A few months ago, I was walking around the library looking for picture books when I found some treasures: picture books about women in science. After I shared a few on Instagram, I thought, why not make a whole post? It turned out our library had plenty more, and I’m so glad I kept looking.
I love picture books biographies because it is such a great way to teach your child about the life of important people who have made a difference in the world. It is also a great way to show kids that curiosity leads to inspiration that can lead to important things. Every woman on this list was told “no” at some point, and every one of them kept going anyway. Some were laughed at, some were left out, and some just loved something nobody else understood. (Sharks and Komodo dragons, anyone?)
Here are 12 true stories I’d love for every kid to know, whether they’re your little scientist or not.
1. Temple Grandin
Picture book: The Girl Who Thought in Pictures: The Story of Dr. Temple Grandin
Author: Julia Finley Mosca (illustrated by Daniel Rieley)
Known for: Designing better, kinder ways to care for farm animals, and helping the world understand autism
Summary: Temple was different. She thought in pictures instead of words, and as a little girl she didn’t talk until she was almost four. Lots of people didn’t think she would amount to much. But Temple used the way her mind worked to become one of the most famous animal scientists in the world. The whole book rhymes, so it’s so fun to read aloud.
2. Patricia Bath
Picture book: Patricia’s Vision: The doctor who saved sight
Author: Michelle Lord (illustrated by Alleanna Harris)
Known for: Inventing a laser tool for cataract surgery that has helped people all over the world see again
Summary: Patricia grew up in Harlem dreaming of being a doctor at a time when very few Black women were. She worked hard, kept asking questions, and became an eye doctor and inventor.
3. Eugenie Clark
Picture book: Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean’s Most Fearless Scientist
Author: Jess Keating (illustrated by Marta Álvarez Miguéns)
Known for: Studying sharks and showing the world they weren’t the mindless monsters people thought they were
Summary: It all started with a trip to the aquarium. Little Eugenie pressed her face to the glass and fell in love with sharks. People told her girls couldn’t be scientists, but she grew up to dive with sharks and make big discoveries about them. If you have a shark-loving kid, this one’s a must.
4. Joan Procter
Picture book: Joan Procter, Dragon Doctor: The Woman Who Loved Reptiles
Author: Patricia Valdez (illustrated by Felicita Sala)
Known for: Being a reptile expert at the British Museum and designing the Reptile House at the London Zoo
Summary: While other girls played with dolls, Joan had tea parties with lizards. (She even brought a crocodile to school!) She grew up to work with reptiles at the British Museum and the London Zoo, where she cared for the Komodo dragons everyone else was scared of.
5. Mary Anning
Picture book: Dinosaur Lady: The Daring Discoveries of Mary Anning, the First Paleontologist
Author: Linda Skeers (illustrated by Marta Álvarez Miguéns)
Known for: Finding some of the first fossils of ancient sea creatures, and helping start the study of dinosaurs and fossils
Summary: This story was fascinating to me. I had no idea that a woman was behind discovering some of the first marine dinosaurs. Mary grew up poor by the sea in England, hunting for fossils on the beach to help her family. She found an amazing skeleton when she was just a girl! Her love for fossils took her far and she was later recognized as an expert in her field at a time when women were still trying to make their mark. Kids who love dinosaurs (and digging in the dirt) will love her.
A heads-up for parents: It mentions her father’s death and that she was struck by lightning as a baby.
6. Katherine Johnson
Picture book: A Computer Called Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Helped Put America on the Moon
Author: Suzanne Slade (illustrated by Veronica Miller Jamison)
Known for: Doing the math for NASA’s first spaceflights, including the trip to the moon
Summary: Katherine loved numbers so much she skipped grades and started college as a teenager. Back then, “computers” were people, and she became one of NASA’s best. She asked lots of questions and showed up to meetings that were only for men. I love how the book uses wrong math problems to show how wrong it was to treat her unfairly.
A heads-up for parents: It touches on segregation and how Black women were treated at the time. It’s honest but gentle.
7. The Women of Hidden Figures
Picture book: Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race
Author: Margot Lee Shetterly with Winifred Conkling (illustrated by Laura Freeman)
Known for: Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden were mathematicians and engineers whose work helped send Americans into space
Summary: This book is little more wordy and lengthy than the others. If you’ve seen the movie, you’ll love this one! It tells the story of four brilliant women who worked at NASA when most people didn’t think women, especially Black women, belonged there. It has more words than most picture books, so it’s great for slightly older kids. And it pairs perfectly with A Computer Called Katherine. There is a chapter book also written for older kids.
