Ada Lovelace, Poet of Science

August 15, 2016
Stanley (Mozart: The Wonder Child) delivers a breezy but insightful overview of the curiosity and determination that drove Ada Lovelace (1815–1852) to pursue her intellectual passions, tracing her childhood dreams of flight, her friendship and working relationship with Charles Babbage, and her pioneering programming work in service of promoting Babbage’s Analytical Machine. Hartland (How the Meteorite Got to the Museum) keeps the mood light in loopy gouache cartoons that humorously portray Lovelace as the creative and intelligent product of parents “as different as chalk and cheese”; in facing family portraits, the “rational, respectable, and strict” Lady Byron stares uncomfortably at her husband, Lord Byron, who looks rakish in multiple senses of the word. An author’s note and timeline conclude a thoroughly engaging look at a trailblazing mathematical mind. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Marcia Wernick, Wernick & Pratt. Illustrator’s agent: Brenda Bowen, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates.

Stanley surveys the brief life of Byron's daughter, whose scientific education and inquiring mind shaped her foundational contributions to computer science.Raised by the hyperrational Lady Byron, Ada's creative ingenuity is shaped by the study of math and science. Touring newly industrialized factories, Ada's fascinated by Jacquard's mechanical loom, which uses encoded, hole-punched paper cards to weave fabrics from plaids to brocades. Introduced to London society at 17, Ada is flummoxed by fashion and gossip, but she's entranced once introduced to mathematician Charles Babbage and his circle of scientists and writers. Encountering Babbage's "Difference Engine"--a prototypical calculating machine--Ada forms a pivotal connection with the inventor. Marriage and children follow for Lovelace, but her later translation of an article about Babbage's proposed "Analytical Engine" secures their partnership's significance within the incremental timeline of machine science. Ada's extensive Notes explain how to encode complex calculations, marking her own unique contribution. Stanley efficiently takes readers through Ada's childhood and career, choosing details that develop her subject as both a human being and a landmark scientist. Complementing the clear prose, Hartland's whimsical gouache pictures portray white figures with coral lips and in period dress. Gestural brushstrokes loosely evoke landscapes and interiors, yet scores of objects--from book titles and period toys to an omnipresent cat--provide plentiful visual interest. Pithy narrative plus charming pictures equals an admiring, admirable portrait of a STEM pioneer. (author's note, important dates, bibliography of adult sources, glossary) (Picture book/biography. 5-8) COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 1, 2016

Gr 3-5-Beginning with "Long, long ago," this title is a colorful, storylike take on Ada Lovelace and her ingenuity. The text frames young Lovelace as a curious though lonely child straddling a stern mother and absent father. ("Ada's parents were as different as chalk and cheese.") The narrative follows Lovelace's life from childhood through adulthood. Highlights include an influential visit to a factory, Lovelace's chance meeting and friendship with Charles Babbage, and her meticulous, step-by-step detail of how to code the numbers of the Bernoulli. The illustrations, done in gouache, are wildly imaginative and portray Lovelace as full of undulating energy and creativity. The ending spread shows Lovelace flying over a futurelike cityscape with billboards littered with contemporary technology references (the Apple logo). The text briefly touches upon such topics as the Industrial Revolution, though students will likely crave more information on the time period. VERDICT Great for read-alouds and lesson plans on coding.-Shannan Hicks, J.S. Clark Elementary School Library, LA

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from June 1, 2016
Grades 2-4 *Starred Review* Stanley has been delighting and informing readers with her biographies for years, and here her considerable talents are once again on display. Ada, the daughter of the poet Lord Byron and Annabella Milbanke, inherited the best qualities of both: her father's imagination and her mother's bent for science. When, as a girl, she was taken to a factory and shown how the patterns in the machines were changed with punch cards, she began to realize the potential of punch-card technology. Although encouraged to become a wife and mother (which she did), Lovelace found an outlet for her scientific talents through her work with Charles Babbage, who was developing an early version of the computer, the Analytical Engine. Lovelace's job was to write notes on the invention, and in doing so she came up with the first algorithm. Children may not quite understand every scientific nuance, but what they will see in abundance is a woman who is as intriguing as she is smart. Hartland's charmingly busy art, reminiscent of Maira Kalman's work, is full of witcalculations sweep across pagesand meshes well with Stanley's inviting text. This is a solid addition to STEM studies, yes, but also a great choice for any biography lovers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)