The Buoyancy Project: Putney Hicks Inventor Adventures, Book 2 by Marsha Tufft is an engaging book for middle-grade students. Putney and her family have recently moved to South Carolina and she finds herself involved in many activities with interesting challenges to solve. Putney is inquisitive and intelligent and works diligently to find solutions to projects while also helping her friends and neighbors. Putney is constantly observing the world around her and her quest for knowledge is inspiring. An exceptional and futuristic tablet assists Putney throughout her adventures. It is enjoyable to follow along with Putney Hicks and her friends as they are all curious and capable characters. This captivating story is filled with scientific and mathematical data as well as an appreciation for the arts and literature.

Marsha Tufft seamlessly demonstrates how science, math, and engineering are woven throughout our daily lives. Putney also shares her creative side through her painting, art sketches, and useful inventions. As readers follow Putney and her friends throughout their days, this original book encourages critical thinking skills in an entertaining way. The importance and benefits of teamwork are also highlighted as Putney becomes part of several different competitions. Middle-grade readers will relate to Putney as she courageously takes on adventures and solves problems. Readers will also be fascinated by the many capabilities of Putney’s tablet. Parents, teachers, and librarians will want to have The Buoyancy Project as it offers a valuable resource for learning about science, math, and technology in an absorbing and exciting manner.

The Buoyancy Project is the second book in Marsha Tufft’s Putney Hicks Inventor Adventures. The heroine, Putney Hicks, takes on the next scientific challenge: to build a boat out of cardboard and duct tape, and then waterproof it with some plastic sheeting, then race it to see if it will float. The mathematical challenge lies in making it waterproof to make it stay afloat for a long period. Plus, there is the added emotional intelligence challenge, as she is paired with her arch-rival, Sue Wexford, who is one of the uber-rich kids at school. Putney makes a new friend in Rags, her neighbor’s dog that she rescues from a rip current. Putney has an epiphany about their school project when she and Rags explore an alligator-infested lagoon. Can she design an unsinkable boat? Is there anything she can learn from alligators? Will she and Sue be able to work harmoniously?

Author Marsha Tufft understands the importance of collaboration in the life of a child and how it develops skills that they need for the real world. This story exemplifies the way Putney Hicks helps young readers understand the need to face that which makes them uncomfortable. Unlike other heroes and heroines in young adventure stories geared toward fourth and fifth graders, Putney understands her place in her family, in school, and in the neighborhood. She has a clear-eyed view of what she wants to be and the things that spark her interest. Tufft chooses to project her heroine this way to encourage young girls to develop the same interest in Math and Science as Putney does. This makes her distinct from many other young girl characters, and she is not confined to stereotypically feminine behavior. Tufft’s insightful writing makes The Buoyancy Project a fascinating and entertaining read, and it is bound to make Putney Hicks become a beloved character, maybe even for generations.

Putney Hicks is at it again in The Buoyancy Project: Putney Hicks Inventor Adventures – Book 2 by Marsha Tufft. Not intentionally, of course, but somehow she always finds herself sorting through some new mystery and solving problems along the way. As usual, she has her trusty virtual assistant, Sam, who appears to her in the holographic form of a lizard. Sam is ever vigilant in helping Putney solve some of her mysteries, but this young lady is a tech-savvy, mathematical, and scientifically-minded genius all on her own. It's a good thing that she attends a motivational special school that sets high standards for all its students.

Marsha Tufft’s middle-grade novel, The Buoyancy Project, mixes science and mystery coupled with a young amateur sleuth who is a scientist-in-the-making - a modern Nancy Drew. It all begins with the challenge of creating a cardboard boat to enter the school’s cardboard-boat regatta – one that won’t sink. As the plot unravels, readers are immersed in an adventure that will have them thinking along with the protagonist, following her clues, and her scientific and mathematical solutions. The story is engaging and encouraging for young readers, pointing out how important maths and sciences are for everyday life, not just something to be studied in a classroom. The author includes appealing characters from the first book, adding Rags, a clever, lively dog, into the mix to give the story more enjoyment and laughter. With energetic and enthusiastic dialogue, unexpected tangents, and a touch of magic, this is a great book to encourage young readers to think for themselves, while at the same time having some fun.