The First Woman Doctor (Scholastic Biography) [Paperback]

Rachel Baker (Author), Evelyn Copelman (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1987 | Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: Scholastic Biography

A biography of a strong and dedicated woman who successfully worked for the recognition of women in the field of medicine in both the United States and Great Britain.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks (October 1, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 059044767X
• ISBN-13: 978-0590447676
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #427,528 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #87 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Specific Groups > Women
  • #98 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Girls & Women > Nonfiction

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Hard for child to read, December 12, 2004

By 

literary amateur "mathie bill" (Worcester, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The First Woman Doctor (Scholastic Biography) (Paperback)

This is an important story about a woman who did amazing things. One feature that stands out is her interaction with so many other influential characters of her day. (Though this may simply be a result of the way biographers obtain their material.)

The reader must note that the book was originally written in 1944 and therefore the writing style is very challenging (and even dull, in spite of the amazing tale that is to be told) for an 8-year-old. The sentences are convoluted, the dialogue -- which is quite sparse to begin with -- is confusing, and many archaic words are used. My 8-year-old, who has torn through 700 pages of Harry Potter, was very excited to conquer this 188-page biography but got stuck very early on and it was like pulling teeth to get her beyond Chapter 4.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The First woman doctor, June 4, 2002

By 

Shannon (CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The First Woman Doctor (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) (Scholastic Biography) (School & Library Binding)

One day I decided I wanted to read a Non Fiction book. When I was looking through my bookcase and I found a book called The First Woman Doctor. I decided to read it because I would like to become a pediatrician some day. I began to read the book and I thought the book had a lot of descriptive words. I could tell that this book was going to be an interesting book.

The book was about a girl named Elizabeth Blackwell who wanted to become a doctor. Unfortunately for her there weren't any medical schools that would let her in because she was a girl. Then the Geneva Medical College let her in because they wanted to play a joke on her. Elizabeth became a doctor and she also gave other girls a chance to become a doctor.

My favorite part of the book was when she finally reached her goal to becoming a doctor. What I really admire was her perseverance to accomplishing the task of becoming the first woman doctor. If it was not for her I think there would still have no women doctors today.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Informative but disappointing, July 27, 2000

By 

Karen Nelson (Takoma Park, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The First Woman Doctor (Scholastic Biography) (Paperback)

I got this book to read out loud to my children. They seem to enjoy it (after all, Blackwell's story is fascinating and inspiring!), but I have been disappointed. The characters are rather flat, there is a lot of repetition, and the author moralizes a great deal. I have ended up reading only excerpts from it as I can't stand to slog through the whole thing. Although the book has been informative on the barriers that Blackwell overcame and on her accomplishments, I wish there was more social, historical, and medical context.