Ada Byron Lovelace & the Thinking Machine

by Laurie Wallmark, April Chu (Illustrator)

Overview

Ada Lovelace, the daughter of the famous romantic poet, Lord Byron, develops her creativity through science and math. When she meets Charles Babbage, the inventor of the first mechanical computer, Ada understands the machine better than anyone else and writes the world's first computer program in order to demonstrate its capabilities.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781939547200
Publisher:	Creston Books
Publication date:	10/13/2015
Pages:	36
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Laurie Wallmark is the author of several award-winning STEM picture books about women, including Ada Byron Lovelace & the Thinking Machine. She teaches computer science when she's not writing books.

April Chu has won awards for her gorgeous illustrations. She studied architecture and infuses that knowledge of detail and perspective into her art. Her work has been featured in the Society of Illustrator's Original Art show.

Editorial Reviews

…Wallmark manages to create an atmosphere of suspense as she clearly lays out the steps Ada took to come up with the first algorithm that could allow a machine to solve complex math problems. The digital art by Chu…adds to the story's intellectually riveting quality, making Ada and her refined world look somehow both pre-Raphaelite and cool.

The New York Times Book Review - Maria Russo

"An excellent addition to STEM collections."—starred, School Library Journal

From the Publisher

★ 2015-08-31
Two hundred years after her birth in 1815, the world is finally beginning to pay attention to Ada Byron Lovelace, considered by many to be the inventor of computer programming. Computer scientist and debut author Wallmark introduces her subject as a child fascinated by numbers, lucky enough to be born to a geometry-loving mother with the means and inclination to nurture her daughter's talents. She focuses on her subject's adolescence, choosing details that highlight Lovelace's development as a mathematical genius. The girl sketches models for flying machines, works endless calculations to compute the wings' power—young readers will sympathize as they hear how "writing for so long made her fingers hurt"—and studies a toy boat to see how minute adjustments to its sails affect its speed. A bout of measles that leaves her temporarily blind and paralyzed serves to further hone her brilliance, as her mother drills her with math problems. She is perfectly positioned for her fateful meeting with Charles Babbage, whose proposed Analytical Engine prompts her to write the algorithm (described as "a set of mathematical instructions") that becomes the world's very first computer program. Chu's illustrations, digitally colored in a deep, jewel-toned palette, accompany the lively prose. Lovelace is a Pre-Raphaelite beauty set against a backdrop of teeming Victorian interiors littered with diagrams and pages of figures; children will enjoy spotting the girl's loyal cat. A splendidly inspiring introduction to an unjustly overlooked woman. (author's note, timeline, bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews