Beatrix Potter, Scientist

by Lindsay H. Metcalf, Junyi Wu (Illustrator)

Overview

A Mighty Girl's 2020 Books of the Year
Friends of American Writers Chicago Winner 2021 Young People's Literature Award

Beatrix Potter was a writer, an artist, and a scientist too, and she strove to find a place in the world for her talents.

Everyone knows Beatrix Potter as the creator of the Peter Rabbit stories. But before that, she was a girl of science. As a child, Beatrix collected nature specimens; as a young adult, she was an amateur mycologist presenting her research on mushrooms and other fungi to England's foremost experts. Like many women of her time, she remained unacknowledged by the scientific community, but her keen eye for observation led her to an acclaimed career as an artist and storyteller. A beloved author is cast in a new light in this inspiring picture book story.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807551752
Publisher:	Whitman, Albert & Company
Publication date:	09/01/2020
Series:	She Made History
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD800L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Lindsay H. Metcalf has worked as a reporter, editor, and parenting columnist for The Kansas City Star. She lives in Kansas.

Junyi Wu is a freelance illustrator and designer and a graduate of ArtCenter College of Design. Her passions include pies, puns, and puzzles. She is based in Orange County, California. 

Editorial Reviews

A Mighty Girl's 2020 Books of the Year
Friends of American Writers Chicago Winner 2021 Young People's Literature Award

"An unusual combination of women's history and science that shows not all questions can be answered."—Kirkus Reviews

"Metcalf's lyrical text is succinct and focused…a worthy addition to STEAM and women's history units."—Booklist

"Metcalf's tale illustrates difficulties of breaking through prejudiced systems…a story that both shows what was and hints at what might have been."—Publishers Weekly

"This inviting biography illuminates an unfamiliar aspect of an accomplished woman's life."—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

2020-06-30
The scientific passions of a beloved children’s-book creator.

Beatrix Potter is revered for her classic children’s tales, but many will be unaware of her love of science. Soft, smudged pictures in Potter’s palette accompany informative prose infused with a childlike wonder at the natural world, and together they depict young Beatrix’s fascination with the landscape of Scotland, various animals, and, later, the study of mushrooms. Unsupported by her family, largely self-educated, and armed with microscope, paper, and pencil, Potter works with Scottish naturalist Charles McIntosh for years, exchanging samples and artwork until she is among the first to sprout spores in Britain. Initially rejected due to sexism, Beatrix struggles to make her findings known through a male colleague, is told that more work is required, and then mysteriously ceases her work. “What makes her stop? Does she suspect she will never be taken seriously as a scientist? Does she begin to doubt herself? Like pages ripped from a book, history holds those secrets,” the text wonders. While Peter Rabbit and company might never have come into being had Potter not switched her focus, readers and listeners will see how the ambitions of a budding woman scientist were effectively quashed, perhaps leading them to object to the unfairness of her treatment and to wonder what other discoveries go unmentioned due to inequality. All characters are White.

An unusual combination of women’s history and science that shows not all questions can be answered. (biographical note, timeline, acknowledgments, bibliography, source notes, further reading) (Picture book/biography. 6-10)

Kirkus Reviews