This inspiring picture book biography shares the incredible journey of Edith Clarke from her childhood home in rural Maryland to becoming the first female electrical engineer to graduate from MIT. Much of her time in college was as a nontraditional student; she began study at Vassar "at the age most students graduate." She continued to pursue her education because of her interest in electricity and how to apply mathematics to engineering problems. Edith accomplished many firsts as a female engineer because she was persistent and curious. Illustrations show her working at her kitchen table to create a tool to help engineers plan electrical grids. Readers can also see what her "Clarke Calculator" looked like and some pages feature quotes from Edith herself. The inclusion of several rebus puzzles is an amusing axtra that highlights Edith's love of brainteasers.
Back matter includes more details about her life, photos of Edith as a child and at work at the GE lab. There are also images of the diagrams she submitted with her patent application and a photo of female "computors" at work for the Treasury Department (a job similar to Edith's first work as a "computor.") A timeline combines important dates in the spread of electricity to homes and businesses in the U.S. with major dates in Edith's life. A glossary helps with terms such as resistance and transmission. A short list provides short descriptions of other female engineers, mathematicians, and inventors. A bibliography section includes primary sources, other sources, picture credits, and suggested further reading.
A wonderful addition to library collections wanting to include more females from STEM careers in the biography section. I read an advance copy provided by the publisher for review purposes.
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