She Persisted in Science: Brilliant Women Who Made a Difference

K-Gr 3–This collective biography of diverse women scientists—doctors, mathematicians, botanists, climate activists, and more—powerfully demonstrates that women’s contributions to science have improved the world, and continue to do so. As Flossie Wong-Staal, the first scientist to clone HIV, said, “It adds to the joy of discovery to know that your work may make a difference in people’s lives.” Florence Nightingale, Jane Goodall, and Temple Grandin are joined by women who are not always featured in classrooms but who are equally important—Gladys West, Zaha Hadid, and Ellen Ochoa. Each spread is devoted to one woman (or pair or trio), with a paragraph-long biography on one side, and a quote and full-page illustration on the other. Boiger’s delicate, lively watercolors show the women at work, and incorporate symbolic elements, such as a spiral of DNA behind Rosalind Franklin.