Tanya Lee Stone

Tanya Lee Stone begins this picture book for kids 7 and up in a very unusual way:

"Dear reader,

This true story doesn't really have a happy ending.

Why would I start by telling you that? Because sometimes a person can do something extraordinary and not get the win. They don't become famous, or earn a prize, or live happily ever after. Sometimes, they never even find out they made a difference.”

She then tells the story of Rosalind Franklin, born in 1920 in London, England. Rosalind was a show more bright and curious girl who grew up to provide the key to the groundbreaking revelation of the double helix structure of DNA. But Rosalind didn’t get credit until many years later. Instead, and to this day, most people associate the discovery with James Watson and Francis Crick.

Rosalind loved science, scoring higher than anyone else at the University of Cambridge who took the chemistry test. After graduation, she was offered a research job in Paris and became an expert at X-ray crystallography. This is a process by which one uses X-rays to examine atoms and molecules, letting her see the inside of tiny particles. She missed her family however, so she moved back to London, taking a position at King’s College. Watson and Crick were studying DNA at nearby University of Cambridge.

Meanwhile, Maurice Wilkins had been the lead DNA scientist at King’s, and resented that Rosalind was not only hired to be his assistant, but was given her own assistant.

Rosalind’s x-ray diffraction work showed that DNA had different patterns, and presented her discovery at a lecture which James Watson attended. A week later, Francis Crick invited Rosalind and Maurice to see their DNA model, and Rosalind pointed out their errors.

Take note: Rosalind now has three men resentful of her role and achievements as a woman.

Back in her lab, Rosalind finally captured a clear image of DNA in 1952, “Photo 51” showing the double helix. But she encountered so much hostility generally at King’s College that she moved to the Biomolecular Research Laboratory at Birkbeck College, also in London. But first, she wrote up everything she discovered as part of her lab’s progress report.

Alas, Wilkins showed Rosalind’s Photo 51 to Watson, and within weeks, Watson and Crick completed a correct model of DNA, “fully cracking the code to the secret of life,” announcing their discovery in early 1953. They never mentioned Rosalind or her work at all, and in 1962, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1962 was awarded to James Watson, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins for their [sic] discovery of the molecular structure of DNA.

Rosalind was not around to see it happen. She died at the age of 37 on April 16, 1958 in Chelsea, London, from ovarian cancer. Exposure to X-ray radiation is sometimes considered to be a possible factor in Franklin's illness.

In 1968, as the author recounts, Watson wrote a book about “their” discovery, and mentioned Rosalind in such comments as “she was not unattractive and might have been quite stunning had she taken even a mild interest in clothes.”

Happily, although too late for Rosalind, her accomplishments and especially her pivotal role in uncovering the secret of life itself are now better known. But not widely enough. The author is to be commended for helping to spread the word. Back matter includes quotes and sources.

Illustrations in soft watercolors by Gretchen Ellen Powers portray the characters as almost childlike, perhaps a reflection of her work on such books as The Boxcar Children’s 75th Anniversary Edition as well as Summer’s Call.

Evaluation: This story for ages 7 and over relates a common theme in history: not only of women not being acknowledged for their important work, but of men taking the credit. It will be a fine day indeed if that pattern ever changes. Children will gain insight into the struggle for equal treatment, and the need to rectify unfair situations when they are discovered. And they will learn about a wonderful scientist whose work changed not only our understanding of how living forms are made, but who thereby opened up myriad possibilities to improve life through greater knowledge of genetics. show less

This is just the most charming and inspirational story of the first woman doctor, Elizabeth Blackwell. I even love the dedication: “For Liza, who is strong and brave and will be anything she sets her mind to.”

Bright, colorful, and playful gouaches by Caldecott Honoree Marjorie Priceman set the scene for Elizabeth’s story. Born in 1821 in England, Elizabeth and her family moved to the U.S. when she was eleven.

This was a little girl who used to sleep on the hard floor “just to toughen show more herself up.” She didn’t want to become a doctor though until, at age 24, a sick female friend told her of her wish to be examined by a woman rather than a man. Elizabeth thought it over and asked doctors and friends if she should go to medical school.

