Rosalind Franklin: DNA Discoverer

November 1, 2017

Gr 7 Up-The texts all call particular attention to obstacles faced by professional women in the not so distant past. When kindergartner Mae Carol Jemison says she wants to be a scientist, the teacher asks, "Don't you mean a nurse?" Jane Goodall's groundbreaking work in chimpanzee ethology is repeatedly dismissed by male colleagues. Much effort is given to explaining each woman's contribution to her field and elucidating the often complex science involved, such as Grace Hopper's multiple contributions to automating software development. Nearly every page includes some visual element, whether a diagram, photograph, or topical focus. Sidebars offer historical context, as, for example, an overview of school desegregation in Jemison's biography or the 1930s Japanese occupation of much of China in Chien-Shiung Wu's. Each volume concludes with detailed chapter notes as well as an annotated list of organizations to contact for information and suggested additional resources. VERDICT First-rate research materials and engaging and informative stories for tweens and young teens.

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December 1, 2017
Grades 7-10 From the Women in Science series, this informative biography profiles Rosalind Franklin, best known for her groundbreaking research on the structure of DNA. Well educated, she completed the coursework for a degree in physical chemistry in 1941, but could not receive it until 1947, when Cambridge changed its policy on granting degrees to women. After researching coal during the war years, she moved to France, where she learned X-ray crystallography. Returning to Cambridge, she applied that technology in creating images of the DNA molecule. Throughout the book, photos offer glimpses of Franklin, her work, and her world, but the book's strength lies in its lucid portrayal of her upbringing, personality, and attitudes, as well as her sometimes difficult professional relationships with individual researchers in the almost all-male community of scientists at Cambridge. The main text and sidebars clearly explain the scientific research that so fully engaged her. A strong portrayal of the woman Streissguth calls a leading symbol of the often-neglected contributions of women to scientific knowledge. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)