Nothing Stopped Sophie: The Story of Unshakable Mathematician Sophie Germain

by Cheryl Bardoe (Author), Cheryl Bardoe (Author), Barbara McClintock (Illustrator)

New
Picture Book
2018
$16.54

The true story of eighteenth-century mathematician Sophie Germain, who solved the unsolvable to achieve her dream.
When her parents took away her candles to keep their young daughter from studying math...nothing stopped Sophie. When a professor discovered that the homework sent to him under a male pen name came from a woman...nothing stopped Sophie. And when she tackled a math problem that male scholars said would be impossible to solve...still, nothing stopped Sophie.
For six years Sophie Germain used her love of math and her undeniable determination to test equations that would predict patterns of vibrations. She eventually became the first woman to win a grand prize from France's prestigious Academy of Sciences for her formula, which laid the groundwork for much of modern architecture (and can be seen in the book's illustrations).
Award-winning author Cheryl Bardoe's inspiring and poetic text is brought to life by acclaimed artist Barbara McClintock's intricate pen-and-ink, watercolor, and collage illustrations in this true story about a woman who let nothing stop her.

Synopsis

The true story of eighteenth-century mathematician Sophie Germain, who solved the unsolvable to achieve her dream.

When her parents took away her candles to keep their young daughter from studying math...nothing stopped Sophie. When a professor discovered that the homework sent to him under a male pen name came from a woman...nothing stopped Sophie. And when she tackled a math problem that male scholars said would be impossible to solve...still, nothing stopped Sophie.

For six years Sophie Germain used her love of math and her undeniable determination to test equations that would predict patterns of vibrations. She eventually became the first woman to win a grand prize from France's prestigious Academy of Sciences for her formula, which laid the groundwork for much of modern architecture (and can be seen in the book's illustrations).

Award-winning author Cheryl Bardoe's inspiring and poetic text is brought to life by acclaimed artist Barbara McClintock's intricate pen-and-ink, watercolor, and collage illustrations in this true story about a woman who let nothing stop her.

$16.54

Save:$1.95 (11%)

Quantity

2 in stock

More Information

Format: Picture Book
Pages: 40
Edition: Illustrated
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers US
Published: 12 Jul 2018
ISBN 10: 0316278203
ISBN 13: 9780316278201
Children’s book age: 5-7 Years

Media Reviews

* The artwork--created with pen and ink, watercolor, and collage--is truly a sight to behold.... A highly recommended choice to the growing shelf of picture book biographies featuring women in STEM.
--School Library Journal, starred review

Engaging.... Inspiring.
--Booklist
Impressive.... Bardoe and McClintock have...gone into new territory, tried new artistic techniques, and brought to life ideas that until now have never been displayed in this way in a biography for kids.... They not only succeeded but triumphed.
--Elizabeth Bird, A Fuse #8 Production

This portrait of a quiet heroine is elegant, striking, and sure to inspire.
--Kirkus Reviews

Bardoe's text is concise and clear, right down to kid-tailored explanations of Sophie's mathematical pursuits. McClintock's line and watercolor scenes are an engaging meld of literal scene-setting and whimsical mathematical symbolism. --BCCB
* Cheryl Bardoe's story brings Sophie to life for young readers. With watercolor and collage illustrations, Barbara McClintock captures not only the time period but also the complexity of the math problems that occupied Sophie's mind. ...a highly recommended addition to the growing number of books about women who have made significant contributions to knowledge yet have received little or no recognition.
--School Library Connection, starred review

Graceful and lyrical...an inspiring portrait of the plucky, self-taught mathematician.
--The Horn Book

McClintock's scenes of 18th-century France are infused with a golden glow; numbers loom along city streets and burst from Germain's quill pen. Bardoe concludes this warm biography by emphasizing how later mathematicians built upon Germain's work.
--Publishers Weekly

Bardoe writes with precision and expert pacing, using repetition...and repeated bird imagery...to pleasing effect. What McClintock accomplishes here is also a thing of wonder... McClintock puts imagination, scale, and color to work. --Julie Danielson, Kirkus

Not only a girl power book, it also makes the power of math interesting and intriguing for children. --Jill Hendrix, Fiction Addiction (Greenville, SC)

Sophie Germain is a girl who loves math. And when she discovers that math is the basis for so many things in the world, she's even more obsessed. And she's not going to let anyone stop her, even when they tell her that math isn't for girls or that a particular problem is just unsolvable. This true story will resonate with math lovers as well as those who want to read about strong-willed female role models. --Melissa Oates, Fiction Addiction (Greenville, SC)

Author Bio

Cheryl Bardoe is the author of Gregor Mendel: The Friar Who Grew Peas, an Orbis Pictus Honor Book, an ALA Notable book, and an IRA Notable book; Mammoths and Mastodons: Titans of the Ice Age, an Orbis Pictus Honor Book, a Bank Street Best Children's Books selection, and a Junior Library Guild selection; and The Ugly Duckling Dino. She lives in Chicago with her family.

Barbara McClintock has illustrated over forty books for children including My Grandfather's Coat, The Gingerbread Man, and her own highly acclaimed Adele and Simon series. Her books have been honored five times as New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books, among many other awards, citations, and starred reviews. She lives in Connecticut with her husband, the artist David Johnson.