Hurrah for Women’s History Month! In this book list, we showcase some of our favorite biographies about past female pioneers who blazed a trail in science, technology, engineering, or math. But biographies only scratch the surface. We encourage you to also dig into STEM titles that feature contemporary women working in STEM fields. Your children might discover a new role model or career!
Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women by Catherine Thimmesh
This updated collective biography has some new inventors to inspire young readers including, Alissa Chavez, a Latinx teen who invented the Hot Seat to prevent infant deaths in hot cars; Azza Abdelhamid Faiad, an Egyptian teen who devised a method of turning recycled plastic into fuel; and Kiara Nirghin, a South African teen who came up with a way to fight drought using the absorbency of orange peels.
Super Women: Six Scientists Who Changed the World by Laurie Lawlor
Read about six extraordinary scientists, including an ichthyologist, a cartographer, an anthropologist, a pharmacologist, and an astrophysicist in this informative collective biography.
Women in Science: 50 Fearless pioneers Who Changed The World by Rachel Ignotofsky
Check out this popular collective biography if you haven’t already. It is a great addition to your classroom science shelf and a wonderful resource.
Finding Wonders: Three Girls Who Changed Science by Jeannine Atkins
Jeannine Atkins beautifully tells the tales of Maria Merian, Mary Anning, and Maria Mitchell through verse.
The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian’s Art Changed Science by Joyce Sidman
This multi-award winning title of Maria Merian’s life is exceptionally crafted with words and illustrations. A must read!
Hidden Figures Young Readers’ Edition by Margot Lee Shetterly
This edition brings an important story to young readers. A great selection for parent/child book clubs!
Pure Grit: How American World War II Nurses Survived Battle and Prison Camp in the Pacific by Mary Cronk Farrell
Mary Cronk Farrell shines a light on the important World War II nurses in this biography. Exceptionally researched and well told.
Radioactive: How Irene Curie and Lise Meitner Revolutionized Science and Changed the World by Winifred Conkling
Learn more about these two groundbreaking physicists contributed to the creation of the atomic bomb. This is a great companion book to Steve Sheinkin’s BOMB.
Marie Curie for Kids: Her Life and Scientific Discoveries, with 21 Activities and Experiments by Amy O’Quinn
This terrific hands-on biography brings Marie Curie’s life and science to young readers.
For a selection of titles that feature today’s female scientists, be sure to check out the following:
- Scientists in the Field titles, including
- Emi and the Rhino Scientist by Mary Kay Carson and Tom Uhlman
- The Elephant Scientist by Caitlin O’Connell and Donna M. Jackson
- The Hyena Scientist by Sy Montgomery
- Sea Turtle Scientist by Stephen R. Swinburne
- Zoology: Cool Women Who Work With Animals by Jennifer Swanson
- Astronaut-Aquanaut: How Space Science and Sea Science Interact by Jennifer Swanson
- Beastly Brains: Exploring How Animals Think, Talk, and Feel by Nancy Castaldo
- The Plant Hunters by Anita Silvey
- Three Patricia Newman titles:
- Plastic, Ahoy! Investigating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (with Annie Crawley)
- Eavesdropping on Elephants: How Listening Helps Conservation
- Zoo Scientists to the Rescue (with Annie Crawley)
- Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World by Sy Montgomery
- Something Rotten: A Fresh Look at Roadkill by Heather L. Montgomery and Kevin O’Malley
STEM Tuesday book lists prepared by:
Nancy Castaldo has written books about our planet for over 20 years including, THE STORY OF SEEDS: From Mendel’s Garden to Your Plate, and How There’s More of Less To Eat Around The World, which earned the Green Earth Book Award, Junior Library Guild Selection, and other honors. Nancy’s research has taken her all over the world from the Galapagos to Russia. She strives to inform, inspire, and educate her readers. Nancy also serves as the Regional Advisor of the Eastern NY SCBWI region. Her 2018 multi-starred title is BACK FROM THE BRINK: Saving Animals from Extinction. Visit her at www.nancycastaldo.com
Patricia Newman writes middle-grade nonfiction that inspires kids to seek connections between science, literacy, and the environment. The recipient of a Sibert Honor for Sea Otter Heroes and the Green Earth Book Award for Plastic, Ahoy!, her books have received starred reviews, been honored as Junior Library Guild Selections, and included on Bank Street College’s Best Books lists. New: Eavesdropping on Elephants: How Listening Helps Conservation, an NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book. During author visits, she demonstrates how her writing skills give a voice to our beleaguered environment. Visit her at www.patriciamnewman.com.
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