I am reviewing books through the Blogging for Books program in an effort to support my community’s Little Free Library, thus the addition of book reviews outside of the usual sexual health topics to Your Sexy Librarian postings. After being reviewed, the book gets stamped “Always a Gift, Never for Sale” and placed into a Little Free Library for others to enjoy.
My second book selection is Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World written and illustrated by Rachel Ignotofsky, which was released on July 26. I chose this book because, when I was younger, most of the books available about history and science focused primarily on the contributions made by men and subsequently overlooked the accomplishments made by women. To see a book devoted to women in science was very exciting. I jumped at the opportunity to review this book!
When the book arrived, I was a little bit disappointed. The main font used in this book is less than the standard sized font used for most books, which can be a physical challenge for some readers. The second font used in Women in Science for the side elements is a different type-set and one I had to get accustomed to reading because the “e” is written as a backward “3.”
In addition, I question the design choice to use bright colors such as fuchsia and yellow on dark grey backgrounds on the illustration pages as this is garish and headache-inducing. Black type set on the same oddly colored background colors was just slightly easier to read on the biography pages.
Ignotofsky pairs an illustration with each biography in her book. The illustrations have the same look and feel as her other work, which can be seen on her website, and gives her style a recognizable look and feel. Ignotofsky has put a tremendous amount of effort into her illustrations and her book in general. The addition of silver to the front cover gives the book a glittery element, which is reminiscent of little girls and their general love of all things shimmery and glittery.
Women in Science includes an introduction, a timeline of events in history, a section on lab tools, a section about more women in science, a conclusion, a glossary of terms used in the book and a sources section in which Ignotofsky explains the films, websites and books she used in gathering the information she presents in her book.
The biographies of the women in the book are mostly about American women, with some representation of Englishwomen and other European and Asian women as well. Ignotofsky’s book includes famous women such as Elizabeth Blackwell, Marie Curie and Jane Goodall, with the majority of her 50 biographies about women who do not typically grace our science or history books in grade or high school.
For that reason alone, this book is an excellent gift idea for any young woman, fan of STEM or inquiring mind on a holiday gift list this year. At $16.99 retail, this is a great book buy packed full of information and inspiration and a gift that just may reside in the personal library of the receiver for many years to come.
Disclaimer: I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.
XOXO,
