LitPick Review
Finding Wonders: Three Girls Who Changed Science by Jeannine Atkins tells the story of Maria Merian, Mary Anning, and Maria Mitchell, three young women who each had a great passion for science.
Maria Merian lived in Germany in the 1600s, a time when most people believed in superstition, not science. She wanted to prove that caterpillars, butterflies, moths, and silkworms were not evil but were a beautiful part of nature.
Mary Anning, a poor girl who lived in England in the early 1800s, sold small fossils to help her family make a living. Her life changed completely when she discovered a gigantic fossil, providing evidence that prehistoric creatures once swam in the sea.
Maria Mitchell spent much of her childhood in 1830s Nantucket, Massachusetts, helping her father make charts and maps of the sky. Her fascination with the night sky eventually led to her becoming an astronomy professor and discovering a comet. Although history has generally overlooked these women, each made discoveries far beyond their time.
Opinion:
Finding Wonders by Jeannine Atkins was a fascinating book. I believe that it would be inspiring for both boys and girls, especially those interested in science. I found this book to be a fast read. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book, despite it being in poem format. The author used vivid descriptions to paint a picture as she was telling the story of each of the three girls. I highly recommend Finding Wonders: Three Girls Who Changed Science to anyone in 3rd to 8th grade who would like to learn about some interesting women they might not encounter in science or history class.
