50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World - Women in Science

Almost perfect! This book is amazing though it does seem intended for younger audiences because of the drawings. It is still very enjoyable and have learned a lot about fantastic women scientists I did not know about. The only thing that would make it perfect would be to have an actual portrait or picture of each woman, even a small one. I recommend to everyone reading this book to look up pictures while reading it, it definitely improves the experience to put a real face to the story.

Charming, informative and delightfully illustrated! I bought this for myself, but it would make a wonderful gift this holiday season...
I would have liked to see actual photographs of the scientists, but the illustrative style was also very appealing.
Ms. Ignotofsky manages to convey a lot of respect and admiration, as well as a fascinating biography in the one short page dedicated to each scientist. I brought it along on a recent road trip, and it really helped to pass the time on what could otherwise have been a highly tedious drive.

Pro:
Good content.

Cons:
- Fonts are way too small.
- I prefer to see a real picture of each scientist instead of the cartoon drawings. Such drawings don’t give a chance to the kids to see the real scientists behind the stories but just the cartoon illustrations. I could have Googled for the real pictures but it’s not a good idea when it was used as bed time reading. I bought it for my 3 years old.

I'm too old to read this! I love the idea, but I need a magnifying glass to read it! I'm not even that old yet! The print is just too small. I haven't read it. I'm going to put it in my 5th grade classroom and tell all my girls to read it and tell me what it says!

I read several reviews of this book and I know it was on the best seller list in the Science category. While it is a nice book, it is obviously geared toward girls and I feel is incorrectly categorized for Science, and should instead by Young Adult Non Fiction. Because I bought it sight-unseen, and was giving it as a gift to a science teacher, I was sort of stuck with it. Fortunately she liked it, but I wasn't giving it to her to use in her classroom; my intention was to give it as a gift for her.

This is a square book, almost the size of a composition notebook, and there is a one-page bio on each right page, and a chalkboard style drawing on the corresponding left pages. Between the one-page bios, and the drawings, it felt like it was for a young person. Style-wise, it's cute, but I had hoped to see actual photos of these amazing and ground-breaking women who are due to be acknowledged, celebrated and admired.

My 7-year old niece likes this book, but some of the themes are pretty mature for her age and I find myself skipping over sentences when reading it out to her. I loved the idea of the book, but I think some of the details about women being killed for their beliefs and "p***s envy" were not really what imagined when I bought her a book about Women in Science. I really like the book "Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women" by Catherine Thimmesh. It is much shorter, but I think it is better for her age range at this point!

The book's content might be OK, however, the font size is far too small and we've had to use a magnifying glass to read it. Yes, we tried re-sizing the text and changing settings but to no avail. Careful, this book may be more trouble than it's worth.

My daughter is only ten months old, so she's not getting a whole lot out of this book--but, she sure does like looking at the pages and gnawing on them. I'm assuming that she'll appreciate the sentiment a lot more when she's a few years older. For now, though, I can recognize that the writing and the pictures are pretty spectacular and I'm automatically an awesome dad.

My hope is that this book inspires young girls to pursue a career in much needed STEM careers.
The only drawback is if one is reading it in a kindle format . You'll have a lot of work to zoom in each page!

This is a great overview of women scientists, some familiar to me and some not. A nice reference book or introduction for those with an interest in science. The text is short yet comprehensive with clever illustrations that add to the reading experience.

Absolutely love this book. I teach high school girls and this history is so important! Most of all, I just love the book itself. This is why you should still buy actual books. Lovely cover, binding, fantastic illustrations, and good quality paper. I am in love with this book!

Excellent because it can be read on multiple levels: as a picture book, then the captions for the illustrations, then the more rigorous text itself. There's a nice glossary in the back. However, it needs a sequel! Omissions are inevitable, but I was surprised they left out Lynn Margulis as her important ideas about cell evolution are now taught in middle school. The last spread lists 14 more, including a few nobel laureates, who get only a sentence before ending with "The next great scientist could be you!" Here are some more who deserve a sequel: Florence Nightingale (epidemiology, statistics), Henrietta Swan Leavitt (astronomy), Gail Martin (stem cells), Trota of Salerno (medieval medicine, women's health), Amelia Earhart and Sacagawea (explorers), Hilde Mangold (embryology), Anna Atkins (botany and early photography), ...

The type is way too small for anyone with eyes older than 40. Huge disappointment because there is no way to change font size or increase the size. I just started reading it, but probably will stop soon because it is too frustrating.

Also just disappointed because didn't realize the genre was graphic novel. I would read it but can't because print too small.

This is a wonderful book to inspire my future scientist. It is full of stories that intrigue her and make her want to go to the library to find out more about the characters and things they discovered.

My purpose in purchasing this book was to encourage my daughters to go into a STEM field. Both of my daughters (ages 8 and 10) excel in mathematics and science. I started reading this book with my oldest daughter, and was already offended by the end of the first paragraph of the introduction. I don't appreciate the author's attitude toward men. I love my daughters very much and want nothing but the best for them. But in the introduction, the author of this book frames all men as being oppressive and wanting all women to be bare foot and pregnant. She also indirectly criticizes women who decide to be stay-at-home mothers. Here is a quote from the introduction, "Women were expected to grow up to exclusively become good wives and mothers while their husbands provided for them. Many people thought women were just not as smart as men." Why does Rachel Ignotofsky have to write stuff like that in her book?

I also don't care much for how she labels Christians as being against women in science. Here is a quote from the section on Hypatia, "Eventually her "pagan" teachings made her a target. The brewing religious tensions in the area turned violent. She was killed around 415 CE by a mod of extremist Christians." Doing a quick read of Hypatia on Wikipedia, it seems she was killed for political reasons, not because of her pagan teachings. On the contrary to what Rachel Ignotofsky writes in her book, Hypatia was well respected among Christians for her wise counsel.

After reading the introduction and the first section on Hypatia, I have since taken this book away from my daughters. I am very disappointed.

A great book with a few silly typos.

So far I've been having a great time reading this book with my nine-year-old, and she also likes reading it by herself. She's very interested and I'm happy there's a book about this topic that she can become so interested in. The graphics are great. I am very surprised at the various silly typos in the book. Suggragist instead of suffragist? Also NASA having an opening for African-American computers. A great book overall but the only reason I'm giving it four stars is because of the typos.

This book is beautiful and super interesting BUT I really hate that there is an underlying tone that Men are horrible and women are better. (In the introduction.) Not really the message I want to send to my 4 daughters.

Presentation is as important as content. The type used and the reduced artwork are significant detractors for any audience, let alone the one targeted. And it's a rotten shame, because the information is important and interesting.

Oh, I loved this book immediately. Beautiful, interesting, and worthy of any bookcase or collection you own.
50 Fearless Pioneers is a gift I will be giving my 17 year old daughter and myself. This would make a beautiful gift for girls and women ages 12+.
Under 12 years might find it a bit difficult to understand and the font size is smaller. This is not meant to be a picture book for little children, but an information book.
With that said, I think little girls would love looking at the full pages of eye catching art and their parents will love reading it to them!

The art is truly what makes this such a treasured keepsake. This little hardcover book is original, refreshing and clever, not to mention beautiful. Each fearless pioneer woman has a two page spread. One page of information written about her along with an entire page of captivating drawings that just pulls you in. The writing is informative but not boring. Packed with great information that leaves you inspired to become a pioneer yourself! I love the added fun little facts that surround the information pages with cute drawings to correspond.
Also you will find a couple 2 page spreads with a time line and other great information that pull the entire book together in an easy to understand way.
I can’t say enough, buy the book, you will treasure it and want to share it! I was given a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is just lovely. It's listed as a "gift edition" and it really would make a great gift for a little girl. It's recommended for ages 10 & up (grade 5 & up) but my 7 & 9-year-olds really liked it too! There are a number of women who I was unfamiliar with, and a few I recognized. This book sets up so may great examples for my daughters of women scientists who excelled in their fields. My daughters were drawn to this book because of how colorful it is, and each of the two-page biographies are short enough to read in one sitting. If you homeschool, as we do, it would be easy to cover one famous scientist a week as a supplement to your curriculum. Finally, I cannot stress how beautiful this book is. It's no surprise that the author has a degree in graphic design from Tyler School of Art. Search for the Women in Science website to see slides that show how gorgeous the inside pictures are!
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.

I think, for being a girl, the biggest motivation and inspiration comes from reading about other girls and women who changed the world and how we live and how things are done. There are some Amazing people out there and some remarkable women who have done equally amazing things.
The book is full of quick bios on 50 women who dramatically impacted science. From chemists to psychoanalysts, to writers conservationists, to engineers and cosmonautsand astronauts to mathematicians. The expanse of women across the field of science and related professions is inspiring.
I never knew there were so many women in our history. We always focus on the men that changed the world, but now this book, puts the focus on all the women. Go Girl!
At the beginning of the book, is a well written Introduction, that explains the sacrifice many women made to be a part of science and technology. A long time ago, and in some instances today even, women were not thought of to be smart. Women have had a rough road in proving their worth, outside of the home. Many women risked their reputation, their career and their lives in the name of science.
The 50 women in this book include well known contributors such as, Marie Curie, the physicist/chemist who helped discover and understand radiation. She also was the only person to win a Nobel Peace Prize in two different areas of work.
The book also mentions a vast majority of women, most of whom I have never even heard of, who invented things or discovered stuff or even helped shape the future of the world through science and technology.
Each mini bio includes an illustration of the women, by Rachel Ignotofsky herself, drawn in a cute, artistic fashion and the bio which gives a quick history of their greatest accomplishments. The pages have a lot of smaller sized doodles which are tailored to the woman it is discussing.
It is an interesting and inspiring read and also fun with all the pictures and tidbits.
There is even a glossary in the back that explains terminology and areas of study, along with other features throughout the book like a Timeline of the history of women in Science, lab tools used, statistics and more women in science.
This would be a great book for any reader, young or old, especially girls. These stories prove that women are more than beautiful specimens on this earth, but that we actually contain brains too!

"Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World", by Rachel Ignotofsky, is a truly delightful book--it is both educational and entertaining. The author also provided the charming and quaint illustrations featured on the cover and throughout the book. Fifty women of science are given a spotlight, and over a dozen more are also nicely acknowledged. This is a work of wonder, enlightening and inspiring to all ages and genres. Among the more well-known ladies are Marie Curie, Lillian Gilbreth, Alice Ball, Rachel Carson, Jane Goodall, and Hedy Lamarr. While best known as a Hollywood star, and often referred to as "the most beautiful woman in the world", Ms. Lamarr was also quite the inventor. Her creation, FHSS (frequency-hopping spread spectrum), was not only used by our military to control torpedoes and communications, it is also the basis for the technology used today with smartphones, GPS, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth devices. Equally impressive and amazing are the endeavors and accomplishments of all the women of science. None of these ladies took no for an answer, they never gave up on what they believed, and the world will always be a better place for their magnificent efforts. Women and girls will be encouraged and motivated, and men and boys will be impressed and awed. This is science for everyone—it’s great to be a geek!

Review Copy Gratis Ten Speed Press via Blogging for Books

What attracted me to this book initially is the colorful, illustrations throughout. It's really unique for this style of book. As a hardcover book you open up to end pages in the same style of illustration as throughout the book but in simpler colors. Starting with an introduction the book has packed its 126 pages with fifty notable women in the fields of science, mathematics and technology. Each woman has a two page spread with a basic biography and key achievements or awards. The style of the illustrations reminds me of illustrations done for the star signs in astronomy or astrology.

While the font is fairly small the information is to the point and interesting. At the end there was a listing of more women in science and what they achieved in more of a summary with a picture.

It is a beautifully designed book and I would recommend it to anyone interested in this topic. It certainly contains a lot of information.

Please note that I was sent a copy of this book for purposes of review, however this review is entirely my own.

I got this book from a co-worker to read. This was a very well done book that has brief biographies of 50 women in science. It's put together very nicely and in a way that should be accessible to all ages.

The majority of the book is comprised of two page spreads on different women who made significant contributions to science in some way. These sections are interspersed with small sections on stats about women in STEM careers and descriptions of different scientific equipment

I loved all the fun facts shown on the pages and I enjoyed the illustration style and how fun and colorful it was.

My only small complaint is that I wish that instead of a characterized sketch there had been an actual photo of the woman in question included. I just feel like this would have showed the variety of types of women who work in science and emphasized the fact that it’s not how you look, it’s what you do that’s important.

Overall I really enjoyed this! This would be a great read for anyone; especially good for girls and women who are interested in science. This is one of the best books I have seen about women in science. It does a great job of highlighting these women’s lives in a brief page space.

I dislike when book design trumps readability. The text of this book is almost unreadable. It's tiny and there's too little contrast between the print and the background, especially when the text is light. I had to take off my glasses and put the book up close to my face to read it. The captions lining the sides of the pages are in all-cap letters. All-cap is so much harder to read than upper/lowercase lettering. Also, the choice to depict the women in drawings only is disappointing. You get no idea of the women at all looking at these illustrations. It would have been valuable to include a section in the book that had photos of the women (where available). I dislike the trend to cartoonize everything these days.

50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World -- this subtitle would grab most people's attention, doesn't it yours? And it's a book about WOMEN! :) Women in Science! My favorite!!

This book, Women in Science, written and illustrated by Rachel Ignotofsky is a very pretty book, well, pretty doesn't quite catch the feel, attractive, eye-catching, enjoyable to look at!

Each set of facing pages is a different woman scientist. The author has illustrated each scientist with a stylized drawing of the scientist with a collage of pictures and phrases describing her on the left side. The right side of each set of pages gives a mini biography of each scientist, with little illustrations/high points framing the text.

It's a fun book to read! The little snippets of information are fairly thorough of high points of each one's story, and they are in a layout that is easy to read without getting bogged down in too many statistics. These scientists run the range of time from 350 AD to scientists who are still living today! Their fields of specialty run a wide range, including such titles as botanist, astronomer, microbiologist, meterologist, chemist/xray crystallographer, inventor/film actress, cytogeneticist, behaviorist, geologist, paleontologist, and many more.

This is a great book for any girls to read (or for you to read to/with young girls!) It's inspiring and eye-opening for both boys and girls. I also think it would be a fun book for a college student or for a female scientist (or pretty much anyone!)

I enjoyed this book as did my daughters. I would definitely recommend this book -- it would also make a great gift!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review.

Have daughters? Get them this book. Have sons and want them to learn that women are just as important as men? Get them this book. Want to learn the basics on fifty women who changed the world of science? Get yourself this book.

This book had me with the title and subject, caught me again with the title, and kept me with the easy to understand blurbs and simple pictures. It touches on just some of the women who have changed the STEM fields throughout history and focuses a lot on how they broke the rules and norms and worked hard to do the things that they did.

I was a little bummed that Sally Ride only got a tiny blurb in the back, so I'm holding out hope for a Volume 2 someday.

