Marie Curie and the Power of Persistence

by Karla Valenti, Annalisa Beghelli (Illustrator), Micaela Crespo Quesada PhD (With)

Overview

Meet Marie Curie. Famous physicist, chemist, and… superhero?

What if superheroes didn't have supernatural powers but instead were humans with amazing brain power? What if superheroes were scientists?

Super Evil Nemesis is determined to stop Marie Curie and the spread of knowledge. When he sends one of his craftiest minions on a mission to try all the tricks he knows, Marie Curie must use her brains and will to fight against all the obstacles that come her way. But is it enough?

Can she prevent Super Evil Nemesis from taking over the world? Does she have the power to become one of the most influential scientists in history? Only time will tell…

This first book in the My Super Science Heroes series uses a fictionalized storytelling approach to teach readers about Curie's amazing achievements, and is sure to empower them to become superheroes themselves!

Includes a scientific glossary and detailed information on Marie Curie's scientific accomplishments.

Published in partnership with the Marie Curie Alumni Association, a nonprofit dedicated to promote research and curiosity and to enhance research and professional collaboration.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781728213569
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	04/07/2020
Series:	My Super Science Heroes
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	444,821
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	660L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Karla Arenas Valenti is a children’s book author with a bilingual background and law degree. She has lived all over the world but currently resides in the Chicagoland area with her husband and children.

Annalisa Beghelli is a former architect turned graphic designer and illustrator. She studied at MiMaster in Milan and currently lives in Italy.

Micaela Crespo Quesada is a researcher and scientific project manager with a PhD in Chemical Engineering.

Editorial Reviews

"In addition to being packed with biographical information and detailed illustrations, My Super Science Heroes drives home some of the qualities behind successful scientists. The books show young readers that just because we encounter problems doesn’t mean we have to let them get in the way of our goals, or of what we believe is right." — Science Connected Magazine

From the Publisher

2020-01-12
Marie Curie was a superhero!

This first entry in the My Super Science Heroes series of highly fictionalized biographies details Curie's brilliant achievements but pits her against a cartoonish archenemy determined to stop her. Super Evil Nemesis aims at world domination by halting the spread of knowledge. He sends his minion, Mr. Opposition, to thwart young Maria Skłodowska. Try as he might, Mr. O fails. Maria excels at her studies; after high school, since universities are closed to women, she pursues her lessons secretly. Moving to Paris, she adopts the name Marie and earns degrees in physics and math. After Marie marries Pierre Curie, the two collaborate, winning the Nobel Prize in physics in 1903 with Henri Becquerel. In 1911, Marie wins another Nobel—for chemistry. This is a fact-filled, admiring examination. Unfortunately, however, her casting as a superheroine against a comic-book stock villain trivializes her. Not helping is the author's breathless, demeaning remark that "She even loves mathematics and physics!" to demonstrate Curie's youthful studiousness. Colorful and child-appealing, though static, illustrations feature humans resembling wide-eyed, pink-cheeked marionettes (all present white). Nemesis is a blue, sharp-toothed figure with striped horns and a crown; Mr. O is a red, four-legged, spiny-backed, counterintuitively cute creature sporting a fedora. Numerous "ALERT!" sidebars, a glossary, and a timeline bolster the factual load.

Scientific genius is a superpower of its own and does not need this pandering treatment. (websites) (Picture book/biography. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews