This biography highlights the accomplishments of Dr. Ayanna Howard, an African American roboticist, educator, and entrepreneur who solves problems for Earth and space.
As a young child, Ayanna Howard liked figuring out how things worked. Her creativity and love for math led her to become a robotics engineer who solves problems for Earth and space. Her pursuit of a career in engineering and space exploration inspires young people to enjoy math and science. Today, Dr. Howard continues to share her passion of robotics to help young minds grow.
The Women in Science and Technology series introduces students to influential women in science and technology. From astronauts to medical doctors, these biographies highlight the accomplishments, dedication, and passion that drove these women to succeed. Each book includes a glossary, comprehension questions, and further reading suggestions.
Young readers receive a kid-friendly introduction to inspiring women in STEM fields with this picture-book biography series, Women in Science and Technology. Annie Easley focuses on Annie's love for math and how it led her work as a computer programmer. Also noted are her contributions to vehicles and energy, as well as the obstacles Annie overcame as one of the only African Americans in her field. In Grace Hopper, readers will follow Grace's knack for math as it takes her on a path to the Navy, where she became one of the most important computer programmers and worked with various computer languages. Katherine Johnson discusses Katherine's struggles while she pursued her talents in math and physics, as well as her important role at NASA as she calculated space flights and worked on the space shuttle. Mae C. Jemison follows Mae's journey to becoming an astronaut and bringing new technologies to Africa as a doctor. Bright, colorful illustrations depict the struggles, successes, and determination of each woman featured, with crisp, clear text and short sentences flowing easily from one page to the next, accompanied by larger, more colorful quotes from each of the women. Each book is appended with a time line, text-dependent questions, extension activities, and strategies for reading comprehension, making this series ideal for those building their reading skills.
Selenia Paz, Booklist, November 2019
These titles introduce young readers to important women in the fields of technology and science. Each contains an overview of the early life and how her math and science interests influenced the subject’s future career. All had to overcome sexim and in some cases, such as Katherine Johnson’s, the added burden of racism, as they made their way through college and careers in traditionally male fields. The scope is limited, but pertinent points are presented, and the text and illustrations appropriately introduce young readers to these influential women. VERDICT These well-done introductions to important female scientists should appeal to young readers.