Technology: Cool Women Who Code and Astronomy: Cool Women In Space are two books from the Girls In Science series from Nomad Press. Each paperback book contains 186 pages and includes brief biographies of several women who have made important advances in a scientific field. The books are recommended for middle grade readers (ages 9-12).

Astronomy: Cool Women In Space begins with a basic introduction to the history of advancements in space exploration. There is also a description of some of the careers related to the field of astronomy. The remainder of the book contains a brief biography of three women astronomers: Nancy Grace Roman, who was closely involved in the building of the Hubble Space Telescope; Maggie Aderin-Pocock who is a presenter on a BBC astronomy show; and Andrea Ghez who is an astronomer and professor who researches black holes.

Technology: Cool Women Who Code begins with an introduction to the meaning of technology, a short history of technological advancements, and a look at how our modern computers and technology have changed over a relatively short period of time. The book then focuses on three women who have been or are involved in a field of technology: Grace Hopper who worked with computers in the Navy and helped to develop the COBOL language; Shaundra Bryant Daily who develops programs to use computers in education; and Jean Yang who is studying to be a professor of computer science.

Besides the biographies contained in the books, both books have several extra features. Ask and Answer sections give readers the opportunity to think about topics and discuss them. Primary Source features contain QR codes so that readers can scan and visit websites where they can see primary source documents related to what they’re reading. She Says sections contain quotes from women in the field. In the back of the book readers can find a timeline of events in the given field, more Ask and Answer questions to think about, a glossary of vocabulary words from the book, a resource list, a list of the URLs from the QR codes throughout the book, and an index.

I enjoyed sharing the short biographies in these books with my middle grade girls. I chose to use them as a supplement to our regular science curriculum. Each biography within the books is short and easy to read in one sitting. The Ask and Answer sections provide some good questions for thoughtful discussion, and some of the other special features gave us more to read and discuss.

Because of all of the great extra features in the books, there are many ways to use them. I chose to read them aloud as a part of our science study. As I read, we discussed some of the extra features. The books would also be good to assign for students to read independently. Some of the Ask and Answer sections would provide good writing prompts.

There were two things I didn’t like as much about the books. Both are from a worldview perspective, and may or may not be an issue with others. First, they are written from an evolutionary perspective. Both contain references to hundreds of thousands or millions of years, and they address advancements in technology as advancement of a people who aren’t very capable to those who have more intelligence and capability. Also they seem to suggest that for women to have careers and be involved in these scientific fields is a preference over being just a wife and mother. I totally agree that girls can choose to pursue education and careers in scientific fields and that there are some very intelligent and talented women in these fields. But I don’t agree that this is better than being just a wife and mother.

Those two caveats aside, I enjoyed reading both books with my girls. By reading them aloud, I was able to discuss the worldview issues with them. There is much good information in both books about the fields of astronomy and technology. And the extras in both books give so much more to explore. These make great extra science reading and do a good job of introducing readers to the given fields as well as to these women who have been and are succeeding in these fields.

—Product Review by Leah Courtney, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, February, 2016