A delightful STEAM biography that spotlights a female scientist who deserves to be better known.
Before the word dinosaurexisted, a young female fossilist helped identify the creatures.
How can a biographer truly know a subject’s unrecorded emotions? With this immediate and engaging account, Kurtz solves that problem by asking readers how they might feel were they to experience what Mary Morland (1797-1857) went through, like being expected to sit decorously in a parlor rather than go outside exploring or being sent to live with friends after her mother’s death. Immersing readers in historical context, Kurtz also challenges the conventions of the time by posing cheeky questions about whether Mary met these social expectations, then answering confidently in the negative. Instead, Mary collected shells and fossils, illustrated books by her husband, fossilist William Buckland, and traveled Europe with him, meeting scientists and visiting fossil sites. In Kurtz’s perky prose, Mary springs to life as independent, curious, and relatable. Though the author emphasizes her subject’s collaboration with Buckland, she acknowledges that women in science were usually unrecognized at the time. Nothing in the text indicates Mary’s or her husband’s English nationality, though we might deduce it from the author’s note. Potter’s delicate pastel illustrations evoke the naïve art of the period, as well as its social setting. One image depicts Mary’s many children romping in their “household of chaos.” These scenes perfectly suit the text’s project of relevance and inspiration.
A delightful STEAM biography that spotlights a female scientist who deserves to be better known. (bibliography, further reading) (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2026
ISBN: 9781665955546
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
Readers will agree that “Melba Doretta Liston was something special.”
Bewitched by the rhythms of jazz all around her in Depression-era Kansas City, little Melba Doretta Liston longs to make music in this fictional account of a little-known jazz great.
Picking up the trombone at 7, the little girl teaches herself to play with the support of her Grandpa John and Momma Lucille, performing on the radio at 8 and touring as a pro at just 17. Both text and illustrations make it clear that it’s not all easy for Melba; “The Best Service for WHITES ONLY” reads a sign in a hotel window as the narrative describes a bigotry-plagued tour in the South with Billie Holiday. But joy carries the day, and the story ends on a high note, with Melba “dazzling audiences and making headlines” around the world. Russell-Brown’s debut text has an innate musicality, mixing judicious use of onomatopoeia with often sonorous prose. Morrison’s sinuous, exaggerated lines are the perfect match for Melba’s story; she puts her entire body into her playing, the exaggerated arch of her back and thrust of her shoulders mirroring the curves of her instrument. In one thrilling spread, the evening gown–clad instrumentalist stands over the male musicians, her slide crossing the gutter while the back bow disappears off the page to the left. An impressive discography complements a two-page afterword and a thorough bibliography.
Readers will agree that “Melba Doretta Liston was something special.” (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-60060-898-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
Gently models kindness and respect—positive behavior that can be applied daily.
A group of young “dinosauruses” go out into the world on their own.
A fuchsia little Hugasaurus and her Pappysaur (both of whom resemble Triceratops) have never been apart before, but Hugasaurus happily heads off with lunchbox in hand and “wonder in her heart” to make new friends. The story has a first-day-of-school feeling, but Hugasaurus doesn’t end up in a formal school environment; rather, she finds herself on a playground with other little prehistoric creatures, though no teacher or adult seems to be around. At first, the new friends laugh and play. But Hugasaurus’ pals begin to squabble, and play comes to a halt. As she wonders what to do, a fuzzy platypus playmate asks some wise questions (“What…would your Pappy say to do? / What makes YOU feel better?”), and Hugasaurus decides to give everyone a hug—though she remembers to ask permission first. Slowly, good humor is restored and play begins anew with promises to be slow to anger and, in general, to help create a kinder world. Short rhyming verses occasionally use near rhyme but also include fun pairs like ripples and double-triples. Featuring cozy illustrations of brightly colored creatures, the tale sends a strong message about appropriate and inappropriate ways to resolve conflict, the final pages restating the lesson plainly in a refrain that could become a classroom motto. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Gently models kindness and respect—positive behavior that can be applied daily. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Dec. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-82869-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
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