An appealing biography that will inspire young scientists and those who may quietly rebel against the status quo.
“Beatrice Shilling wasn’t quite like other children. She preferred tools to sweets.”
From an early fascination with toys, radios, and motorcycles, Beatrice Shilling was entranced by the idea of how things worked, taking apart and reassembling the machines around her. Repeating text tied with comical illustrations allows readers to witness how the young White Englishwoman was atypical for her post–World War I period—few women shared her skills and interests, and most men were not ready to accept her—while mentions of her mistakes show her resilience and how she learned and grew. Supported by a female engineer, she found her calling early and was encouraged to attend university to sharpen her skills, all the while succeeding at motorcycle racing as well as falling in love and marrying. But it was during her time at the Royal Aircraft Establishment during WWII that she truly shone, finding a solution to a fuel-release problem that allowed fighting pilots to maneuver safely. This accessible, tongue-in-cheek depiction of Shilling’s life and achievements hits all the right notes and shows a woman flourishing in STEM, the importance of powering through adversity, ways in which science and curiosity can be applied, as well as how women have supported each other to learn and succeed. Duncan’s fine-lined illustrations include characters of color among the largely White cast of background characters.
An appealing biography that will inspire young scientists and those who may quietly rebel against the status quo. (author’s note, sources) (Picture book/biography. 5-9)Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1252-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again.
Cece loves asking “why” and “what if.”
Her parents encourage her, as does her science teacher, Ms. Curie (a wink to adult readers). When Cece and her best friend, Isaac, pair up for a science project, they choose zoology, brainstorming questions they might research. They decide to investigate whether dogs eat vegetables, using Cece’s schnauzer, Einstein, and the next day they head to Cece’s lab (inside her treehouse). Wearing white lab coats, the two observe their subject and then offer him different kinds of vegetables, alone and with toppings. Cece is discouraged when Einstein won’t eat them. She complains to her parents, “Maybe I’m not a real scientist after all….Our project was boring.” Just then, Einstein sniffs Cece’s dessert, leading her to try a new way to get Einstein to eat vegetables. Cece learns that “real scientists have fun finding answers too.” Harrison’s clean, bright illustrations add expression and personality to the story. Science report inserts are reminiscent of The Magic Schoolbus books, with less detail. Biracial Cece is a brown, freckled girl with curly hair; her father is white, and her mother has brown skin and long, black hair; Isaac and Ms. Curie both have pale skin and dark hair. While the book doesn’t pack a particularly strong emotional or educational punch, this endearing protagonist earns a place on the children’s STEM shelf.
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again. (glossary) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 19, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-249960-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
A gleeful game for budding naturalists.
Artfully cropped animal portraits challenge viewers to guess which end they’re seeing.
In what will be a crowd-pleasing and inevitably raucous guessing game, a series of close-up stock photos invite children to call out one of the titular alternatives. A page turn reveals answers and basic facts about each creature backed up by more of the latter in a closing map and table. Some of the posers, like the tail of an okapi or the nose on a proboscis monkey, are easy enough to guess—but the moist nose on a star-nosed mole really does look like an anus, and the false “eyes” on the hind ends of a Cuyaba dwarf frog and a Promethea moth caterpillar will fool many. Better yet, Lavelle saves a kicker for the finale with a glimpse of a small parasitical pearlfish peeking out of a sea cucumber’s rear so that the answer is actually face and butt. “Animal identification can be tricky!” she concludes, noting that many of the features here function as defenses against attack: “In the animal world, sometimes your butt will save your face and your face just might save your butt!” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A gleeful game for budding naturalists. (author’s note) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: July 11, 2023
ISBN: 9781728271170
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks eXplore
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
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