Edith Clarke is someone who invented the Calculator. She endured a great deal of difficulty and eventually believed in herself to invent something that changed the world! A STEM book that should be read by Adults as well as Children.

This was a fantastic juvenile biography that included the history of Edith Clark, but also looked into other women "computers" such as Katherine Johnson who helped shape technology. I liked the mix of illustrations and content and felt that I learned a lot about a historic woman who deserves more recognition.

I certainly had never heard of Edith Clarke before this book. I had also never considered the high level math that is involved in running electrical wires. At picture book length this book clearly doesn't get into the math or theory involved in what Clarke accomplished. We are simply given the sense that it was very complicated and that Clarke sat down to use her passion for math to simplify that task and reduce the risk of arithmetic errors. What results is a book not so much about math and engineering as it is about perseverance and following your passions in the face of disapproval. If you're looking for a new face to introduce to your young readers for women's history month, consider Edith Clarke.

“The Brilliant Calculator: How Mathematician Edith Clark Helped Electrify America“ by Jan Lower, with illustrations by Susan Reagan, is the true story about a young woman who loved math.

Little Edith Clark, loved numbers and puzzles and calculations. She wanted to be an engineer, but that wasn’t a profession she could have as a woman. This didn’t stop Edith from following her passion. She constructed a “Calculator“ from paper that was faster than doing math by hand, and helped America get lights and telephones running.

This was a really interesting story about somebody that I really didn’t know anything about. I loved learning about Edith Clark and the illustrations work really great. I recommend this for young readers.

I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher.
This book was about the life of Edith Clarke and her work with electricity. The back included a timeline and short bios about a handful of other female inventors and mathematicians.

My little mathematician will love this biography about Edith Clarke. The picture book format helps draw in readers of all ages, and the extra information included at the end of the book will aid anyone who wants to learn more about this extraordinary woman.

Thanks to Netgalley and Astra publishing for the ARC of this!

I love sharing biographies of influential women with my kids, especially women I haven’t heard from so I can learn with them. This was a very interesting look at mathematician Edith Clarke and how she made computing for electric wires quicker and easier. I liked the art style and the prose was a good length to read aloud.

💡 I am sad to say I was not familiar with Edith Clarke, the focus of this book. She is a brilliant mathematician who was interested in electricity and ultimately designed (on paper!) the first functional graphing calculator! (Literally, the calculator was on a piece of graph paper… and it worked!)

💡 This book is presented in a biographical format, informing readers how she grew up, was educated, and how she plowed through the wall of men in her way to become the first female electrical engineer in the U.S. Her work was instrumental in bringing telephones and lights across our nation.

💡 I love discovering brilliant women in STEM fields. This book is a must in any library or classroom.

Thank you @netgalley and @astrahousebooks (The Brilliant Calculator) for an eARC of this book, which I have read and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

A must-have for any school, classroom, or home library! The Brilliant Calculator follows the lifetime journey of Edith Clarke, a brilliant engineer who faced a variety of societal barriers during a time of intense scientific and social change. Fans of Rosie Revere and Ada Twist will love this slightly more grown-up take on a real-life scientist who persevered in the face of adversity and ignorance. Susan Reagan's illustrations perfectly complement Lower's text, and the occasional quote from Clarke punctuates the story nicely, though younger readers may need help deciphering the cursive font. I simply cannot wait to get my hands on this book for our curriculum library, and will be highlighting it for Women's History Month!

I have added this book to my TrueStory Bookshop and recommend it in two categories:
Picture-Book Biographies ~ Women’s History
Picture-Book Biographies ~ Makers

https://bookshop.org/shop/KarlinGray

What a wonderful story about Edith Clarke, an electrical engineer at the beginning of the 20th century. She persevered to get an education and do what she loved to do-work with numbers. She eventually graduated from MIT and was awarded 4 patents for her inventions. One patent was for her Clark Calculator what was as accurate as by hand but so much faster to do the electrical calculations they needed. She created the origins of the Smart Grid we use today for our electricity. This would be a great read aloud in 3rd to 5th grade in math, science or ELA for all students to see that anything is possible. I wish I had more of these type books when I was in school to see what was possible. If I was still teaching, I would definitely have this book in my classroom!

This book is a quick and engaging read - great for a read aloud. Interesting illustrations with lots of math embedded. There is a more detailed timeline in the back of her life and electricity milestones. A list of 8 other women mathematicians, engineer, and inventors is also included - I'd only heard of one! A glossary and bibliography are at the end of the book.

Thank you Astra Publishing House and Net Galley for an ARC of The Brilliant Calculator in exchange for an honest review.

This was a brief presentation of the life of Edith Clarke. The artwork is beautiful. The story was a bit short for my liking, but I enjoyed the information given in the end of the book. I would suggest it to all my students.

The Brilliant Calculator is a great nonfiction picture book telling the story of Edith Clarke, the inventor of the Clarke Calculator. This calculator, which consisted of a piece of paper with intersecting lines and curves and a two-pivoting arm contraption that allowed for quick calculations of complex mathematical equations. The pictures were fantastic and the additional information at the back was rich and informative. This would be a great addition to any classroom collection to shine light on another brilliant female mathematician/engineer.

The Brilliant Calculator
How Mathematician Edith Clarke Helped Electrify America
by Jan Lower; illustrated by Susan Reagan
Pub Date 14 Mar 2023
Astra Publishing House, Calkins Creek
Biographies & Memoirs | Children's Nonfiction | Science



I am reviewing a copy of The Brilliant Calculator through Astra Publishing House, Calkins Creek and Netgalley:




The Brilliant Calculator is the perfect book for girls interested in the S.T.E.M subjects, and honestly is one I'd recommend to all girls and boys regardless of age.


Long before the invention of Calculators little Edith Clarke devoured numbers, conquered calculations, cracked puzzles, and breezed through brainteasers. Edith wanted to be an engineer—to use the numbers she saw all around her to help build America.



As Edith grew up, no one would hire a woman engineer. But that didn’t stop Edith from following her passion and putting her lightning-quick mind to the problem of electricity. But the calculations took so long! Always curious, Edith couldn’t help thinking of better ways to do things. She constructed a “calculator” from paper that was ten times faster than doing all that math by hand! The invention won her a job, which made her the first women engineer in America. And because Edith shared her knowledge with others, her calculator helped electrify America, bringing telephones and light across the nation.



I give The Brilliant Calculator five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Mathematical genius and engineer Edith Clarke is best known for the invention of the calculator, but she held other patents as well and was America’s first female mathematical engineer. Beautiful picture book biography.

This picture book biography of Edith Clarke describes her early interest and pursuit of mathematics as well as her invention and patenting of a way to measure the flow of electricity. A strength of the book is her portrayal as a women of many interests, one who pursued higher education as well as employment where she could use her knowledge of mathematics. She was a women of kindness and determination. I also appreciate the many quotes from Edith Clarke that are found throughout the book, and the detailed, interesting illustrations. Her life’s story is inspiring and interesting. The back matter has additional information, a timeline, and a list of sources. A fine book for its information, design and illustrations.

This is a cute and informative book. I especially enjoyed the illustrations and also felt like I learned something, even though it is a children's book.