Sisters Lucy and Marina are the new girls at school and unfortunate events lead them to more notoriety than they wanted. At recess, Lucy fall off the rickety playground equipment and the principal decides to have it removed. Of course, there is no money to replace the old equipment, so Lucy is now ‘the girl that ruined the playground fun’. Her sister, Marina, is a karate kicking sixth grade future astronaut, who has to protect Lucy when some older kids hassle her for her playground incident.

When some new friends come over for a sleepover, the girls hatch a plan to rebuild the playground. Each girl has a talent that can help the team: Lucy cares about the environment, Sofia is computer coder, A.J. loves to build, Zara has wicked good math skills and sings beautifully and Marina loves space. They present their ideas to the principal and she gives the okay to start fundraising and designing. There are snags along the way, but the team works through those challenges to a happy ending.

The STEM references are little heavy handed. But, this first effort from 12 year old Lucy Lareau and her mom, Liz Lareau, is a nice homage to smart girls. This multicultural cast of strong girls is drawn in strong colors and bold pen to make a satisfying story even more fun. And, if they don’t make you smile, then Hubble, the snarky cat, will surely do so! Recommended