Women Scientists and Inventors

November 1, 2016

Gr 6-9-Several titles here will provide useful overviews or starting points for further research. Young Adult Authors helpfully addresses the growing call for diversity in books for teens and features the late novelist Walter Dean Myers and sci-fi and fantasy author Nnedi Okorafor. Women World Leaders includes a chapter on Hillary Clinton, which will age quickly in the shadow of the 2016 election, but a chapter on Nobel Peace laureate and former Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is informative and contextual. Women Scientists and Inventors brings focus to a number of fascinating but less widely celebrated figures, such as physicist Lise Meitner and pioneering neonatologist Virginia Apgar. All of the books contain comprehensive source notes divided by chapter.

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2017
Following a brief introduction describing historical obstacles to women's careers in sciences or leadership, each volume profiles six successful women and their rise to influence. Each fairly short bio narrates the ups and downs of its subject's career, and most paint the woman as an encouraging role model. Photographs, sidebars, and pull-quotes liven up the dense, textbook-like presentations. Reading list, websites. Ind.

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