Meet SOPHIE KOWALEVSKI, Queen of Mathematics

I have always found math to be easy, intuitive, and even fun. Don't take that as bragging, since it is the sheer (and lucky) consequence of good genes. I was born to parents who were very bright and raised with older siblings (also bright) whose headstart on life I often resented. Their activities presented a constant challenge for me to figure out whatever they were doing and match them, including card games, rote memorizing of "times tables", etc. It matters, too, that I never heard complaints among them that "math is HARD". 

Creston Books, 2020

Even so, I was in awe of the subject of this narrative biography for older readers.  NUMBERS IN MOTION: Sophie Kowalevski, Queen of Mathematics is among the latest of author Laurie Wallmark's  WOMEN IN STEM series, illustrated by Yevgenia Nayberg. Sophie, too, had both nature-and-nurture benefits, raised by a father who was a professor of mathematics in a household with complex formulas plastered across her bedroom walls. 

The story behind that situation offers both humor and irony. When her father ran out of wallpaper for her bedroom, he pasted his old college notebook pages onto the blank spaces. Young Sophia's elastic and expansive mind absorbed the language of those formulas as readily as children in bilingual homes become fluent in both. She traced formulas, identified patterns and symbols, creating her own versions of mathematical stories. But her life was lived during an era in which females were rarely taught academics beyond those needed to run a household. Certainly not advanced mathematics.

Sophie's insatiable curiosity while still a child resulted in self-study of algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus, and, eventually, the complex challenges of differential equations. Everything in her life raised questions that she was certain could be resolved by mathematics, including the patterns of a spinning top. The fact that such solutions seemed impossible only fueled her efforts. 

Sophie's undeniable  brilliance and determination earned her advocates from among her father's colleagues. Eventually, male professors and authorities bent or defied the rules that banned females from attending university classes, or gaining a doctoral degree, or becoming a professor. The social and political restraints of her time were more challenging than mathematical ones, but they, too, could be solved.

This biography manages a delicate balance of focusing mainly on Sophie's adult experiences with minimal time spent on the subject's childhood. In this case, those limited spreads of Sophie as a child, both in narrative and images, will hook young readers. What could possibly earn more empathy from a kid than being told NO to what you want most in the world? And Sophie was told NO throughout her life, including the laws that prevented women from leaving Russia unless permitted to do so by a father or husband. She was determined to reach Heidelberg University in Germany, the European center for mathematical studies. How she overcame those and other obstacles are sometimes jaw-dropping solutions, leading me to cheer her on and smirk in satisfaction with each page turn.

Wallmark's research is incredibly deep, and her expertise in deciding what to include is equally deft. The author's note is a valuable read, as is a page labeled "Sophie's math". Sophie is credited with solving many ageless math mysteries, including one labeled the mermaid puzzle, because finding an answer was thought to be as elusive as finding a mermaid. Backmatter also includes a timeline, a bibliography, and a full page explanation about how and why Wallmark chose the spelling she did for her subject's name. I'll echo the author's hope that everyone will read this page, since it addresses an authoring-puzzle. Translation from other languages is an art form of its own, but when it comes to spelling names that originated in other alphabets, how can one choose and feel validated about that choice? This solution will surprise you, and also indicate how thoroughly Wallmark does her homework.

This is a book I wish had existed when I was growing up, a time when my library choices were minimal and few books held surprises or role models like this one does. The idea that the investigation of mathematical theories  was a potential career option never occurred to me. I suspect it never occurred to my teachers, either, even though the field obviously existed for centuries. Unlike Sophie, my drive was toward human puzzles and services. I harbored an ever-since-kindergarten-rules resentment of gender restrictions that would have made Sophie a personal hero. Throughout my long career in education I could have shared her story, raising her banner for curiosity, independence, and drive. I would have honored her personal motto for ALL of my students, but especially for girls: 

"SAY WHAT YOU KNOW, DO WHAT YOU MUST, COME WHAT MAY."

Laurie Wallmark had agreed to respond to some interview questions in a future post that will include the other titles in her series, especially the upcoming CODE BREAKER, SPY HUNTER: HOW ELIZEBETH FRIEDMAN CHANGED THE COURSE OF TWO WORLD WARS  (Abrams Kids, 2021) Until then, you can learn more about the "story behind the story" from other interviews about this book by reading her other blog tour interviews linked HERE.

