Osara infuses this book with diversity, offering readers an array of professionals in skilled positions, many of whom are female. She references famous trailblazers in each area, including Julia Robinson, a mathematician specializing in cryptography, Gladys West, who helped develop our global positioning system (GPS), and Grace Hopper—a computer programmer credited with creating the language FLOW-MATIC, making it “easier for people to tell computers what to do.” Osara references how some of those STEM pioneers have paved the way for our current work in the field as well, such as Hopper’s work inspiring the invention of the computer language COBOL, still used in contemporary times.
Beyond the variety of STEM facts included here, readers will find a feast of fun as well. Osara addresses AI (“super smart machines that can learn and think just like us. Sounds like magic, doesn’t it?”), the processes behind foods like potato chips, and more. The illustrations are interesting, offsetting weighty material with entertaining images like a vacuuming robot, though the art styles, which at times suggest clip art, vary at times for reasons that aren’t clear. Osara closes with a glossary and interactive STEM activities kids can do at home, including making a rainbow in a jar or crafting a binary bracelet.
Takeaway: STEM learning transformed into an intergalactic adventure.
Comparable Titles: Jane Bull’s The Simple Science Activity Book, Robert Winston’s Ask a Scientist.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: B
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A
