Scientists Like Me: Stories, Advice, and Inspiration from 25 Trailblazers with Experiments to Try at Home

by Kamin Science Center, JaNay Brown-Wood, Kristen Uroda (Illustrator)

Overview

Perfect for science loving kids, this book offers engaging profiles of twenty-five diverse scientists in fields ranging from physics to medicine to programming, paired with hands-on activities that let young readers jump right into the work. 
 
From doctors and physicists, mathematicians and marine biologists, to AI experts and more, Scientists Like Me profiles a diverse collection of historic and contemporary scientists and encourages readers to discover their own scientific passions.

• Learn about the scientists’ paths to their chosen professions and hear their words of advice for the next generation!
• Delve into the many disciplines that exist in the scientific world and see what it takes to reach the top of these fields.
• Don't just read about scientists—become one yourself by trying out more than a dozen hands-on activities!

Written in partnership with the Kamin Science Center, Scientists Like Me is the perfect book for any kid who loves observing and discovering. It’s for any adult hoping to invigorate a young person’s interest in science. Most of all, it’s for anyone who’s ever wondered about the incredible world around us, and wanted to find out more.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781523516780
Publisher:	Workman Kids
Publication date:	08/05/2025
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	7.80(w) x 10.35(h) x 0.71(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

JaNay Brown-Wood, PhD, is an award-winning children’s author, poet, educator, scholar, and a former professor of Early Childhood Education and Child Development. Her first children’s book Imani’s Moon won the NAESP Children’s Book of the Year Award and was featured on Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show and Storytime with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and her second book. Grandma’s Tiny House: A Counting Story!. received a starred review from Publishers Weekly and won the CELI Read Aloud Book Award. JaNay is also the author of the popular picture book series Where in the Garden (Peachtree Publishing), four Chicken Soup for the Soul Babies/Kids books, Crayola’s Follow That Line! Magic at Your Fingertips (Running Press Kids, 2022), the Harriet Tubman Little Golden Book Biography, the Simone Biles Little Golden Book Biography. and the New York Times bestselling book Why Not You? (Penguin/Random House) on which she collaborated with Ciara and Russell Wilson. You can learn more about her at www.janaybrownwood.com.

Editorial Reviews

2025-05-30
These profiles of 25 noteworthy leaders in their fields demonstrate that scientists don’t have to be straight, white, and male.

The concept of this book is sound, and the range of people profiled is broad, including household names (Alan Turing, Temple Grandin, Jane Goodall) and lesser-known figures. The entries are organized into five branches of science: formal (such as mathematics and computer sciences), physical, life, social (including archaeology and law), and medical. In each section, one of the profiles highlights a scientist from the past, such as Chinese-born physicist Chien-Shiung Wu (1912-1997) and sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963). Others are still young, like Mariah Gladstone, who studies the environment and food systems, and ornithologist Corina Newsome, both born in 1993. Each profile includes an appealing, full-color portrait by Uroda and a biography of two to three pages, punctuated by text boxes titled “Question for YOU,” “Science YOU can explore,” and “Did YOU Know About…” Each of the five sections ends with several robust activities. Sadly, the exposition in the profiles ranges from pedestrian to actively awkward. Phrases containing discrete ideas are strung together into long sentences that may daunt the intended readership. The selected biographical details don’t bring the subjects to life, and the book contains a few inaccuracies. The strongest portion is the final chapter, “Explore More!,” which explains myriad paths to becoming a scientist.

Wooden writing undermines this collective biography for the scientifically curious. (references and resources, photo credits)(Nonfiction. 9-12)

Kirkus Reviews