Women’s Biographies, Spiders, And More

This is a gorgeous but infuriating picture book about Jewish chemist Rosalind Franklin, whose vital work was appropriated by male scientists. As a child in the 1920s, Franklin loved science, especially chemistry, which she initially learned about in a darkroom watching photographs develop. Her supportive parents made sure she got the education she wanted, and after graduating college, she began working with various companies in England and France. She began researching DNA at King’s College in England, where she took X-ray diffraction images of DNA. Her photo 51 showed the structure of DNA, though it would not be recognized until later, when her colleagues James Watson and Frances Crick found her photo and, using it, managed to make the first correct model of DNA. They went on to win a Nobel Prize for their work, never mentioning Franklin’s name. She had died four years earlier. Stone opens the picture book biography by admitting that this story does not have a happy ending. Yet, sharing stories like Franklin’s is so important. Even though she was not recognized during her lifetime, we can recognize her now. The soft illustrations in this are really lovely.

I had also never heard of Ella Jenkins until reading this delightful picture book biography, though I had probably seen her on Sesame Street and Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood as a child. Jenkins grew up in Chicago, loving music. She especially enjoyed Cab Calloway’s music, so when she began working as a program director at YWCA, she wrote call-and-response songs inspired by Calloway’s music for children. She studied music from all over the world, wrote memorable children’s songs, appeared on television, and was a Civil Rights activist. After reading this biography of her, you can watch videos of her performances on YouTube.

I am very picky about Frida Kahlo’s biographies because so many fail to mention or gloss over that she was disabled. This chapter biography includes Kahlo’s disability from beginning to end. It’s very hard to pull off a thorough biography of her life for kids that really captures her complexity, but I think Katz does a pretty good job. This chapter book series includes questions in each chapter, lots of illustrations, a timeline, and more. There are dozens of books in this series, many of which center women, but this one is one of my favorites. They’re great for transitional readers in early elementary school.

Here’s another important woman I had never heard of until I read this middle grade biography about her! Elizebeth Smith Friedman was America’s first female cryptanalyst. She came to the work in a roundabout way. Born in 1892, she put herself through college despite that not being the norm and her family refusing to support her. Desperate for work after graduating, she went to a library to enquire about possible job opportunities, and they put her in contact with a wealthy eccentric who was trying to work on code to analyze Shakespeare’s works. He hired her and another man to help him with the project, and when WWI hit, the two were hired as codebreakers. They continued their work during WWII and after, eventually marrying and starting a family. Because her work was so secretive, documents about her only came to light fairly recently. It’s a fascinating glimpse into her life, the discrimination women faced, and these moments in history. Comic strips at the beginning of each chapter help make this an accessible read as well. This middle grade biography releases on March 12th.