Asha and Baz Meet Hedy Lamarr

★ Starred review in The Canadian Children's Book Centre's Best Books For Kids and Teens 2023 Fall edition.

In the second book of Caroline Fernandez’s Asha and Baz series, readers once more dive into the past—this time to learn about famous actor and inventor Hedy Lamarr! Computer class is off to a rocky start for Asha and Baz! They’ve been given a Coding Challenge and must correctly code instructions to send a digital frog across a computer screen. But they can’t seem to figure it out. With their reputation as the smartest kids in their class at stake, the pair turn to their magic stick for answers. They use it to draw their coding problem in the sand and are transported back in time to 1941 Hollywood to meet Hedy Lamarr, leaving them even more confused: How can an actor help them solve the Coding Challenge? But when they learn there’s a war happening and that Hedy Lamar has been hard at work inventing a device to help with war efforts, the kids realize her problem-solving skills may be just what they need. Coding, frequency hopping, and more await in Asha and Baz Meet Hedy Lamarr!

Caroline Fernandez is an award-winning author of children’s books, magazine feature articles and blog posts. Filed away, in her office, is an English degree from McMaster University and a Teacher of English as a Second Language Certificate. She is the author of the popular Boredom Busters (series), Stop Reading This Book, The Adventures of Grandmasaurus (series), Asha and Baz (series) and more! Caroline writes, drinks tea, and bakes in Toronto, ON. Follow on Twitter and Instagram: @ParentClub

From a very young age in Mumbai, India, Dharmali knew that she would be drawing, painting, or animating for her entire life. By age 6, her parents understood that drawing, crafting and all things creative was going to light her path, and ultimately lead her to her career as a visual artist. After mastering crayons, pastels, and finger paints… Dharmali made her way to Mumbai-Rachna Sansad School of Applied Arts, majoring in Illustration. She studied further at Vancouver Film School, where she earned her Bachelors in 2D Classical animation. In the past 20 years, she has worn the hats of Animation Director, Art Director, Visual Development Artist, Designer, and Illustrator. Every day, she loves to make art that is visually pleasing and engaging for people of all ages. Dharmali is honored that authors trust her with their beautiful words, and allow her to visually conceive the world and characters that ultimately become their books. She hopes that her imagery will inspire young minds with beautiful design, provocative lighting, and emotive characterizations that encourage a love of reading and beautiful art. Currently, Dharmali lives and works in Toronto. She is represented by Illustration Online LLC.

ISBN: 9781988761787
Format: Paperback
Pages: 108
Publisher: Common Deer Press
Published: March 01, 2023

★ Starred review in The Canadian Children's Book Centre's Best Books For Kids and Teens 2023 Fall edition!

Asha and Baz Meet Hedy Lamarr is an enjoyable new addition to the Asha and Baz series with high appeal to readers who love STEM topics such as computer science. ...readers are sure to be inspired by how they support each other in overcoming uncertainty and self-doubt. At the same time, through Hedy's story, the book encourages readers to recognize the previously overlooked contributions of strong women throughout history to STEM progress, empowering female readers, in particular, to believe in their power to succeed inSTEM spaces. —The Children's Book Review

A gripping, must-read ... about courage, determination, will, and resilience…Endearing characters, intriguing storyline, and adventure make for a winning read. —The Prairies Book Review

I am 100% recommending this one to the students in our coding club! This book is a hit- it is short enough to appeal to a wide-range of readers, it has an appealing cover & pictures throughout, and it is FILLED with coding, STEM, history, inventions, strong women, and MORE. I learned so much about Hedy Lamarr- and quickly spent time doing more research about this fascinating woman! I loved learning about how her brilliant mind was often "swept to the side", and her beauty and fame were the only thing people noticed. Her strength, determination and intelligence were often underestimated. It's amazing to think that she created "frequency hopping technology", which is really the basis for our modern day WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth. --Mrs.MakesReadingFun via GoodReads

Fernandez keeps the focus on Hedy’s admirable perseverance despite the many obstacles standing in her way: even the fear that the U.S. patent office will ignore her application because “an actress inventing a communication system might be funny to some people” doesn’t stop her from submitting for a patent, and that lesson to never give up is a valuable one for Asha and Baz. In a unique stylistic touch, Patel evokes the glimmer and gusto of the 1940s in the book’s fitting black and white illustrations. This inspires as much as it teaches. Takeaway: Time travel takes two friends to the 1940s for valuable lessons on problem-solving and perseverance. Great for fans of: Linda Buckley-Archer’s The Time Travelers, Dan Gutman’s Flashback Four series. --BookLife