Genre: Nonfiction- Young Readers
Publication Date: 2016
Page Count: 128
Rating: 4/5
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This is an anthology aimed at younger readers featuring short biographies and facts about fifty women who have made important advances in the STEM field. Each woman is accompanied by an illustration, facts about themselves, and details regarding her findings.
This book is so cool! Every elements of it is so well-done and compelling. The art work is adorable, but it doesn't make the book feel too cutesy or take away from the amazing work these woman have done. The bios are short enough to make this a fast read, but have enough detail to spark interest and curiosity. I have to admit, I spent longer looking up more information about these women than I spent reading the book. I was introduced to so many new awesome ladies that I will be researching in the future! I was only familiar with a handful of the women in this book, which was great because it meant I was introduced to so many new names.
Check out the author's website to see this image and
others from the book here.
I really appreciated the range of women that were included in this book. The book ranges from Hypatia, born in 350 C.E., to Maryam Mirzakhani, born in 1977. Women from all around the world are included, and their achievements outside of science are also included. A large number of these women are honored suffragettes, civil rights activists, and peace ambassadors, and I loved that this information was included alongside their scientific achievements. Although this book is aimed at younger readers, it did not feel simple. The author does not shy away from including the science and math involved in these women's findings, and the information is engaging but easy to understand.
I also loved that the author included the struggles that many of these women faced in order to be accepted in colleges and graduate programs, as well of those who were snubbed of their rightful acknowledgments because they were women working in the scientific field. One of the only things I remember from my high school science classes is the fact that Rosalind Franklin discovered and proved DNA's double helix structure, not Watson and Crick. I was surprised at some of the treatment that these women endured at the hands of higher-education institutions, and I'm really glad that information was included in this book. Another, and more positive, common theme I saw between a lot of these women, were husbands who doubled as research partners. Some of the couples in this book are seriously #relationshipgoals. As soon as I read about Gerty Cori's husband carrying her around her lab when she became to ill to move around it herself, I immediately Googled books about them, and unfortunately, came up short.
I hope that with books like this, and the recent success of novels/films such as Hidden Figures and The Imitation Game we continue to tell the stories of these unknown women who have helped to build our society. I know I'm dying to hear these stories, and I think that big media companies are realizing that other people are interested in these stories too. I checked this book out from the library, but will be searching out my own copy ASAP. I also recommend checking out the author's website as she does beautiful illustrations and sells prints of them, including prints from the book. I am dreaming of putting her Women Activists poster in my classroom.
If you have any recommendations of books/movies/documentaries similar to this, let me know!
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