Double Helix

January 1, 2018
Grades 5-8 Zeroing in on individual pictures that fundamentally affected scientists' understanding of the universe, these titles in the Captured Science History series nicely balance explanations of historical context, key players, and the science concepts at work in each historic image. Double Helix centers around Rosalind Franklin's X-ray photo of a DNA fiber, which inspired Watson and Crick's double-helix DNA model. The author commendably explains both the importance of Franklin's contribution and Watson and Crick's arguably unethical use of her work. Large-format photos and diagrams on nearly every page spread help illustrate concepts, and accessible writing offers plenty of multidisciplinary angles, from discussions of each image's historical moment to the larger implications of the discoveries those images led to. A solid, engagingly written STEM series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)