Grasping Mysteries: Girls Who Loved Math by Jeannie Atkins - ESSENTIAL

Grasping Mysteries: Girls Who Loved Math by Jeannie Atkins, 285 pages. NON-FICTION. Atheneum (Simon), 2020. $18

Content: G

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ESSENTIAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH 

The book, written in verse chronicles the lives of seven remarkable women. They grew up loving math and for the most part were encouraged by their families, even when some of their teachers told them math was not for girls. They kept going, even when it got hard. Math helped them put things into place and answered their questions. These girls helped put rockets into space and on the moon, discovered and proved the existence of dark matter, start a school for nurses, discovered comets and so much else.

This was such an exciting read! I loved it and could not put it down. I felt like I got to know these women and loved them for not ever giving up, even when things were hard. I know from teaching myself that it is easy for students to give up on math because it is hard and not "cool." I loved helping all my students see the beauty of math, and how math was so dependable, and how we use it in our lives, everyday. 

Ellen-Anita LMS