I think this book is great for girls who might be interested in something seen as manly or not-girly, but really I think it's a great reference book to have around for all kids who enjoy science.

My daughter purchased this book for her 11 year old son. He had been reading all about male heroes, and she had difficulty finding books about female heroes. They both read it, and lived it, and passed it on to me.

The introductory chapter gives a few explicit reasons why the author, Rachel Ignotofsky, felt it was important to write a book about women in science. This is filled with the stories of 50 amazing women who made their mark in science. In fact there were some women I had not heard of. This is an amazing collection of women who have brought important facts and information to our lives. The illustrations are pertinent and help to tell the stories. Little drawings and info are to be found in the sides of each page.

I urge parents and schools and libraries to provide this book for our children. It is very important that boys and girls and men and women know the history of women in science.

Recommended. prisrob 08-16-16

TL;DR

Women In Science is a lovely and quick history of women…in science. A must read for any young girl, and a should read for most humans.

SYNOPSIS

Women In Science is a brief history of scientific achievements made by women, who have often been overlooked in the annals of history. Each page gives a brief description of the life of a scientist as well as beautiful accompanying illustrations. Written and drawn by first time author, Rachel Ignotofsky, Women In Science is meant to inspire young women to aim to achieve great things in life.

THOUGHTS

I really enjoyed this book. While I knew most of the women there were a few fascinating scientists that I’d never heard of. I really appreciated the variety of sciences that were represented. We all expected Marie Curie, but there were also botanists, mathematicians, computer scientists (love Grace Hopper), paleontologists, and so forth. The book is also lovely to look at. The illustrations and colors are just so pretty and fun. I can’t imagine an ebook version capturing how neat this book is. This book is perfect for teaching young girls about important women in history. Hell, it’s perfect for showing anyone how much women have contributed to science and technology. This is one I’ll definitely be passing on to my niece.

PROS

Inspiring stories

Gorgeous illustrations

Easy and quick read for all ages

CONS

Writing style is “cute” and clearly aimed at a young audience, but that’s also who it’s meant for

Not only is Women in Science by Rachel Ignotofsky an amazingly gorgeous book full unique illustrations, but it also is such an empowering, yet fun read. I cannot believe there hasn’t been a book like this out on the market before. This is definitely something every parent should buy for their middle school daughter.

I myself learned about so many women that made amazing contributions in the STEM fields, I was just blown away. It really makes me wish that I had had a book like this encouraging me to stick with math as a youngster instead of being led to believe math and engineering were “boy things” and “boy jobs.”

The best thing about this book is that it also includes Women of Color. Not as many as I would like, but some is better than none. Progress is slow, sadly, but coming. Please, if you have a daughter, a niece, a grand-daughter, pick up Women in Science by Rachel Ignotofsky for them. Give them the encouragement that they can be anything that they want and that there are no such borders between men and women’s jobs.

// I received this title for free in exchange for an honest review //

It is nothing short of astounding that Lynn Margulis, aka Science's Unruly Earth Mother and Attila the Hen, is not included in this list of women scientists. Would Darwin not make the top 50 male scientists? Margulis endured a 50-year career in science that was dismissed and ridiculed by the mainstream neo-Darwinist biologists, but she enjoyed the last laugh. Margulis's name is synonymous with symbiosis and symbiogenesis, two of the leading forces in providing the novelty in evolution. She taught biologists that the mitochodria (oxygen respiring and energy producing organelles of our cells) were once free-living bacteria, and that the chloroplasts (the green photosynthesizing organelles in all algae and plants were also once free living cyanobacteria. In doing so, she illuminated much of the mystery surrounding the origin of eukaryotic (nucleated) cells. Decades before the word 'microbiome' entered the language, Margulis was championing the microcosmos and describing the roles of symbiotic bacteria in animals. At the other end of the scale, she was the principle collaborator with James Lovelock on the Gaia hypothesis (now Gaia theory), describing a self-regulating Earth, which has been amply supported by the work on holobionts, nested communities, and microbiomes. Margulis is also one of the founders of the fields of Astrobiology and Earth systems science, both based in her work for NASA. It can easily be argued that it was Margulis, not Darwin, who has taught science about the origin of species. If any woman scientist was a fearless pioneer, it would be Lynn Margulis.

Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World is a delightful illustrated book by Rachel Ignotofsky. It tells the stories of famous and not-so-famous women through history who all shared their love for science, such as Ada Lovelace, Wang Zhenyi, Marie Curie, Lillian Gilbreth and Jane Goodall.

I got it because I liked the illustrations, thinking it would be a children's book trying to convince little girls they should study a STEM career. But it surprised me with its rich content and, most of all, with its spirit of team work and curiosity. I liked how the author encourages the readers to think of men and women as equal parts of our population, with the same inquisitiveness that moves us all to find answers and with equally clever minds.

"Women make up half of our population, and we simply cannot afford to ignore that brain power-the progress of humankind depend on our continual search for knowledge."

Each woman in this book is featured in a two page spread. One page comes with a beautiful illustration of the scientist, a few doodles depicting her work and a famous quote -by her, or about her-. The second page has a short biography, one or two paragraphs explaining her most important achievements and cute illustrations with fun facts surrounding the page.

The information included is enough to inspire boys and girls, children and adults alike since, I think, it's always awesome to find stories about passionate people who overcame the obstacles put in their way. And though this book does not push the 'you should work in STEM and be a feminist' message I expected, it makes it clear that most of these women were overlooked because of their gender and that we should remember them and celebrate their achievements. I think the author also tried to provide lots of examples of physicists, engineers, biologists and mathematicians -and more- from different nationalities, so they could be serve as role models for girls on the fence about being scientists. This book would definitely cheer them up and would inspire boys and girls to have an equal amount of heroes and heroines.

For an adult this book does not provide enough information. It only offers a couple of paragraphs for each work or invention and I had to pause my reading repeatedly to look up Wikipedia articles in order to satisfy my curiosity. That's not necessarily a bad thing since I actually learned a lot and this is an educational book aimed at children after all. I think it would definitely make a great coffee table book though -that's the purpose I'll give it-. I believe it could inspire conversation in an original way.

I would recommended Women in Science as a gift for eleven year old kids and older. Younger children would enjoy it too if they read it with and adult, since the vocabulary and small fonts might be too difficult for them. I think these younger kids especially would love the little illustrations and the infographics explaining the lab equipment and glossary. I would also recommend it for adults studying a STEM career, women interested in science and any fan of illustrated educational books.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review. They encourage honest reviews and all opinions are my own :).

This book didn't disappoint! The cover art and colorful, quirky illustrations on every page made this book a joy to read. It's beautiful! The info presented is done so in a matter that holds interest. It doesn't drag. There is a timeline, list of lab tools, graphs, glossary of terms, and links to provide further info on the amazing women who "star" in this book and their work. I had never heard of most of the women, and I was absolutely amazed at what they accomplished, especially considering the hardships and discrimination they faced.

I highly recommend this book! It might just inspire your girl to get more interested in science!

I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review.

An excellent overview with a synopsis of the lives of 50 extraordinary (should not have to be extraordinary) women.

I was intrigued with all 50 a few of which I knew about a few. I buy simple books to get an overview before moving on to more intricate biographies.

In this case I was specifically interested in Maria Sibylla Merian, scientific illustrator and entomologist.

Be sur to read the margins for illustrations and supporting statements.
There are also sections on:
More women in science
Conclusion
Acknowledgements
About the author
Index

this book was a gift for our eldest daughter, from her aunt. We love this book. We read this book each night, one profile at a time. It is beautifully, whimsically done. It encapsulates the woman with direct quotations from herself when possible. It's full of fascinating details. The profiles are short enough to keep a child's attention, especially at bedtime, but in depth enough to let the reader really get a taste of the women featured there, and to gain some name recognition.
This is a fantastic book, and it is highly recommended.
My only complaint is there aren't more books like this by this author.

It’s made to believe
Women are the same as men;
Are you not convinced
Daughters can also be heroic?
– Wang Zhenyi

“Nothing says trouble like a woman in pants.”

If there’s a girl in your life who’s into science – be it astronomy, psychology, or paleontology; even just a little! we’re talking the teeniest, tiniest bit! – you need to introduce her to the work of Rachel Ignotofsky. A graphic artist/illustrator, Ignotofsky uses her art to “make learning exciting.” Her first book, WOMEN IN SCIENCE: 50 FEARLESS PIONEERS WHO CHANGED THE WORLD, is a mashup of her many passions: art, history, science, and feminism – namely, celebrating the many contributions (many of them overlooked by and even erased from history) women have made to their respective scientific fields. The result is a smart, inspirational book that’s both informative and lovely.

Ada Lovelace. Elizabeth Blackwell. Marie Curie. Rachel Carson. Jane Goodall. Some of the women profiled here have managed, against all odds, to claim their rightful places as household names. But have you heard of Wang Zhenyi, 18th century astronomer, mathematician, and poet? How about Mamie Pipps Clark, a psychologist and civil rights activist who, along with her husband, conducted the infamous (and devastating) Doll Experiment, thus helping to end segregation in public schools? Or Jocelyn Bell Burnell, the Irish astrophysicist who discovered pulsars at the age of 24?

As if these achievements aren’t impressive enough on their own, consider that many of these women did so even when they were barred from higher education, prohibited from publishing papers, or even expected to obey their fathers and husbands, no matter the cost. (Prior to 1974, women couldn’t apply for a line of credit; abortion was not legalized until 1973, and even today it can be difficult for low-income women to access; and marital rape wasn’t recognized as a crime federally until 1993.)

Of course, women of color face(d) even more barriers than their white counterparts: slavery, segregation, Jim Crow, and voter disenfranchisement, to name a few that are discussed here. Just as the fight for women’s rights factors heavily into the histories included here, in her profiles of African-American scientists – Mamie Pipps Clark, Katherine Johnson, Jane Cooke Wright, Annie Easley, Patricia Bath, and Mae Jemison – abolition, civil rights, and anti-racism play a large role as well. In addition to being a computer programmer, mathematician, and honest-to-goodness rocket scientist, Annie Easley taught her fellow black Alabamians how to ace Jim Crow voting tests – and also tutored under-privileged city kids in her spare time. In 1992, Mae Jemison became the first African-American woman in space; she famously credits START TREK’S Lieutenant Uhura as a role model, thus illustrating the importance of representation in pop culture. (Enter: WOMEN IN SCIENCE! How meta!)

