Girls Who Looked Under Rocks
Jeannine Atkins Illustrated by Paula Conner
Six girls, from the 17th to the 20th century, didn't run from spiders or snakes but crouched down to take a closer look. They became pioneering naturalists, passionate scientists, and energetic writers or artists.
The six women portrayed in this book--Maria Merian (b.1647), Anna Comstock (b.1854), Frances Hamerstrom (b.1907), Rachel Carson (b.1907), Miriam Rothschild (b.1908) and Jane Goodall (b.1934) - all grew up to become award-winning scientists, writers and artists, as comfortable with a pen as with a magnifying glass. Often they were discouraged from getting dirty, much less pursuing careers in science. But they all became renowned scientists, frequently the only women in their fields. They overcame opposition and found ways to pass on their vision of how all lives in nature are beautifully connected. Their stories remind us to look and to look harder and then to look again. Under rotten logs or in puddles, there are amazing things to see.
GIRLS Paper $8.95 ISBN 1-58469-011-9
Ages 10-16 7 pages 21 b/w illustrations 6" x 9"
"Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children for 2001"
selection by the Children's Book Council &
National Science Teacher's Association
2001 Publisher's Marketing Association
Benjamin Franklin Silver Award - Young Adult Non-fiction Category
2001 ASPCA Henry Bergh Children's Book Award - Finalist in the Non-Fiction - Humane Heroes Category
Both the title and the contents of this book will pique the interest of budding naturalists. Two of the six women are well known scientists for whom biographical information is easily accessible, but four others are less well known. Maria Sibylla Merian, Anna Botsford Comstock, Frances Hamerstrom, Rachel Carson, Miriam Rothschild, and Jane Goodall are ach described in separate 8 to 10-page chapters. The curiosity, thrill of discovery, and exploration started when the women were young and blossomed as they pursued their nontraditional careers. Much here will inspire young people to follow their interests, whether in science or another field. . . . For collections that want to provide inspiration to future scientists or classes that study these women, this title would be a good selection. Recommended.
The Book Report(March/April 2001)- Leslie Schoenherr
In a unique approach to natural science, Dawn Publications has provided a user-friendly paperback that will attract the attention of adolescent girls (and some boys) as to what scientists do, especially female scientists. Simply and gracefully written, "Girls Who Looked Under Rocks" by Jeannine Atkins is a must-buy for school libraries, as well as parents who wish to encourage their young daughters in traditionally male occupations. Atkins has done her research meticulously and writes her facts well.
Linda Hutton - Hutton Book Review Services (January 2001)
Girls Who Looked Under Rocks, written by Jeannine Atkins, illustrated by Paula Conner, explores the lives of six female naturalists. Rachel Carson and Jane Goodall are well known, but four other lesser-known women also made important contributions to the study of nature and ecology. If your daughter doesn't run from spiders and snakes, these stories of other girls who shared the same interests may well inspire her.
Miriam Rothschild grew up in a mansion surrounded by wild animals like zebras and kangaroos that family members assembled. She started collecting ladybugs at age four, and decided to specialize in fleas as an adult.
Maria Sibylla Merian traveled to South America in 1699 to study and paint plants and animals in their natural environments.
Anna Comstock was one of the first women to earn a degree in entomology, and she promoted the study of nature in schools. In 1895 she became the first woman professor at Cornell University at a time when women seldom went to college at all.
Budding scientists of either gender will enjoy reading about these remarkable women and their influence on how we perceive nature today.
California Kids! (January 2001)
Jeannine Atkins's pays tribute to pioneer naturalists like Jane Goodall and Rachel Carson and honors the spirit of all youngsters enthralled by the natural world. Short biographies of six women trace their quest for greater knowledge to their childhoods, often in eras of strict gender roles. Maria Sibylla Merian's painter-stepfather was scolded by neighbors for teaching the girl to draw along with her brothers in 17th century Germany. In early 20th-century America, Frances Hamerstrom, who with her husband was at the forefront of ecological studies, had to sneak out of the family mansion at night to visit the marsh frogs. Details of those times and the girls' pluck are rendered beautifully in Paula Conner's pen-and-ink illustrations.
