For Women’s History Month we have a middle grade book that explores women who are making history, Everyday Superheroes: Women in STEM Careers by Erin Twamley and Joshua Sneideman.
Activity suggestion:
About the Book
Using the scientific method as a template, authors Twamley and Sneideman propose “six superpowers important to STEM fields”:
- Imagination and curiosity
- Observation
- Problem solving
- Collaboration
- Data-collection and analysis
- Communication
After defining each superpower, they use an alphabetical organizational structure explore 26 STEM careers, from Astronomy to Zoology. In case you are wondering, they have to be creative with some of the letters, such as X is “Xeroxing Our DNA” and the featured career is geneticist.
For each career, they give an overview of what it entails and then present a short biography of a particular woman in that field with emphasis on the superpowers they use.
Their choices are a diverse group of amazing women.
For example, A features Astronomer Wanda Diaz Merced
When Wanda Diaz Merced lost her sight, she developed a way to convert data into sound so she could analyze it. You can hear a sample of the sound in her TED talk below at about 5:40.
Wow! Talk about problem solving!
The illustrations are digital images created by the Illustrator Collective, a group of artists from around the world. This gives a sense of continuity that photographs from various sources would not have done.
The last section includes an activity for young readers to plan a STEM career of their own, a way to inspire and empower the next generation.
The back matter includes “Steps to Become an Everyday STEM Superhero”, a list other books by the authors, “Recommended Books”, three pages of quotes from book reviews by educational experts (I’ve never seen this kind of promotional material in a children’s book before), and a glossary, but no index.
If you are looking for examples of incredible women in STEM, then look no further than Everyday Superheroes.
Activity suggestion:
Check out these STEM Everyday Superheroes trading cards and then research and design one of your own (click on the researcher’s name to see the card).
Reading age : 8 – 12 years
Publisher : Wise Ink Creative Publishing (March 15, 2019)
ISBN-10 : 1634891988
ISBN-13 : 978-1634891981
Disclosure: The book was donated electronically 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.