While there’s definitely an American bent to WOMEN IN SCIENCE, Ignotofsky includes women scientists from all over the world: Australia, Austria, China, Egypt, England, France, Germany, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Prague, and Russia. There’s a fair amount of ethnic and racial diversity, which is awesome, and I also love that Jane Goodall, primatologist and animal rights activist, gets a nod.

Each profile is short – just a single page opposite a page of artwork – yet Ignotofsky manages to pack a ton of information in there, including in cute little scribbles and doodles in the margins. The art is whimsical and rendered in rich, vibrant colors; it’s so gorgeous I could all but eat it with my eyeballs. The sheer eye-catchiness makes this book great for kids, but adults are also sure to love it: it’s astute, stirring, and all but guaranteed to hit you right in the feels. (Three words: Wang Zhenyi’s poetry.)

I’m really looking forward to her next book, a guided journal called I LOVE SCIENCE: A JOURNAL FOR SELF-DISCOVERY AND BIG IDEAS, due out in March 2017. Ignotofsky’s artwork is perfectly suited for the journal format, and I’ve never heard of a journal quite like it. Probably these two together would make a really shiny gift for science-curious geek girls.

** Full disclosure: I received a free book for review through Blogging for Books. **

Okay, so this one is a fun review. I mean they all are but this one had pictures :)

Women in Science is a wonderfully illustrated encyclopedia of 50 women you may not have heard of who made a huge difference in the world of science. It’s just so adorable!

My favorite is the page about Katherine Johnson. She’s one of the women portrayed in the new movie, Hidden Figures.

It’s a great book with lots of illustrated data graphics and so much information. I highly recommend this book as a reference for homeschoolers and students of all sorts. It makes a great gift. I’m sure your science teacher would really love a copy!

It belongs on the shelf with other biography type books. And it’s just beautifully done!

I received this book in exchange for my review.

The cover of this book is beautiful and the topic fascinating. The writing level is such that even though it appears to be a children's book, I suspect it was possibly intended for teens and up, with an artistic flair added by the fun art. However, who on Earth decided that the book ought to be printed in such miniscule type? It is well known in children's publishing (including middle grade) that you need white space and inviting type. The page must look inviting to a kid and not intimidating--and the amount of text squeezed onto a colored background in tiny type was beyond intimidating. (Hard for this adult reader to squint at, to boot!)

Within that text, where was the proofreader or copyeditor? One scientist was described as a "suggragist" in the text but properly as a suffragist in the illustration.

I loved the artists' style, except for the noses that looked like prosthetic devices...I am sure she has a wonderful career ahead of her.

For almost all recorded history, women’s contributions have been consistently downplayed, especially in the field of science. If you think I exaggerate name one female scientist other than Marie Curie who worked before 1900. See what I mean? Well, Rachel Ignotofsky is here to set the record straight with a charmingly illustrated book filled with short biographies and achievements of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields.

Some of the more recent are well-known; Mae Jemison (astronaut), Jane Goodall (primatologist), and Rachel Carson (marine biologist). If you haven’t heard of them, shame on you. Others will be new and range from Hypatia, an astronomer and mathematician in ancient Alexandria to women still working in science today. Ignotofsky devotes two pages to each woman. On the left side is a cute, quirky drawing done by the author. On the right is a biography and details of contributions surrounded by more of the author’s artwork with additional snippets of information. (Rachel Carson wrote a book about birds when she was eight).

Many of the women in Women in Science had little formal education. Most had to fight for respect. The author’s enthusiasm for her subjects is obvious by the numerous exclamation points scattered throughout. Ignotofsky doesn’t sugarcoat the problems her subjects faced. She practically calls James Watson a lying scuzzbucket who stole credit for Rosalind Franklin’s discovery of the double helix structure of DNA.

While the book has winsome charm, the writing and illustrations suffer from a slight disconnect. The targeted readership is unclear. The pictures are simplistic and appropriate for an elementary school student, but the writing is geared toward teenagers and beyond. This book doesn’t have enough subject matter for high schoolers or adults, yet can a middle-schooler visualize a procedure such as, “They tagged the hormone with a radioactive isotope, and then measure the amount of antibodies.”? The book also mentions penis envy. I don’t know any middle school librarian who’d find that acceptable, not to mention able to stand all the sniggling giggles coming from the stacks when a student stumbles on the page. In the back is a small glossary, but no page link in the biography where the term occurs. Complex notions including motor neurons, cytogeneticist, Doppler Effect, trajectory, and ethyl esters are mentioned in the articles, but not defined.

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for a review.