8. Mae Jemison
Picture book: Mae Among the Stars
Author: Roda Ahmed (illustrated by Stasia Burrington)
Known for: Being the first African American woman to travel to space, and also a doctor and engineer
Summary: I love how this story is written. It starts of with her parents encouraging her to dream. Little Mae dreamed of dancing in space. When she told her teacher she wanted to be an astronaut, she was told to pick something more “realistic.” But her parents told her, “If you believe it and work hard for it, anything is possible.” I love that this book shows how much her parents’ encouragement mattered. It’s the gentlest book on the list, so it’s great for younger kids.
9. Marie Curie and Bronia Dluska
Picture book: Sisters in Science: Marie Curie, Bronia Dluska, and the Atomic Power of Sisterhood
Author: Linda Elovitz Marshall (illustrated by Anna and Elena Balbusso)
Known for: Marie discovered radium and polonium and won two Nobel Prizes. Her sister Bronia became a doctor and opened a hospital.
Summary: Everyone knows Marie Curie, but did you know she might never have made it without her big sister? Girls weren’t allowed to go to college in Poland back then, so the two sisters made a deal. Marie worked as a tutor to pay for Bronia’s medical school in Paris, and then Bronia helped pay for Marie’s studies. I love that this book is as much about sisterhood as it is about science. (Fun fact: it’s illustrated by twin sisters!) It’s perfect if you have sisters at home. Ages 4 to 8.
A heads-up for parents: The sisters lose their mother and another sister to illness when they’re young. It’s mentioned briefly but could bring up questions.
10. Margaret Hamilton
Picture book: Margaret and the Moon: How Margaret Hamilton Saved the First Lunar Landing
Author: Dean Robbins (illustrated by Lucy Knisley)
Known for: Writing the computer code that helped get Apollo 11 to the moon
Summary: Margaret loved numbers as a little girl. She even knew how many miles it was to the moon (and back!). She asked a lot of questions, like why more girls didn’t grow up to be scientists. That curiosity took her all the way to MIT and NASA. When the Apollo 11 landing ran into trouble, her code saved the day.
11. Eunice Newton Foote
Picture book: Foote Was First!: How One Curious Woman Connected Carbon Dioxide and Climate Change
Author: Jen Bryant (illustrated by Amy June Bates)
Known for: Early experiments connecting carbon dioxide with a warmer climate
Summary: This book throws light on a woman who sadly did not receive due credit in the moment of her discovery. Eunice Newton Foote proved that carbon dioxide warmed more than ordinary air in sunlight. Her work helped connect carbon dioxide with a warmer climate, but her contribution was overlooked for years. This picture book introduces kids to a curious woman who kept asking questions and testing her ideas no matter what.
12. Nan Songer
Picture book: The Spider Lady: Nan Songer and Her Arachnid World War II Army
Author: Penny Parker Klostermann (illustrated by Anne Lambelet)
Known for: Raising spiders and collecting their silk for military optical instruments during World War II
Summary: Would you fill your house with spiders? I know a kid in my home who will run as far as possible if that happened. Nan Songer however was not afraid! She studied them and found ways to collect their silk without harming them. During World War II, she supplied the fine silk used to make crosshairs in military optical instruments. Her collection included thousands of spiders, even black widows.
Bonus: Eleanor Prentiss
Picture book: Dare the Wind: The Record-Breaking Voyage of Eleanor Prentiss and the Flying Cloud
Author: Tracey Fern (illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully)
Known for: Navigating the clipper ship Flying Cloud from New York to San Francisco in record time in 1851
Summary: This book is an exception. Eleanor wasn’t a scientist. She was a navigator, and a wildly accomplished one. Ellen’s papa said she was born with saltwater in her veins. So he taught her to sail and to navigate using math and stars. She grew up and married a sea captain, then navigated his ship around the tip of South America during the Gold Rush. She was the first woman to navigate a ship on a voyage of 89 days, and then beat her own record.
How to Use This List
Read biographies of topics your child has an actual interest in, then slowly introduce other topics and show them the smart people who accomplished it.
A useful tip to remember is to also read the full biography that can usually be found at the end of the book. It is usually a page or two but will go into more details that the picture book could not include. It is a great way to further learn about these important figures.
I hope these stories remind your kids that being curious is a gift, and that hard work and a little courage can take them a long way.
If you liked this post, you may also like:
- 10 Picture Book Biographies of Authors Kids Will Love
- Nonfiction Books to Help Your Child Build Knowledge of the World
- Tips for Supporting Your Child’s Love for Rocks
- 10 Best Picture Books for 5-Year-Olds
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