“New Kids Book Shows How Awesome Nature Can Be”
30 March, 2015 | Rick DeDonato | The Children’s Book Review | March 3o, 2015
PIPSIE and Alfred solve the mysteries of nature, and show kids how to solve them, too.
PIPSIE, the Nature Detective, and her scooter-riding sidekick Alfred Z. Turtle were pretty much raised as part of our family.
When my daughter Alexis was five, she had an imaginary friend she called Pipsie. Alexis and I used to write little stories about the two of them going on all kinds of adventures—especially nature adventures
Pipsie was a wonderful way for me to teach Alexis about bugs and wildlife and nature. Alexis is fearless when it comes to critters and insects. I have this wonderful picture of her at age 4 with my cousin’s boa constrictor as she calmly sits there petting him.
Me . . . I’m a bit squeamish with bugs and snakes. So, from way back then, I wanted to write stories for kids about nature so they could be more like Alexis and Pipsie and less like me!
When it came to giving Pipsie a partner, I thought a turtle like Alfred Z. Turtle would be the perfect one. For one thing, he could find clues really close to the ground that Pipsie might not see. And turtles are fun—just ask my son, Matt.
Matt’s pet box turtle, Alfred E. Turtle, is the inspiration for Pipsie’s Alfred. Matt and his Alfred love hanging out together, and Alfred helps him explore nature when he scoots around our yard and we have to go find him! (In case you’re wondering, the “Z” in Alfred Z. Turtle’s name stands for “Zoom” because that’s what Alfred does on his scooter!)
I love going to schools to teach kids about insects and surprising them with nature facts. For example, most kids think termites are bad insects because they can eat the wood in homes and destroy them. But termites are also one of the greatest recyclers of nature, turning old rotting wood in forests into rich soil.
When I started to think about the PIPSIE books, my dream goal was to create a character who would introduce children to creatures like termites and other surprises in nature. I also thought Pipsie would be a great way to teach kids about problem solving—readers would follow her as she asked questions, made observations, formulated hypotheses, then tested them. Pipsie could teach them how to figure things out! And, most important, Pipsie would show kids—the same way she and Alexis showed a big kid like me—just how awesome nature can be!
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