This was a wonderful introduction to women scientists that I think everyone would benefit from reading. The presentation is very attractive and colorful, with full page graphics, quick facts and quotes for each person as well as a short biography. A lot of great information proving that women have made many wonderful contributions to the science world in all areas, and that many were risk takers and determined to persevere in the face of discouragement. I really enjoyed learning about these fascinating women and their discoveries. I think it would be a great addition to classrooms to peak students interest in the different scientific fields.

Women in Science is a biography book written and illustrated by Rachel Ignotofsky. The book explores some of the essential and amazing discoveries made by women who were pioneers in their fields of expertise. The book also gives the reader some background about the lives of these women. There are some of the world's most well-known women scientists such as Jane Goodall as well as lesser-known women such as Florence Bascomb. There are all types of scientists in this book, from archaeologists to geologists and physicists.

The book begins with some explanatory material about the reality of the times in which these women lived. For example, bans on women in medical and graduate school and public ridicule. The writing is complemented by somewhat whimsical illustrations that add to the fun yet educational nature of the book.

My only issue was that the pages are "busy", which can make it difficult to focus. The font size is also small, which might just be a function of my myopic eyeballs. However, the book got physically hard to read after a while due to the business of the pages and the small font size. Content-wise, this book is great and could inspire school age girls to learn more about these great women.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for writing an honest review. I did not receive any other compensation.

I would prefer photos of this famous women, not strange drawings. Difficult to read, very small print on a dark tone. I expected more. My granddaughter 10 year old , who loves to read was not interested in reading this book.They did not even mention Maria Curie ( physicist, pioneer in research on radioactivity)

This book has a beautiful cover to start then you open and there are so many inspirational women from the scientific community - innovators in their fields and pioneers for women of all ages. I found this book to be fascinating. There were so many women I had not heard of. I've enjoyed sharing one a day with my kids and talking about how race, gender or even birth location doesn't have to impact your dreams because these women overcame all of those odds!

*I received a copy for review purposes, as always all opinions are my own

Rachel Ignotogsky's Women in Science is a seriously fun book. Rachel gives a quick bio of fifty women scientists who changed the world. The amazing visuals (and doodles) on each page may be one of my most favorite parts. This book is perfect for any little girl in your life. It would probably be appreciated more by older girls, however, if you have a younger girl, it'd be fun to read together. I love the attention to detail on each page. *I was given this book in exchange for a review. A positive review was not required, but well deserved.

I requested this book because I wanted to read it. And once a book is in my collection, it is very hard for me to part with it. I don’t lend very many books out, and almost NEVER do I give one away. I’m selfish like that.

But Women in Science will not be staying on my shelf. It will be one of the rare exceptions that is so good that I MUST give it up. It is not for me. I am seeing my niece this weekend and she needs it more than I do. For this book is meant for the encouragement of our next generation. And my niece is pretty badass, just like the women in this book.

Women in Science is fully-colored, with fun, cartoonish illustrations. Each biography fills one page, and is hardly boring. The women are diverse, and many fields are represented–microbiology, psychology, zoology, and many others. Inspiration can be drawn from every path that these women had to follow to achieve their dreams.

This is one of those books that should be on every library display and classroom shelf. Parents of daughters especially, but sons too, should put this in their child’s hands. Kids need to know about these women along with the men we study in school. I didn’t know about any of them, but maybe 2 or 3, and even then it was mostly just their name and field of study.

Watch out though, this will inspire your kids. Be prepared for them to do something amazing!

Blogging for Books and Ten Speed Press provided a copy of this book for unbiased review.

As my daughter says: I'd give this book 100 stars!!
This book is a work of art!! It is not only inspiring, but a joy for the eyes! Very good quality paper and cover, a true pleasure to read! What a great work from young Rachel Ignotofsky, it truly shows she put her heart into it and I can't wait to see more books from her!
To all girl moms and grandmothers out there, our girls need to read this book and more like it. I have a 6 year old who is fascinated by science and she's going to absolutely love it. Currently we are reading together a book series at night that we need to finish before we get to the new book, but I am secretly reading it after I put her to bed :) The book is a treasure!

Exactly as described. Served as a great gift for my cousin who's an 11 year old girl. She loves science and has a very curious mind. Pictures are on one side and text on the other. Very well presented and legible.

I always love learning about women's contributions to society, and as the title suggests, this book presents a diverse array of pioneering female scientists. The book itself is beautiful, with illustrations that are absolutely charming, and enough facts about each woman to spark further interest. A wonderful resource for any middle-to-high school classroom. If I were a science teacher, I'd order copies for all of my students.

Upon receiving the free copy of Womein In Science which I requested from Blogging For Books, I spied the beautiful cover art and began to take in the first page while repeatedly wondering one thing, "Where was this amazingly educational eye candy when I was a kid?" Also, noting that Rachel Ignotofsky did both the super-detailed research/writing part and also the phenomenal illustrations made me want to immediately go track down all of her other work. Part of the reason I was interested in reviewing this book is because it seemed like it would be very similar to a book I reviewed last summer, Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science--And The World by Rachel Swaby. Obviously, they both have the same concept, but Women In Science was much more difficult to put down because of the wonderful artwork. Since most people will probably only purchase one of this type of book, I'd recommend Women In Science over Headstrong any day.

