What types of robots will the future bring? How do biomedical devices help patients? Have you ever wondered how your phone works? In Engineering: Cool Women Who Design, readers ages 9 to 12 meet three women who are working hard in the engineering field. Elsa Garmire has designed many devices that use lasers and light. Amy Kerdok designs medical and surgical devices. Anna Stork co-founded LuminAID Lab, a company that produces solar lighting products for the developing world and beyond.
Engineering combines high-interest content with links to online primary sources and essential questions that further expand kids' knowledge and understanding of a topic they come in contact with every day. Nomad Press books in the Girls in Science series supply a bridge between girls' interests and their potential futures by investigating science careers and introducing women who have succeeded in science. Compelling stories of real-life engineers provide readers with role models that they can look toward as examples of how it can be done.
About the Author :
Vicki V. May holds a Ph.D. in engineering from Stanford University and is a professor at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College. Her outreach projects bring the challenge of engineering to middle and high school students. Vicki was named Teacher of the Year for Dartmouth and Thayer in 2012 and Professor of the Year for the State of New Hampshire in 2013. The author of 3-D Engineering: Design and Build Your Own Prototypes from Nomad Press, she lives in Lyme, NH.
Allison Bruce studied chemistry at the University of California, Davis, and design, illustration, and animation at the Academy of Art University, San Francisco. Allison is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) as well as the Association of Medical Illustrators (AMI). She lives in Brisbane, CA.
Review :
Puget Sound Council for the Review of Children's Media Recommended -- Superior in style, liveliness, integrity and format. "Designing medical equipment, solar lighting, and optical devices using lasers are the primary areas of work for three successful women engineers, Amy Kardok, Anna Stork, and Elise Garmire, PhD. After a brief history of engineering, biographies of these three describe their childhood, obstacles they faced in their pursuit of their careers, and major contributions addressing human needs through engineering. What distinguishes this series from other biographies is the inclusion of mini-biographies of other women engineers, QR codes to access online content, such as a 3-D doodle pen, catapult design, TED talks, and surgical robots. Beginning with a "How to use this book" page, readers are directed to high quality Essential Questions in "Ask & Answer" boxes, "She Says" quote boxes, "Cool Career" suggestions, and Primary Source symbols linked to the QR codes. Back material includes a listing of all the Ask & Answer questions, timeline, glossary, additional books, websites, and places to visit, a listing of all the URL's for the QR codes, and an index. An appealing graphic design and well-written text is only missing a few photographs of the women featured. Still a recommended purchase."
Praise for other books in similar series
Rocketry: Investigate the Science and Technology of Rockets and Ballistics
Booklist "With clear explanations of the Newtonian and other physical principles involved, Mooney provides a history of rocketry, from steam-driven contraptions in ancient Greece to todays (OK, tomorrow's) SpaceShipTwo and NASA's next-generation SLS . . . both the hands-on portions and the relatively extensive background information will give would-be rocketeers a strong liftoff."
Cities: Discover How They Work with 25 Projects
Winner of a 2014 Silver Moonbeam Award
Bridges and Tunnels: Investigate Feats of Engineering with 25 Projects
Winner of a 2012 Gold Moonbeam Award
Ithaca Child "Engineering is as old as human societies. In ancient times, engineers designed the aqueducts, the pyramids, and trebuchets. As people developed new materials. - iron, steel, plastics - engineers used them to build the things people needed: bridges, heart valves, cell phones. Engineering schools sprouted during the industrial age, but women weren't admitted as students. This book highlights three women who are engineers. One designs medical devices, one designs solar lighting products and one designs devices that use lasers. In addition to their stories, there are plenty of short bios about other women in engineering, such as Nora Stanton who, in 1905 was the first woman to graduate from Cornell University with an engineering degree. You'll also find information about cool careers, and a few hands-on engineering challenges."
Science Books & Films
2016 Best Books List
Science Books & Films
++: Highly Recommended
Engineering: Cool Women Who Design presents engineering as a varied and inspiring career path for women towards children. The book features wonderful examples of different women in engineering who are solving problems by creating lighting solutions for disasters, improving surgical devices, and utilizing lasers for broader applications. The book starts with an introduction to the history of engineering. Then it has three chapters that feature a particular woman's early life, work, and challenges in engineering. There was LGBTQ representation and senior representation among the women featured in each chapter. Every chapter also had excerpts that summarize additional women's impacts on their respective engineering disciplines. Within the excerpts, there was representation of women with disabilities and women of color. All of the scientific and engineering work described in the book was accurate and succinct, including household items for easy connection to the daily life of the reader. The book also features many links and resources for young women to further explore the possibilities engineering offers. Finally, this book is very well-written, organized, and researched. It has a glossary to allow readers to find primary sources. It engages readers by using colorful images and cartoons effectively. This is a wonderful book to introduce girls to engineering!
