Rousing encouragement for readers—especially math-minded ones—to follow their dreams.
An account of the life of the first female electrical engineer in America.
Edith Clarke was born on a farm in Maryland in 1883, one of nine children. Her father died when she was 7, and when her mother died five years later, her uncle sent her to boarding school, where she was meant to learn “manners and music.” Instead, Edith studied algebra and geometry. When she inherited money left to her by her parents, she enrolled in Vassar College, graduating with a degree in mathematics and astronomy. A critical illness convinced Edith to go after her dreams, and she earned an engineering degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but no one was willing to hire a woman engineer. She worked during the day computing calculations for a company building power lines, and she spent her evenings studying electrical current load in wires, which led to an invention, the Clarke Calculator—and a job as an engineer. Skillfully told and illustrated, this story is full of details and depth. The full-color images catch the eye and playfully include mathematical puzzles. Edith’s quotes are interspersed throughout, highlighting her love of math and her determination to succeed in a traditionally male field. This one will inspire and validate any readers who love mathematics and calculations, especially anyone who has felt marginalized within STEM fields. Edith and most characters present White. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Rousing encouragement for readers—especially math-minded ones—to follow their dreams. (author’s note; diagrams; timeline; glossary; information on other women mathematicians, engineers, and inventors; bibliography; picture credits) (Picture-book biography. 6-9)Pub Date: March 14, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-66268-006-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Calkins Creek/Astra Books for Young Readers
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
An in-depth and visually pleasing look at one of the most fundamental forces in the universe.
An introduction to gravity.
The book opens with the most iconic demonstration of gravity, an apple falling. Throughout, Herz tackles both huge concepts—how gravity compresses atoms to form stars and how black holes pull all kinds of matter toward them—and more concrete ones: how gravity allows you to jump up and then come back down to the ground. Gravity narrates in spare yet lyrical verse, explaining how it creates planets and compresses atoms and comparing itself to a hug. “My embrace is tight enough that you don’t float like a balloon, but loose enough that you can run and leap and play.” Gravity personifies itself at times: “I am stubborn—the bigger things are, the harder I pull.” Beautiful illustrations depict swirling planets and black holes alongside racially diverse children playing, running, and jumping, all thanks to gravity. Thorough backmatter discusses how Sir Isaac Newton discovered gravity and explains Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity. While at times Herz’s explanations may be a bit too technical for some readers, burgeoning scientists will be drawn in.
An in-depth and visually pleasing look at one of the most fundamental forces in the universe. (Informational picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: April 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781668936849
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tilbury House
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
More thoughtful, sometimes exhilarating encounters with nature.
In a new entry in the Over and Under series, a paddleboarder glimpses humpback whales leaping, floats over a populous kelp forest, and explores life on a beach and in a tide pool.
In this tale inspired by Messner’s experiences in Monterey Bay in California, a young tan-skinned narrator, along with their light-skinned mom and tan-skinned dad, observes in quiet, lyrical language sights and sounds above and below the sea’s serene surface. Switching perspectives and angles of view and often leaving the family’s red paddleboards just tiny dots bobbing on distant swells, Neal’s broad seascapes depict in precise detail bat stars and anchovies, kelp bass, and sea otters going about their business amid rocky formations and the swaying fronds of kelp…and, further out, graceful moon jellies and—thrillingly—massive whales in open waters beneath gliding pelicans and other shorebirds. After returning to the beach at day’s end to search for shells and to spot anemones and decorator crabs, the child ends with nighttime dreams of stars in the sky meeting stars in the sea. Appended nature notes on kelp and 21 other types of sealife fill in details about patterns and relationships in this rich ecosystem. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
More thoughtful, sometimes exhilarating encounters with nature. (author’s note, further reading) (Informational picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-79720-347-8
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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