Washington Parent (March 2001)
This is a book that I would want to read to my little girl. It tells six separate stories, written about young girls who didn't run from spiders or snakes.
They dared to be what they dreamed about as children and then continued to courageously persevere through the many obstacles of society. The girls left their mark on the world by becoming award-winning Naturalists and Writers.
They were as comfortable with a pen as with a magnifying glass. Rachel Carson and Jane Goodall stories are here, richly illustrated by Paula Conner. There are other stories of young women who through their efforts advanced our understanding of the world around us.
"It's a waste of time to teach painting to a girl" people said of Maria Merian in the early 1700's but later on as a naturalist and painter, her portrayal of beetles and butterflies led to a greater understanding of how plants and insects depend on each other, contrary to thinking at that time. In the 1800's Anna Comstock who loved the outdoors was told by neighbors "What does a farm girl need of college?." She went on to become one of the first women entomologists as well as the first female professor at Cornell University and later introduced Nature Study into the public schools. Jeannine Atkins' book is beautifully illustrated in poignant black and white charcoal drawings which contribute dramatically to the wonder and mysterious charm of each vignette. Particularly captivating is the portrayal of a girl wrapped in her butterfly wings bursting forth from her cocoon. The book is inspirational and empowering for young girls..A MUST READ.
Mary Drew - American Association for University Women Newsletter
Girls Who Looked Under Rocks
The Lives of Six Pioneering Naturalists illus. by Paula Conner (Dawn Publications, 2000).
NSTA-CBC Outstanding Science Trade Book for 2001
Finalist for the ASPCA Henry Bergh Award for Humane Heroes
Silver Benjamin Franklin Award for Young Adult Book
CBC Choices 2001
Women and men have always explored the natural world, but biographies have often stressed the life-risking adventures of men crossing oceans or scaling mountains or surviving extreme climates. I grew up learning about the Lewis and Clark expedition, but it wasn't until I was an adult that I heard much about Sacajawea's role as wilderness guide. Some of women's outdoor challenges are different than those men have faced, and I wrote Girls Who Looked Under Rocks to bring more attention to women who pushed past discouragement and used their curiosity and passionate intelligence to break into new fields. Even today women comprise only about ten per cent of those who choose careers in science. I hope the naturalists who put animals -- from bumble bees to chimpanzees -- at the center of their lives will inspire more girls to follow their lead as scientists, explorers, and conservationists.
Activities
Girls Who Looked Under Rocks profiles six naturalists, including:
Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) was an artist and scientist who's known to us today mostly because of the beautiful paintings she left of plants and insects. In 1699, she sailed from Europe to South America to study and paint insects. You may see some samples of her artwork at the National Museum of Women in the Arts site at: www.nmwa.org
Anna Botsford Comstock (1854-1930) helped found the movement to teach nature in schools. She was the first woman professor at Cornell University, where she taught entomology.
Fran Hamerstrom (1907-1998) left a modeling career to spend many hours of many days over many years watching prairie chickens. Her close observations not only saved the lives of birds in the midwest, but helped us understand how destruction of habitat endangers animals.
Rachel Carson (1907-1964) loved language as well as science; she claimed she couldn't write truthfully about the sea without writing poetry. Silent Spring, in which she spoke for the birds endangered by human carelessness, helped begin today's environmental movements.
Jane Goodall (1934-) used the patience she practiced as a girl watching animals on a farm in England when she traveled to Africa to study chimpanzees. She continues to devote her life to the well-being of these forest animals, as she travels around the world lecturing about how to make the world safe for all animals.
Miriam Rothschild (1908-) became renowned as a scientist for investigating the lives of fleas. She discovered over 3,000 species! After World War II, she became alarmed by the way plowing down old meadows destroyed wildflowers and insects that depended on each other. Miriam Rothschild promotes planting "butterfly gardens" and other means to preserve wild flowers and animals.
I was a girl who looked under rocks, but I found science less intriguing by middle school, when we stopped planting beans in eggshells and collecting and pressing leaves, and when science became split from story. I'd like to see biography become a greater part of science curriculums. I was thrilled to hear of one middle school teacher who read sections from Girls Who Looked Under Rocks on "Read Across America Day."