And now, a PSA from this teacher to adults:

Even if your own life experience has been that "math is hard for me", PLEASE don't say that aloud in the presence of kids. Many adults are feeling frustrated or confused while supporting kids in distance learning or home schooling, but please start with an attitude that ANSWERS CAN BE FOUND, even when they are challenging. In a time with YouTube tutorials and countless other digital resources, dive in and struggle alongside the kids to make sense whenever possible. Or simply model asking questions and seeking help. A message that "some people" just aren't good at math is one of the most limiting messages you could send, especially it comes from adults who those kids love and admire. It is a pass to stop thinking, and gives your approval for not trying.

Sermon over. 

Women (and Girls) and Glass Ceilings: Part Two

Gwen Ifill

Gwen Ifill, a widely respected reporter, moderator, and political commentator, died of cancer in recent days.  The barriers she pushed past, overcame, and excelled far beyond were many, including those related to both race and gender. 
Apart from her many accomplishments, her colleagues and friends have praised her genuine character, determination, and decency. Here is a quotation from Gwen:

I'm a preacher's kid, and we were always told,
Act right all the time, because someone's always watching.
- Gwen Ifill

And this is a quotation she reportedly appreciated:

Whatever you do, do with kindness.
Whatever you say, say with kindness.
Wherever you go, radiate kindness.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Gwen Ifill's success in a field nearly exclusive to men, and white men at that, was remarkable by any measure. At the time she was born (1950) there were certainly barriers aplenty to limit a young girl's dreams. 

But by 1950 Mary Ellen Garber (born 1916) was already surpassing barriers, six years into a sports reporting career that only a war could have provided. The full story is told by award-winning nonfiction author Sue Macy and illustrated by C. F. Payne in MISS MARY REPORTING: The True Story of Mary Garber.

Simon and Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books, 2016

Growing up in North Carolina, a "tiny bit of a girl", she played tackle football with the boys as the quarterback of her team. She learned to love and understand the minutia of sports at her father's knee. At an equally young age she preferred writing her mandatory updates to grandparents in the form of a newspaper, the Garber News, without digital tools or templates to pave the way. 

By her mid-twenties she was earning her living as a reporter. Relegated to the society pages, she dragged a fashion-minded friend to events to avoid complaints from the debutantes about misnamed designers and style choices. 

As proud as she was to have a job as a newspaper reporter, the sports reporting assignments she craved remained a laughable impossibility until the last male sportswriter on staff joined the navy during WWII. When that door opened, Mary Garber marched on through and never looked back.

But when the war ended, reporters returned, and she was reassigned to the news desk.

Even then, within a year she made her way back into sports, reporting on Jackie Robinson's move from the Negro Leagues to the all-white Dodgers. His determination, courage, and maturity made him a role model for Mary.

Author Macy infuses details of Mary's incredible career with direct quotations revealing humor, insight, and decency. In the segregated South Mary was determined to report high school sports for all-black schools rather than only those with all-white attendance. 

She earned the respect of fellow sportswriters, players, and readers. She worked at the career she loved for more than fifty years, even after retiring, and was voted into many different sportswriters' halls of fame.

The author's note, timeline, and resources include sources for the many direct quotes. Payne's caricature-illustrations and Macy's engaging text bring Mary's colorful, appealing personality to life on the page. This is one "tiny bit of a girl" who overcame apparent limitations to achieve, inspire, and break new ground for all girls/women who followed. 

That includes other reporters, like Gwen Ifill, and anyone who sets out to learn, play fair, and make dreams come true on her own terms. This is a nominated title I had somehow missed along the way while keeping an eye on 2016 releases. I'm grateful to be participating in this Cybils panel so that it crossed my path.

As is so often true when  it comes to books, they manage to find their intended readers one way or the other. Let's help this one along to find many more young readers and celebrate the amazing life of newspaper legend, Mary Ellen Garber.

