A Woman Who Persisted: SAVING LIVES, Changing the World

 March is winding down, and with it the designation of WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH. But that doesn't mean that learning about outstanding women in history disappears when the calendar page turns. Quite the opposite. Some notable accomplishments by women are tied to specific events, such as the remarkable trip around the world via bicycle as described in PEDAL, BALANCE, STEER: Annie Londonderry, First Woman to Cycle Around the World, written by VIVIAN KIRKFIELD, and illustrated by Alison Jay, reviewed HERE. Women like Annie inspire us over decades and centuries, not just in a designated month. Some other women's accomplishments moved a field of study forward, as did the many WOMEN OF STEM profiled in books by Laurie Walmart, and featured HERE. Again, such stories cannot (and should not) be confiined to a single month each year.

Albert Whitman & Company, 2024

Some women, particularly one Chinese physician/scientist, have worked behind the scenes to find answers to deadly medical questions and develop medicines that can and DO and WILL continue to save lives from deadly diseases. TU YOUYOU'S DISCOVERY: FINDING A CURE FOR MALARIA, written by Sonju Ma Daemicke and illustrated by Lin. This biographic profile reveals Tu Youyou's life as a child in China, attending school with her brothers despite the custom that girls were not educated. A serious illness eventually kept her home, gradually recovering though a combination of Western medicine and her mother's traditional Chinese herbal broths and treatments. 

Tu was motivated by such care and recovery to pursue training in Western medicine, but she never lost her respect for Chinese herbal and nature-based treatments. The deadly disease, malaria, is easily spread throughout the world (especially tropical areas) through mosquito bites. The fevers and other related symptoms defied cure or even effective relief treatments through traditional Western medicines or procedures, so Tu set out to investigate potential solutions in Chinese traditional treatments. 

Relying on deep research into centuries of Chinese medicinals, then following the scientific method, she led a team of male doctors in studies attempting to use one particular plant-sourced treatment. Throughout the studies they observed, recorded, compared, and analyzed responses of malarial microscopic life to various preparations using the chemicals from this plant (and others). When their results were unsuccessful, after more than a hundred attempts, male members of her team grumbled that Tu was unfit to lead, was being a foolish woman. She did not give up, researching and adjusting her preparations until she eventually identified the correct method to prepare the plant material to stop Malaria in its tracks. When their report was published, Tu insisted on listing the entire team as authors, so her central and driving role in this global scientific  accomplishment was overlooked for many years. After more years of testing and development, and growing awareness of her role, she became the first ever Chinese person (male or female) to be awarded the Nobel Prize. 

I won't apologize for sharing so much content as a "spoiler".  This is a woman whose accomplishments and dedicated life are facts we should ALL  know. I didn't, did you? Consider reading this excellent new picture book, including the back matter with timeline, bibliography, a brief author note, and an excellent (usable) description of the scientific process as used by Tu throughout her career. Then make an effort to talk about her with your friends (yes, adult friends!) and share her story through this book with young people, their teachers, and librarians.