliens, that I began to struggle. I can see the appeal to young readers but it wasn't really for me.

This is a very readable science fiction book for middle grade readers, including in elementary, with very realistic sibling relationships. I loved the way the twins interacted with each other, both when supporting each other and when frustrated. The mystery pops up pretty quickly and urges students to keep reading to uncover what will happen next. Nice balance of humor as well.

My number one wish for this book is that it was more clearly linked somewhere on the title, cover, somewhere? to the other middle grade series by Giles. I made the mistake of not realizing they were connected and struggled a lot in the beginning when the characters kept referencing events and objects as if I should know about them. I don’t think it works as well as a stand alone or start or a new series without that knowledge because of it.

Really loved following along on the adventures of the Legendary Alston boys and was so happy when Giles announced that he would continue in the series with the Epic Ellisons. I love everything space so that was just a cherry on top of the Epic Ellisons' story. There was great connection to the other books, and it stood alone well on its own. This was a great adventure, and the writing was great!

Super excited to have a Wiki and Leen story! Though they are twins, I really liked how from the beginning they each want to be their own individual person and explore their own hobbies and interests. I enjoyed seeing the girls use their skills at Cosmos Camp and having it tied to Petey Thunkle made it that much more interesting. This book did an amazing job highlighting STEM for middle grade; making it fun and entertaining.

Epic Ellisons: Cosmos Camp is an accessible and well done illustrated STE(A)M adventure by Lamar Giles. Released 9th May 2023 by Harper Collins on their Children's imprint, it's 288 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

Twin prodigies Wiki and Leen are actually looking forward to their first summer apart, with Leen heading off to summer camp and Wiki staying home to manage the farm stand, eradicate mutant moles, and eat gelato. The game's afoot, however, when *both* girls wind up at Camp Cosmos in the middle of a mystery disappearance and related sinister developments.

This is a rollicking well written and lightly illustrated science mystery adventure and will appeal to 8-12 year old avid readers (all ages, honestly, but written for the middle grade audience). There are lots of cool factoids scattered throughout, the protagonists are appealing and realistically rendered, and the action driven plot is well crafted.

The simple pencil illustrated chapter headers by Morgan Bissant are fun and full of motion and energy. They're sketched in and contain a surprising amount of small detail and relate well to their position in the book. They're inviting enough to encourage young readers to pick up a pencil and copy/try their own hand at illustrating their own stories.

For educators who know the importance of diversity and representation, the protagonists are young, female (yay!), science strong, and black (also yay!).

Five stars, this is a very well written book which is quite fun to read and featuring two smart twin sisters who cooperate as a team, and solve mysteries. The ending foreshadows more adventures, which readers and school acquisitions personnel can look forward to in future.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.