Check back to the first of this series of posts, here. Stay tuned in coming days for reviews of other outstanding books in which young girls are depicted rocking the boat, making waves, rattling at doors, pushing envelopes, and otherwise cracking, sometimes breaking, those glass ceilings.

2016 Release from Running Press KIDS: Compare and Contrast

Note: This title was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for a free and fair review. 

I'm taking a momentary break from writing about the amazing 2015 fiction picture book titles I read and carefully considered while serving as a round-one panelist for the Cybils Awards. If you missed that news, check out my last post, or link here.

The new year has barely begun and more engaging and appealing books are rolling hot off the presses. Publisher RUNNING PRESS has two titles that make great subjects to compare and contrast how different books can be while reflecting similar strengths and qualities. 

The first is BELLA'S BEST OF ALL, written and illustrated by  Jamie Harper. Bella mouse is an excellent character to begin the compare and contrast process, since she's prone to comparing and contrasting herself. She's a very selective fashionista. She consistently realizes that her things are good, but MOMMY'S are better when it comes to dress up and self-adornment.
Created with mixed media on open backgrounds in white and pastels, the intriguing patterned elements are often take center stage. Harper assures that Bella remains the focus of the spotlight by using heavy black outlines and expressive features for this undeniably central character. 
Mommy only reappears when Bella's panic over losing her omnipresent felt cat overwhelms her.  The images in which Bella fears her kitty-toy is lost in the guts of the vacuum reminded me of Melanie Watt's BUG IN A VACUUM, 2015, with a much speedier and simpler resolution. 
Young audiences will identify with her "looking for better" behaviors, will love searching for shifting details (Bella's switch from plastic earrings to crystal ones, as one example), and the page-by-page appearances of the felt cat and Mommy's real cat. 
Readers of every age will understand completely that sometimes it take a near-tragedy to appreciate what we have and realize some things mean more to us than the glitz and glamour of others.

Bella is a delight, and this book will entrance many little girls. But it also called to my mind, at least a few young boys I've known who would also adore this book. This is a charming addition to the many "gender-typical" books (a la FANCY NANCY), developing a strong individual character despite some familiar behaviors. On the other hand I could see an equally appealing Bella being intrigued with tools or techy or creative objects and still finding her way back to her true self. Perhaps this is only the first of many Bella stories and we'll learn more about her wide-ranging interests in the future. 

Albert Whitman and Company, 2014

If you, too, happen to know a young someone who would love a book with a wider view of gender-based tastes, consider sharing JACOB'S NEW DRESS by Sarah Hoffman and Chris Chase. On Goodreads, I said this:

This is a very user-friendly book dealing with what could be an awkward "hard-to-breathe" subject. Instead the accessible illustrations, the realistic family and school interactions, the matter-of-fact approach to a child's non-threatening play and dress choices all allow for open and comfortable discussions among children and adults. The book doesn't advocate for anything more than tolerance, and it does that quite well. No magic answers, even when Jacob feels the "magic" of his dress to stand up to a bully, he is actually just channeling the strength of the adult acceptance he's experienced. The way in which the emotions of Jacob and his parents is described and visualized are equally appropriate. The back matter clarifies the "gender non-conforming" category, especially for young children. I particularly enjoyed the "pink boy" descriptor as a parallel to the "Tom boy" label used for boy-choice-preferring girls. There is much to celebrate in Jacob's personality, including his eventual self-advocacy, his imagination and creativity, and his actual skills- from language, to sewing, to design. I offer this comparison not to criticize Harper's latest release but to encourage some valuable new year goals in reading... let's actively notice the aspects of books we share that could entrench or reinforce culturally imposed norms,  let's use each book to "remind" ourselves of other related titles, especially titles that expand and explore variations on those patterns, then let's model comparing and contrasting elements of books, from art media and style to characters to themes. What a great way to maximize the POWER OF PICTURE BOOKS! Add your own suggestions for titles to compare or any other comment to be entered in a giveaway for Bella's best of ALL!  GIVEAWAY:  Everyone who comments, with suggested titles, opinions, or other related contributions will be entered in a giveaway for a copy of BELLA'S BEST OF ALL, offered by the publisher. Deadline: midnight CT, Saturday, January 9. Update: No comments were added by the giveaway deadline, so this book will be donated to a local library.