Innovative Women in the World of Science Depicted in Engaging Biographical Chapter Book

Most schools are using the innovative STEM curriculum now and girls are encouraged to participate in learning about the large variety of careers that are available to women. Melina Gerosa Bellows and Katie Hafner have compiled a collection of biographies of innovative women who were involved in STEM before it was in existence. Girls will find this collection of biographies with career accomplishments for each to be inspirational. The Lost Women of Science is an important contribution to learn about careers in STEM for girls.

These women who are featured in the book conducted experiments that broke ground for many in the fields of medicine, computer science, and many more fields in the science world. Each woman contributed major accomplishments in her own field.

These are just a few of the women who are featured in the biographical chapter book. Most are little known and are considered to be The Lost Women of Science.

Eunice Newton-Foote is notable for her work in climate science and is known as the mother of climate science. She introduced the concept of the world getting warmer and the "why" behind the idea of climate change. She was the first person to introduce the idea of the greenhouse effect. Flora Patterson is known for her work with the world of plants. She introduced the screening process for plants entering the US from foreign countries. Dr. Sarah Fraser was one of the first Black female doctors in the United States and the Dominican Republic. Elizabeth Friedman centered her career on the field of coding. She promoted the career of codebreaking and was the first woman to help lead US code-breaking military units. Dr. Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin studied the stars and was the first person to receive a PhD from Harvard in the field of astronomy. There are many more innovative women who are featured in this engaging book about important and less known women from the world of science.

Karyn Lee contributed her talents as an illustrator for The Lost Women of Science. Black and white illustrations feature each woman with her contributions to the world of scientific accomplishments.

The Lost Women of Science was published by Bright Matter Books, a division of Penguin/Random House. It is recommended for ages 8-12 and has an ISBN of 978-0-593-89671-6.

Teachers who teach science classes in later elementary classrooms will want to add this engaging and educational chapter book to their classroom library. Girls are encouraged to participate in science activities and are greatly needed as women to pursue a career in one of the challenging careers in STEM. Each woman who is featured in this biographical chapter book is inspirational and accomplished in her own field. There is a wealth of career ideas that girls might be inspired to enter and create a major accomplishment of their own someday.

*Assign The Lost Women of Science to be read individually. Assign a creative writing activity for students to choose their favorite woman to write about with an explanation of why they are a favorite.

*Engage students in a discussion of a variety of the career fields that are featured in the book. Take a class poll of the field that your students might like to pursue.

*A comprehensive bibliography of additional resources is included in the book. Websites are included along with additional books about these featured women. A list of museums is also included for exploration in science accomplishments.

Katie Hafner hosts and co-created the award-winning podcast The Lost Women of Science. She has worked as a reporter for The New York Times. She has also contributed to Esquire, Wired, and O. She has covered women in STEM for over thirty years.

Melina Bellows is president of the Fun Factory Press, a publishing business that specializes in nonfiction content for children. She created the National Geographic Kids Almanac.

Karyn Lee is a talented illustrator who specializes in designing children's books.