by Madeline K. Sofia and Rebecca Ramirez

Theanne Griffith has always loved science and literature. But her career has always focused on the science— specifically, neuroscience. She’s now a researcher at the University of California, Davis.

But during her maternity leave, she felt a renewed urgency to embrace that other passion for books and writing. 

So, she took the natural next steps: change the good ol’ Twitter handle, create a website—plus, of course, write and pitch publishers like mad. 

Until finally, The Magnificent Makers children’s book series was born. 

The books follow two third graders, Violet and Pablo, through science-based adventures. In each book, they are zapped through a magical scientific instrument into an alternate universe, where they complete challenges that test their scientific knowledge. Readers are able to complete exercises along with the pair and at-home experiments are included at the end.

The three books in the series include: How to Test a Friendship, Brain Trouble, and Riding Sound Waves. 

Follow host Maddie Sofia on Twitter @maddie_sofia. Email the show at [email protected].