Twenty-eight schools turned her down, along with letters informing her women could not and should not be doctors.

Finally, Geneva Medical School in upstate New York accepted her. On January 23, 1849 she graduated at the top of her class, and was now the first woman doctor in America. One doctor wrote, “I hope, for the honor of humanity, that [she] will be the last.”

As the author writes: "But as you know, she certainly was NOT.”

Although the book ends with Elizabeth’s graduation, an author’s note at the end of the book provides further facts about Elizabeth’s career. In 1857, along with her sister Emily, who also became a doctor, she started a hospital for women - the first hospital run by women, for women. In 1868 she opened a medical school just for women. And in 1871, she helped found the National Health Society. This amazing woman died at the age of eighty-nine in 1910. It’s quite a story!

The author ends her note with the observation:

"...more than half of all U.S. medical school students today are women. This would not have been possible without the courage and determination of this extraordinary woman.”

Evaluation: The text of this story by Stone combined with the lively illustrations by Marjorie Priceman manage to capture Elizabeth Blackwell’s tenacity, energy, and spirit in a remarkably compact and charming way. It has garnered a number of well-deserved awards. show less

Jane Addams (1860 – 1935) was the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and is recognized as the founder of the social work profession in the United States. She was also someone who never took the easy way out, in spite of being born into a prosperous and well-connected family. (Her father, a bank president and an Illinois State Senator, was a friend of Abraham Lincoln.)

Jane received a good education and had traveled, bringing away from her experiences dreams of helping show more the poor. She and her friend Ellen Gates Starr co-founded Hull House in Chicago to serve as a neighborhood center for those in need. This book for children gives the highlights of her experience with Hull House.

As the author writes:

“People who didn’t have enough to eat or had no shoes on their feet or had just lost a job began to find their way to Hull House.”

When Jane saw new problems in the neighborhood, she added on to Hull House to address them. She put in a public bath, and turned the lot next door into a playground. She started morning kindergarten and after-school clubs for kids whose parents had to work long days.

She kept adding buildings to the complex; by 1907, there were thirteen buildings, including a gym, coffee house, theater, and community kitchen. Residents of Hull House conducted research on conditions plaguing the lives of the poor, ranging from problems with housing, disease, garbage collection, to drugs.

Stone reports that by the early 1920’s:

“. . . more than nine thousand people a week visited Hull House. . . . It changed a bad neighborhood into a great and strong community. Hull House transformed the lies of all who stepped inside.”

Today, as Stone observes, every community center in America owes something to Jane Addams.

The ink and watercolor illustrations by Kathryn Brown feature muted tones that suggest a period in the past, and show plenty of images of the diverse groups of children helped by Hull House.

An Author’s Note at the end of the book has some additional information about Jane Addam’s life, including the fact that she was called “the most dangerous woman in the America” by the FBI, and about her work for women’s suffrage, civil rights, and pacifism. The back section also includes photos and a list of sources.

Discussion: This is a book about one woman who really did make a difference in the world around her. Often, stories about exceptional Americans have a subtle agenda, i.e., to make the point that what you make of yourself is entirely up to you and your failures are your own. This removal from a socioeconomic context allows the perpetuation of the American story that anyone can make it to the top in our society. But in fact, money, education, connections, neighborhood resources, and of course race, not to mention physical and psychological attributes, play a large role. Nevertheless, this does not mean it isn’t worthwhile to examine the lives of those who used the assets they had to change the world. Certainly it would have been easy enough for Jane Addams to live a life of comfort and leisure. Instead, she chose to change the world.

Evaluation: Jane Addams was an incredible woman who knew neither fear nor discouragement. Her inspirational story is one about which school children should be aware. It is recommended for readers ages six and older. show less

Tanya Lee Stone is a the diva of biographies of smart, trail-blazing women. My students absolutely loved hearing this story of Elizabeth Blackwell, the first female doctor in America. Stone's writing reels students from the very first line and ends with a resounding flourish. Students are left not only with an appreciation for Elizabeth Blackwell, but also a sense of indignation that girls had such limited options. This is an inspiring story and Marjorie Priceman's whimsical, colorful show more illustrations complement Stone's writing to a tee. Highly recommended. show less