Who Did It First? 50 Scientists, Artists and Mathematicians Who Revolutionized the World by Julie Leung - ADVISABLE

Who Did It First? 50 Scientists, Artists and Mathematicians Who Revolutionized the World by Julie Leung, illustrated by Caitlin Kuhwald, 113 pages.  NON-FICTION  Henry Holt, 2019.  $19  

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS – ADVISABLE  

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE  

This is a compilation of 50 different people throughout the last two hundred years who were the first to contribute to their fields.  Some are well known, like Jane Goodall or Ada Lovelace, but others I hadn’t heard of such as Claude Shannon or Thai Lee.  The summaries are usually 4-5 paragraphs long and concentrate on how that person was a first in their field and what they did. 

I love the illustrations in this compilation.  I loved the people that were included as they were inspiring for taking a chance and trying new things.  My only complaint is that I wanted more--more information and more illustrations.  It leaves just a taste of what these people contributed.  This would work best if directed by a teacher and used in the classroom because I’m not sure readers would pick this up and read it from cover to cover on their own.  

Reviewer, C. Peterson