Space for Saffron

By Rie Neal

A budding scientist must figure out how to help save her family's cafe and impress at her new school's science fair in this charming young middle grade read, perfect for fans of the Meena Zee and Front Desk series.

Curious ten-year-old Saffron Speiser-Green loves science--unfortunately, her "experiments" tend to end in more messes than actual answers. (Just ask the broken alarm clock that's still at the bottom of her backpack.) Saffron has a plan, though--a blue ribbon in her school's Project Showcase will show the world she means business.

But when Saffron's beloved volcano project ruins the walls at Mama's job and gets her fired, Saffron will do anything to make things right--including helping Mama convince her other mom, Mimi, that they should move to the Silicon Valley to run Gran's coffee shop. Mama's dream job is worth giving up the blue ribbon. Right?

Luckily for Saffron, her new friends in the Silicon Valley are busy preparing for a STEM Expo, and Saffron is determined to find a project "smart" enough to show everyone she belongs there. But the coffee shop? No customers, no vision, and...tons of debt. And if it closes, Saffron's family will have to move again. After a class trip to the STEAMology Museum in San Francisco, though, Saffron knows how to save the caf --and what to do for her STEM Expo project. But she's going to need a lot of help.

Can Saffron prove she's more than a mess-maker and rescue the family business?

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1665972521
• ISBN13: 9781665972529
• Release Date: February 2026
• Publisher: Aladdin Paperbacks
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.1" x 7.6"
• Age Range: 7 to 10 years
• Grade Range: Grades 2 to 5