Daniel Hale Williams: Surgeon Who Opened Hearts and Minds (Getting to Know the World's Greatest Inventors & Scientists) [Library Binding]

Mike Venezia (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2010 | Age Level: 6 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up | Series: Getting to Know the World's Greatest Inventors & Scientists

These books are without a doubt the definitive and most entertaining biographies of scientists for young readers. Author and artist Mike Venezia provides hilarious, cartoon-style illustrations to complement his easy-to-read text and full-color reproductions of the scientists' sketches and notebooks.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-4 These large-font, chatty biographies are easy to read and will fulfill most basic report requirements. The illustrations range from period photographs with excellent captions to humorous cartoons. Venezia's tone is casual, almost to the point of being distracting. The adjective super (e.g., super wealthy, super successful, etc.) is overused. Also, in some titles, there are gaps of unexplained white space. There are few juvenile biographies about Williams, who performed one of the first successful open-chest cavity surgeries. His legacy of fighting segregation in the medical community deserves a wide audience. The title about Jobs and Wozniak is useful, as it is one of the few recent biographies about two people who revolutionized the world through their work with computers. Goodall and Wright Brothers are serviceable additions. With the exception of Williams, the books do an excellent job of relating how childhood passions led to life- and world-changing discoveries and inventions. Since Williams worked throughout his childhood, little time existed for development of childhood interests. Lisa Crandall, formerly at Capital Area District Library, Holt, MI
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From Booklist

It’s not often you find a good nonfiction writer also blessed with the gift of cartooning, but Venezia pulls off that double duty in the Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Inventors & Scientists series. Taking on pioneers of all stripes, Venezia combines a chatty text (characters get “freaked out” or are “super-successful”) with a prudent mixture of period photographs and rascally cartoons. The hero of Daniel Hale Williams (or Dan, as Venezia prefers to call him) not only performed one of the first successful heart operations in 1893 but also made great strides in opening up top-quality medical access to African Americans. Though the back matter is thin, this is a fun package that will keep things fresh, even for reluctant readers. Grades 2-4. --Daniel Kraus

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Library Binding: 32 pages
• Publisher: Children's Press (March 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 053123729X
• ISBN-13: 978-0531237298
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 8.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,214,549 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mike Venezia is the author of several nonfiction books for children from the Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists series. Books

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars excellent book introducing children to Dr. Williams' work, January 3, 2011

By 

Robert W. Smith "Robert Smith, Ph.D." (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Daniel Hale Williams: Surgeon Who Opened Hearts and Minds (Getting to Know the World's Greatest Inventors & Scientists) (Paperback)

This booklet is written for children around 10 years of age. It provides very good background information on Dr. Williams and the contributions that he made to science and health care, being, as we know, the first surgeon to perform open heart surgery and personally scrubbed surgical rooms for sanitation back when that was not yet common practice. This book provides a model for many children to better themselves, obtain an education, and strive to improve / make contributions to their chosen field. The graphics are fine. The story contains about 20 or so highlights of his professional life. It's $7, and is part of Amazon's 4 for 3 program, so for $21 we can get 4 nice quality children's books. I think that this is a nice addition for most school and public libraries, historical / medical bookstores, and of course individuals. I give everything a grade and this booklet I believe merits a "B+".