A superb introduction to the life of one girl whose dreams were out-of-this-world.
Margaret Hamilton was a curious girl who grew up to be a pioneer in software programming
Margaret loves mathematics; in fact, she loves knowing about everything—art, music, the night sky. And she wonders, “Why didn’t more girls grow up to be doctors? Or scientists? Or anything else they wanted?” Her father encourages her to ask questions, be curious, shoot for the moon. Computers are still brand-new in the 1950s and ’60s, so when Margaret discovers them, she experiments to figure out what they might do: simple mathematics, tracking airplanes, predicting the weather. As the director of software programming for an MIT laboratory working for NASA, she helps Apollo 8 orbit the moon and Apollo 10 get within 9 miles of the moon’s surface. When Apollo 11 runs into problems, Margaret and her computer codes get them out of trouble and onto the moon. Robbins successfully translates a complicated subject into an engaging text, with just the right amount of scientific information for young readers. Knisley’s cartoonish illustrations, reminiscent of Megan McCarthy’s, especially in Margaret’s bespectacled eyes, perfectly capture the young white woman’s inquisitive spirit while keeping the story light and child-friendly.
A superb introduction to the life of one girl whose dreams were out-of-this-world. (author’s note, bibliography, additional reading) (Picture book/biography. 5-9)Pub Date: May 16, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-55185-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Jan. 31, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
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BOOK REVIEW
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Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of...
An international story tackles a serious global issue with Reynolds’ characteristic visual whimsy.
Gie Gie—aka Princess Gie Gie—lives with her parents in Burkina Faso. In her kingdom under “the African sky, so wild and so close,” she can tame wild dogs with her song and make grass sway, but despite grand attempts, she can neither bring the water closer to home nor make it clean. French words such as “maintenant!” (now!) and “maman” (mother) and local color like the karite tree and shea nuts place the story in a French-speaking African country. Every morning, Gie Gie and her mother perch rings of cloth and large clay pots on their heads and walk miles to the nearest well to fetch murky, brown water. The story is inspired by model Georgie Badiel, who founded the Georgie Badiel Foundation to make clean water accessible to West Africans. The details in Reynolds’ expressive illustrations highlight the beauty of the West African landscape and of Princess Gie Gie, with her cornrowed and beaded hair, but will also help readers understand that everyone needs clean water—from the children of Burkina Faso to the children of Flint, Michigan.
Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of potable water. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-17258-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
Adventure, humor, and smart, likable characters make for a winning chapter book.
Ada Twist’s incessant stream of questions leads to answers that help solve a neighborhood crisis.
Ada conducts experiments at home to answer questions such as, why does Mom’s coffee smell stronger than Dad’s coffee? Each answer leads to another question, another hypothesis, and another experiment, which is how she goes from collecting data on backyard birds for a citizen-science project to helping Rosie Revere figure out how to get her uncle Ned down from the sky, where his helium-filled “perilous pants” are keeping him afloat. The Questioneers—Rosie the engineer, Iggy Peck the architect, and Ada the scientist—work together, asking questions like scientists. Armed with knowledge (of molecules and air pressure, force and temperature) but more importantly, with curiosity, Ada works out a solution. Ada is a recognizable, three-dimensional girl in this delightfully silly chapter book: tirelessly curious and determined yet easily excited and still learning to express herself. If science concepts aren’t completely clear in this romp, relationships and emotions certainly are. In playful full- and half-page illustrations that break up the text, Ada is black with Afro-textured hair; Rosie and Iggy are white. A closing section on citizen science may inspire readers to get involved in science too; on the other hand, the “Ode to a Gas!” may just puzzle them. Other backmatter topics include the importance of bird study and the threat palm-oil use poses to rainforests.
Adventure, humor, and smart, likable characters make for a winning chapter book. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: April 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3422-9
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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