Queen of Physics

How WU CHIEN SHIUNG
Helped Unlock
the Secrets of the Atom

Sterling Children's Press
(pub. 10.8.2019) 
48 pages

A True Tale with

A Cherry On Top   

A uthor: Teresa Robeson
    and illustrator:  Rebecca Huang

 
C haracter: Wu Chien Shiung

O verview: 
     "When Wu Chien Shiung was born in China in the early 1900s, girls typically did not attend school. They weren't considered as smart as boys. But her parents thought differently, so they gave her a name meaning 'courageous hero' and encouraged her love of learning and science.
     Wu Chien Shung found her passion in physics, which took her from her small hometown of Liuhe to the National Central University in Nanjing and then all the way to the United States. She became such an exceptional physicist that other scientist asked her for help running experiments. Even then, she didn't always get the jobs she wanted or the credit she deserved ... But she pushed back against the prejudice with dignity..."

T antalizing taste: 
     "Even before Wu Cien Shiung arrived in the world, Baba [her father] had quit his  job as an engineer, and opened a school just for girls.
      Mama wore out her shoes trudging to every house in Liuhe to urge families to educate their daughters.
     So when Chien Shiung was ready, a school was waiting for her.
     Baba was the principal and Mama the techer, teaching little girls to read and write and count.
    Baba and Mama were courageous, too, as they showed their daughter the way."

And something more: Wu Chien Shiung's Story at the back of the book includes a list of her impressive accomplishments and explains the title of the  book: "It is no wonder Newsweek magazine called her the queen of physics (May 20, 1964)."