Things Are Looking Up With Maria Mitchell

Have you been keeping up with the posts at KidLit Celebrates Women’s History Month blog? There have been some gems this year.

Women's-History-Month

Do biographies of women need to be middle grade or young adult level? I have long been a fan of the picture book biography, and now Anna Butzer shows us the importance of beginning reader biographies with  Maria Mitchell (Great Women in History) .

This small book goes a long way to tell the story of pioneering female scientist Maria Mitchell, who was trained as an astronomer by her father. The author reveals that while Maria Mitchell was working as a librarian, she spent her nights searching the skies with a telescope. Eventually she discovered a comet that no one else had seen. She was on her way to becoming our first professional female astronomer.

If you are looking for a way to teach timelines, this book would be an excellent choice. There is an ongoing timeline at the bottom of each two-page spread. With each event recounted, a new date and summary of the event are added to the growing timeline. Brilliant!

Be sure to pick up Maria Mitchell for Women’s History Month to share with beginning readers or even slightly older children looking for a subject for a wax museum project.

 

Mitchell_Maria_desk(Public domain image of Maria Mitchell from Wikimedia)

Related:

Maria Mitchell Association website

See our growing list of biographies of women scientists at Science Books for Kids

21more-books-about-women-scientists

Age Range: 4 – 8 years
Grade Level: Kindergarten – 1
Publisher: Pebble Books (July 1, 2014)
ISBN-10: 1491405422
ISBN-13: 978-1491405420

Disclosures: The book was supplied by the publisher for review purposes. Also, I am an affiliate with Amazon so I can provide you with cover images and links to more information about books and products. As you probably are aware, if you click through the highlighted title link and purchase a product, I will receive a very small commission, at no extra cost to you. Any proceeds help defray the costs of hosting and maintaining this website.

Come visit the STEM Friday blog each week to find more great Science, Technology, Engineering and Math books.