Tanya Lee Stone

The life story of scientist and x-ray crystallographer Rosalind Franklin, whose work was essential to the discovery of the structure of DNA, is told for children in this picture book from author Tanya Lee Stone and illustrator Gretchen Ellen Powers. This is not a happy story, as the author informs the reader at the beginning of the book, because although Franklin's achievement was significant, she never received the credit she deserved in her lifetime. Scientifically inclined from a young age, she became a chemist, working in Paris and then in London, for King's College. Here her "Photo 51" helped to demonstrate the double-helix structure of DNA, a piece of the puzzle that would aid Crick and Watson in their work on the subject, for which they would receive Nobel Prizes, along with Maurice Wilkins (of King's College). Sadly, Franklin's contribution was not credited at the time, and she died shortly thereafter, never seeing the great discoveries which were advanced by her work.

I have been aware of the Rosalind Franklin story for some time, but was not familiar with many of the details, so when I saw that artist Gretchen Ellen Powers, whose work I admire, had illustrated a picture book biography of her, I immediately set out to track it down. I am glad I did, as I found Remembering Rosalind Franklin: Rosalind Franklin & the Discovery of the Double Helix Structure of DNA quite interesting. The story it tells, although not happy, is an important one, giving more information about the woman who helped to make one of the most important scientific discoveries to date. The author's note at the rear gives more information about Franklin, and about the "Matilda Effect," in which the work of women is claimed by men. I was intrigued to see, from that note, that author Tanya Lee Stone actually met Francis Crick as a child, when he visited her home, and that he expressed regret for not crediting Franklin's work. As expected, the artwork here—done in watercolor—was very appealing, with a sense of warmth and a wealth of charm. Powers' work reminds me a bit of Wendy Anderson Halperin, which is a welcome similarity! In any case, this is one I would recommend to young scientists, and to anyone looking for picture book biographies of woman scientists.… (more)

2010 Robert F. Sibert Medal Winner

This great book by Tanya Lee Stone explains what happened in the early 1960's when several female pilots challenged the conventions of their day and volunteered to take the same physical and psychological tests that the all-male Mercury 7 astronauts took. In some cases, such as the isolation tank experience, the women's tests were actually harder than what the men had had to go through. The 13 women who aced these tests came to be known as the "Mercury 13."

More than a story about astronauts, this is also a story about the appalling discrimination that women faced at the time. Belittled by their male counterparts and subjected to media epithets like "astronettes," these women believed in what they were capable of and rose above such petty ridicule. The text includes a table of contents, recommendations for further reading, extensive source notes, photography credits, and an index.

Although the author does tip a little too far into the "women are better than men" rhetoric for my taste, she rescues it a bit before the end by emphasizing that when Jerrie Cobb and Jane Hart spoke before Congress, Cobb stated that they didn't want a "battle of the sexes," but just to be given equal consideration. Hart is also described as stating that "if girls grow up to be homemakers, there is nothing wrong with that--as long as it is their choice and not something they settle into for lack of other options." Hallelujah. That is something I've believed for a long time, and it's nice to hear of a feminist figure supporting all potential choices for women.

Stone adds more information about where the space program is at with women today toward the end, profiling and including photos of several prominent leaders. In that section, I was interested in her remarks on p. 115 about women and how there are still fewer of them in scientific fields: "Are women still feeling the need to choose between motherhood and a career? Or is it more complicated than that? Eileen Collins, who fits her own description, says, 'I want young women to know that you can get married and have children and be a pilot and an engineer.'"

Personally, I think that yes, it is more complicated than that. My question to women and men would be "At what cost to one's self and one's family can you have children and a career?" It's great to be driven in your field, but I think you have a be a person who has tons of energy in order to have a family too--I don't consider myself, for one, in that category. On top of that, you have to have a good, supportive marriage with a REALLY understanding spouse and children, and to be careful to spend enough quality time with your family. Collins must have that, because from what info I can find she's still married. More power to her--I think a lot of marriages are failing today because both partners are working too hard and don't make enough time for each other. To me, part-time careers are the answer, but ultimately our society still has a long way to go as far as providing jobs with benefits to parents who prefer to work part-time. Stone posed these questions about the career/family issue, but didn't think very hard about it.

On a random note, I was also surprised that Stone showed Judith Resnick in a photograph, but didn't mention the Challenger disaster that claimed her life, Christa McAuliffe's, and those of five other male crew members. They all gave the ultimate sacrifice in the name of furthering NASA's mission.

Despite all those thoughts, though, I did really like this book. It made me appreciate how much women have had to push to get to the point that we're at today. There are so many more options for women out there than there were fifty years ago, including flying jets and commanding space missions.… (more)