Each one of these women have a story that will inspire young women and men. They overcame obstacles--physical and social--to find success and fulfillment in STEM fields. They made important contributions in their fields of study.
Claire A. Nivola, author and illustrator
Publisher Summary:
Sylvia Earle was a biologist and botanist long before she
even knew what those words meant. As a
child, she spend hours observing plant and animal life on her family’s farm,
but it was when she moved to Florida and Sylvia discovered the Gulf of Mexico
that she lost her heart to the ocean.
These early investigations inspired her along the path to becoming a
prominent and compelling advocate for the ocean.
Sylvia dives deep and reveals the wonders of an underwater
world of whales, angelfish, coral reefs, and tiny creatures that glow in the
darkest depth of the sea. Whether she’s
designing submersibles for exploration, living underwater for two weeks, or
taking deep-water walks, Sylvia Earle has dedicated her life to learning more
about, and urgently calling on all of us to protect, what she call “the blue
heart of the planet.”
Why It’s Fabulous:
Earle’s story is a celebration of curiosity, patience, and
observation. These are skills she
practiced in her earliest years in her notebooks and sample collections. She also sought information in the library to feed her unquenchable
desire to know more. After earning a degree in science, she joined an
expedition in the Indian Ocean (as the only woman). Her STEM degree took her to many exciting
places from a deep-sea laboratory off the U.S. Virgin Islands to a deep-seas
station fifty feet underwater. She walked on the ocean floor, traveled 13,000
feet below the surface in a Japanese submersible, and swam with the
whales. As a world-renowned
oceanographer and environmentalist, she taught people to care about and to
protect the ocean.
Jeanette Winter, author and illustrator
Publisher Summary:
Zaha Hadid grew up in Baghdad, Iraq, and
dreamed of designing her own cities. After studying architecture in London, she
opened her own studio and started designing buildings. But as a Muslim woman,
Hadid faced many obstacles. Determined to succeed, she worked hard for many
years, and achieved her goals—and now you can see the buildings Hadid has
designed all over the world.
Why It’s Fabulous:
Hadid was inspired by her homeland of Iraq—ancient cities,
rivers, dunes, and marshes. As a young
girl, she dreamed of designing her own city.
During her time in college, her imagination was the driving force behind
her work and study of architecture.
After graduation, she rented a room in a old school building. Along with some fellow visionaries, they drew
and planned endlessly. Her designs were
not like anyone else’s. The buildings swooshed and zoomed and flowed and flew. She believed the world is not a
rectangle. Despite many rejections, Hadid
“made a conscious decision not to stop.”
Using nature as her inspiration, she created tall buildings like the
marsh grass, a stadium that looks like a shell, and an opera house like a
pebble in the sand. Eventually every room in the old school building was filled
with people designing and planning her buildings. Her belief in the impossible and her dedication
allowed for her unique visions to come to life. Even after her death, her architect
firm “[kept] their lights on” and “her flame blazing bright.”
Jeanette Winter
Publisher Summary:
At five years old, Jane was already a watcher. Little Jane Goodall loved to watch all the
animals in her world—the earthworms and insects, the birds and cats. She loved to read about Dr. Dolittle, who
could talk to animals.
When she grew up, Jane followed her dream and traveled to
Africa to study chimpanzees. She watched
them, she listened to them, and, in time, she became their friend.
Why It’s Fabulous:
Goodall worked to earn the money to go to Africa. Then, she bravely traveled across the ocean
in hopes of finding an opportunity to study animals in their natural habitat. She finally received a post to study
chimps. Out in the middle of the jungle,
she heard their calls. However, they
stayed hidden. Even after suffering from
malaria—she was determined to wait it out.
Finally, after many months, they revealed themselves. At first she acted uninterested and watched
quietly. Eventually, they trusted
her. She spent every day with
them—observing and taking notes. She
revealed many things we did not previously know about chimps specifically and
animals in general. Later when men began to kill and to kidnap them, she fought
to save them. She spoke for the chimps
and against deforestation.
Emily Arnold McCully, author and illustrator
Publisher Summary:
With her sketchbook
labeled My Inventions and her father's toolbox, Mattie could make
almost anything – toys, sleds, and a foot warmer. When she was just twelve
years old, Mattie designed a metal guard to prevent shuttles from shooting off
textile looms and injuring workers. As an adult, Mattie invented the machine
that makes the square-bottom paper bags we still use today. However, in court,
a man claimed the invention was his, stating that she "could not possibly
understand the mechanical complexities." Marvelous Mattie proved him
wrong, and over the course of her life earned the title of "the Lady
Edison."
Why It’s Fabulous:
Mattie began inventing small things as a child by sketching,
problem solving, and building. She used
her factory experience during the industrial revolution to make the lives of workers safer. Through perseverance and hard work over a two-year
period, she invented a complex machine from sketch, to prototype, to final
product. She problem solved when things did not work out. For instance, there was a problem in the initial
testing of her first prototype. Mattie
worked to figure it out and to fix it. She
fought against sexist views, but she did not give up even when a man stole her
idea. Instead, she took him to court and
won her case. Rather than sell her
invention, she opened up her own business.
Mattie spent her life inventing new machines and trailblazing for women
in STEM fields.
Cheryl Harness, author
Carlo Molinari, illustrator
Publisher Summary:
Mary Edwards Walker was always an outspoken woman. She was one of America’s first woman doctors,
and she fought for women’s rights and gave speeches around the country. But she could also make a statement just by
walking down the street—wearing pants in a time when women always wore dresses!
When the Civil War struck, she set out to serve her country
and treat wounded soldiers—not as a nurse, but as a doctor. She faced extreme danger behind enemy lines
and for her bravery she received the Medal of Honor, the highest a war veteran
can receive. She remains the first and
only woman to ever hold this honor.
A hero far ahead of her time, Dr. Walker encountered
prejudice and ridicule as well as glory.
And she always insisted on living—and dressing—on her own terms.
Why It’s Fabulous:
Dr. Walker volunteered when the Civil War began, doing anything
she could from writing letters for wounded soldiers to raising money to help
with medical care. She wanted to do
more. She wanted to use her medical
knowledge and skills. Patriotic and
determined, she followed the troops and helped in the makeshift battlefield hospitals.
Though her perseverance, she was finally
appointed “to serve as an assistant surgeon in the U.S. Army, a first for the
military and a first for women.” While
moving back and forth between enemy lines helping the wounded, she was taken as
a prisoner of war for several months until being released in an officer
exchange. People laughed at her for her
clothes, even after the war. However,
she stayed “true to her ideals.” She
wore her suit and her Medal of Honor with pride. She wanted women to live and to think freely
“unbound by a corset or her society’s expectations.”