The well-written page-long biographies of female pioneers who have changed the world comprising most of the book are great because they provide just enough information for the reader to have an idea who the subject was and what she was all about, while still leaving enough untold that they could easily be used as inspiration for deeper learning.

Then, opposite the biography, there's a full page illustration of the subject, complete with more quotations and information about her, and imaginative drawings of the type of things she worked with. Paging through the book, I could really see how it might get even the most reticent kid interested in learning about women who have made amazing contributions to society.

During even my first cursory glance, I learned so much! For example, did you know that Hedy Lamarr, who is famous for her acting career, was also a genius inventor? Me either!

The beautiful and compelling drawings would keep me reading even if I didn't find the text interesting and informative... which I totally do.

This book is a must for any kid who is interested in STEM, and any middle grade classroom, though I'm sure there are plenty of adults (like me) who would enjoy curling up with it, as well. I can't recommend Women In Science enough!

My daughter is 6.5, loves science, and this is one of her favorite books. I have to explain a LOT of fairly complex concepts to her while we read it together ("What's genetics?" "What's a computer program?") but oh man, she loves this book.

She got this, along with "Rad American Women A-Z" from my dad. I thought they'd be too old for her to grasp, but no. She loves them both.

This is a very nicely made book! I purchased it for my daughter, but we actually all enjoy reading it! Nice cover, intriguing artwork, nice quotes, and great information. I saw a lot of people talking about the font being too small, but I can't say I agree. This is a great & inspiring book.

This book is a work of art. The illustrations are mesmerizing. Each page is packed with detail and factoids. And the little details like the foil print on the cover that make it shimmer in the light. Truly a worthy tribute to the accomplishments of these great women.

I want to love this book, but just looking at the previewed pages I can see several typos. I'm frustrated because I really want to love it and buy it for all my nieces, but I can't buy them a book with so many typos. For how little text is in the book, I wish they could have done better editing.

Quick bios for fifty extraordinary women of science. Beautiful illustrations. I will be recommending this book to teens at our library for sure. It's inspiring and its design and aesthetics are quite appealing.

My daughter won this for her science fair project. She and her mom both love it! So well illustrated and written, opens up a whole new world into the world of smart female scientists, beyond Marie Currie. Great gift for any girl or young woman.

I want to love this book. As a female science teacher, I saw the title and new I had to have it for my class. The content is great, my students love it. But the text is just so small, almost like the book should have been bigger. They squeezed too much in.

The first story unnecessarily bashed extremist Christians and the "unenlightened" by pointing out that that woman was killed by them. While extremist anyone's tend to be villains, bringing them into a children's book where they aren't needed lowered my opinion of the content.

I love the idea of promoting positive female role models, but have little patience for even subtle political agenda-pushing.

Beyond that, I'd like to decide when and how to address complex issues like that with my child--I don't want it jumping up and interfering with conversations about awesome things some really cool women did. In this case, I just wanted an inspirational book for my daughter.

Beautiful book! I'm a female researcher and just love it. The stories are great, and I also really enjoy the small facts on the boarders and the quotes. My boyfriend is a researcher as well and also enjoys reading it. Perfect gift for young girls, as well as adult female researchers.

I gave this and the Women in Sports book to my cousin’s 10 year old daughter (5th grade) for Christmas this year. She opened them at Thanksgiving and was already reading them that evening instead of playing on an electronic device like the other kids. LOVE.
Her favorite subject in school is science so this book was perfect for role models to look up to and learn about.

I bought this a gift for my 9 years old sister
At first I was concern of the finishing
The book turn out great finishing and pictures
I would recommend this as a gift for a girl it the best choice

This book is absolutely terrific. My 9 and 11 year old daughters and I are reading it together. It has so many important lessons to teach about women, what we have accomplished and all of the hurdles these amazing women had to overcome. Highly recommended!

I haven’t bought this book. I was thinking about it, but a closer look at the Jane Goodall page made up my mind against it: the text mentions renowned anthropologist “Lewis Leeky,” whose name is actually spelled “Louis Leakey.” With such a glaring error, I don’t see how I could trust anything this book might tell me.

I ordered this book for a little girl's birthday. I was very excited about it, but when I received it and started reading it I realized that it is WAY TOO FEMINIST! I love the idea of learning about all of the wonderful things women have done, but the overly feminist tone is what made me return it and order something else. This girl's mom is a stay at home mom and the book seems to denounce women who have chosen this path in life. There is a different tone in which the book could have been written, one that doesn't hate men and doesn't promote radical feminism.

Contained a lot of controversial stories, not for kids. I was very disappointed, as I've been trying to encourage my daughters' understandings of science and the great women who've contributed to it. This book feels like it has an agenda.

This book is a rewriting of history in some cases for example this book credits lise meitner with the discovery of nuclear fission when it was otto hahn who discovered it. It credits ada lovelace with the analytical machine when it was Charles Babbage, and credits hedy lamarr with wifi technology when Nikola tesla and George antheil were first to discover wifi. And Alan Turing was building computer programs before grace hopper was even born.