Numbers in Motion

Sophie Kowalevski, Queen of Mathematics

Creston Books

(pub. 3.3.2020) 

32 pages

A True Tale with

A Cherry On Top   

A uthor: Laurie Wallmark
       and illustrator: Yevgenia Nayberg

C haracter: Sophie Kowalevski

O verview:

       

    "Sophie Kowalevski was both a brilliant mathematician and a talented writer. Creative work nurtured her mathematical research, giving her a flexibility of thought she treasured. A wonderful STEAM figure, she not only did mathematical research, but she also created many literary works. This inspiring title tells the story of Sophie's journey as the first woman to receive a doctorate in mathematics, which required original research, holding a university chair in mathematics, and becoming the editor of a major scientific journal."

T antalizing taste: 

     "As a young girl, Sophie paid little attention to the toys scattered about her bedroom. Instead, she spent hours staring at pages and pages of  math problems covering her walls from floor to ceiling. When her father had run out of wallpaper for their new home, he had pasted his old college math notes on her walls instead.

      With her finger, Sophie traced the mysterious numbers and symbols, searching for patterns. She was fascinated by the secret language of calculus. Although she couldn't yet understand  it, that didn't matter. It was if the concepts were entering through her fingertips, travelling up her arm, and finding a home deep inside her brain."

And something more:  The Author's Note explains that "Sophie was the first woman to be a professional mathematician since Hypatia in fifth century Egypt." And "while teaching and doing mathematical research, Sophie still found the time to write a memoir, novel, short stories, newspaper articles, two plays, and hundreds of poems. Her most famous work, Nihilist Girl, is a novel about a young aristocratic woman who wants to devote her life to social justice. Through this story, Sophie made the argument that women should have the same opportunities and freedoms as men."

    Happy International Women's Day!

Grace Hopper

Queen of Computer Code

Sterling Children's Books

(pub. 5.16.2017)
48 pages

A True Tale with
A Cherry On Top   

A uthor: Laurie Wallmark
      and illustrator: Katy Wu

C haracter: Grace Hopper

O verview from the jacket flap: 

     "Meet Grace Hopper: the woman who revolutionized computer coding.
     An ace inventor, groundbreaker, and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, she coined the term 'computer bug" and developed the program that taught computers to recognize words and not just endless O's and 1's. GRACE HOPPER tells the inspirational story of this brilliant woman who had a passion for science and math and the firm belief that new solutions to problems were not found by those who said 'We've always done it this way.'
     RULE BREAKER.
     CHANCE TAKER.
     TROUBLEMAKER.
     AMAZING GRACE."

T antalizing taste:  "Maybe the problem wasn't in her program. Maybe it was in the computer....Grace and her team searched everywhere for the problem... The engineers were stumped. They had checked everything. What could be causing the problem?
     Then someone saw it - a moth was trapped inside, blocking a switch from working properly.
     One of the engineers borrowed Grace's eyebrow tweezers and removed the dead moth. The computer started up again with no problem....
     Ever since then, because of Grace's sense of humor, computer glitches have been called 'bugs'."  
 

and something more: I enjoyed learning about Grace Hopper's contribution to computer programing, including the wonderful anecdote about the origin of the term 'computer bug.' The back matter of the book states that "Grace would be especially delighted to know that the Google Doodle created in honor of what would have been her 107th birthday includes the infamous 'computer bug.'"