Customer Reviews

The Sky's the Limit: Stories of Discovery by Women and Girls

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As a woman who has never had much interest in science or mathematics, I find myself constantly tipping my hat to those members of my gender who take to it naturally. And as a children's librarian, I've found that it's a good idea to find books about female leaders in these fields for those burgeoning geniuses amongst us. I first heard of "The Sky's the Limit" while living in Minnesota. The author, Catherine Thimmesh, is a Minnesotan resident with a keen interest in creating well-written books about outstanding people with XX chromosomes. As a follow-up to her previous title, "Girls Think of Everything", "The Sky's the Limit" is a remarkable and insightful piece of work within its own right.

"The Sky's the Limit" is about those women who've discovered things. It doesn't matter if those things include dinosaur bones, the fact that chimpanzees use tools, or dark matter. In this book, women (and girls) are responsible for big changes in the world. Through Thimmesh's readable text, readers learn about everything from cuneiform script to the creativity of the Anasazi Indians. Best of all, Thimmesh's final chapter is about contemporary girls and the contributions they have made as well. These discoveries aren't cutesy taglines to the book either. One girl discovered for a science fair project that vegetables grown in soil that contained lead-based paint chips grew with dangerously high levels of lead in the fruits and vegetables themselves. Other girls have found alternative methods of destroying/recycling excess bluegrass as well as inexpensive methods of making bacteria-ridden pond water potable. These may be young girls, but their discoveries are anything but small.

The women in this book are supposed to fall into the category of "discoverers". There are, however, a few notable exceptions. I was delighted to read the story of crazed innovator June Moxon and her quest to drive her original shoe-shaped kinetic sculpture across America. The only problem is that she doesn't really belong in this book. What Ms. Moxon did was an act of freedom and originality. Not discovery, really. Perhaps she discovered something unique about herself and others (the books says as much) but that's stretching the subject area just a tad. Thimmesh for her part is an especially engaging writer, finding just the right balance between fact and fancy. If I've any qualms with the layout in this book, it may be that I wish Thimmesh had included birth dates, just to place the women in this book in context. Otherwise she can do little wrong.

Illustrator Melissa Sweet is just a bit less constant. Many of these illustrations are original collages that draw the eye around the page. Sweet is less adept at diagrams. Too often she relies on her own hand-drawn representations when photographs would have been ideal. The story of June Moxon may be out of place, but I would have loved to have seen her kinetic sculpture in the shape of a woman's high-heeled shoe. Instead, we have only Sweet's sketched version, and there's no telling how accurate this really is. If I could have made any changes at all, I'd have thrown out half the hastily drawn sketches and popped in some lush color photographs for flavor.

Still, I doubt you'll find many other women-centric science titles that are half so engaging as, "The Sky's the Limit". If you've your own budding genius in the works, male or female, be sure to give them a taste of what human beings are capable of. A fine book and a fine title.

I love the writing in this book. I read Catherine Thimmesh's other book, Girls Think of Everything, and I was really surprised to learn how much girls have contributed to this world. So I was happy to know that they've discovered lots of stuff, too. What they don't tell you in history class!! Thimmesh is a snappy writer, putting only the most interesting parts into her descriptions. GREAT GIFT for any girl you know. Maybe that's EVERY girl you know. Read it ... GIRLS ROCK!!!

A thoroughly enjoyable look at some women and girls in science. Well written and interestingly presented research. Mentions some well known and some lesser known scientists. Has a section on top science fair projects prepared by girls. Superb book design. Uses collage and watercolor creating a log book/scrap book effect. Karen Woodworth-Roman, Children's Science Book Review