Member Reviews

This small book brought back memories of reading books about Marie Curie and wanting to be a female researcher as a small kid. It's a warm fuzzy feeling of wonder and accomplishment despite the odds.

That said, the book still left a sour taste in my mouth. It seemed to internalize the message that for a female to be successful in science, where men traditionally prevail, she needs to shed away her femininity and refuse to be a wife and a mother. It seemed to subscribe into the narrative that, to be a scientist, you shouldn't be like "other girls".

Regardless of the historical context of the book and whether the main character wanted a more traditional female role, I believe female scientists and academics face a lot of challenges without being told they cannot be both mothers and academics. Young girls do not need that kind of message.

The academic environment is hostile to motherhood and it's still a topic that is largely unadressed. I wish there was a more nuanced message that conveys women have the right to be both even if the status quo doesn't currently make it easy for them to do so.

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This is the true story of Emmy Noether who helped make Einstein’s theory of relativity the solid indestructible physics principle it is today. Emmy was a mathematician in a time when women were not allowed to be educated, let alone allowed to teach. Because of this, she did great things for science, but most of the credit for her work was taken by others. The men were allowed to publish and be famous. This is an interesting biography, but it is a tad long. It is also a bit confusing for the age it’s written. Overall, it is a nice work and introduces children to someone they not heard about before, and for that it was a nice read.

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The story of the not well known Emmy Noether. She helped Einsteins theory and created two of her own, one being Noether’s theorem. Her life ended tragically and people don't really know much about her. We need a movie and more books on this amazing woman so that she can get the recognition she truly deserves.! Another amazing children's book from the Kids Can Press publishing company.!

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This is a fascinating story. I enjoyed learning about this woman whose passion was math, and what she discovered about it. The pictures are great, too. This is a book I would love to have on our shelf for my children to read.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley, and these are my honest thoughts about it.

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Noether was a new name to me. After this book, she's among my favorite historical figures. She's an impressive figure. For her accomplishments to be sure, but even more because of her dedication. She didn't care about compensation or recognition. She really only cared about the math. She didn't care that people thought her too loud, big, sloppy, or clumsy. She was completely herself. I already admire her for that. Her accomplishments are hard to explain to a child audience given that they deal with theoretical physics and mathematics, Still, I'm all for giving kids a wide variety of heroes Noether is one who hasn't gotten enough attention.

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Wow! Another amazing woman! I would've loved to be friends with her... well, maybe not. She seems like my kind of person, but all the math talk would have probably gone over my head! I love that Emmy never gave up and found ways around the obstacles in her path. The story is easy to understand but still gives plenty of details about her life; the illustrations are stunning. Definitely one to add to your library!

Note- one page has a laundry line and a bra is hanging on the line with other clothes

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC! All opinions are my own and are unbiased.

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Great story to inspire all young children, but especially young women to solve problems and dive into hardship head on with determination.

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A Smart Woman Before Her Time

What a fascinating woman to find out about in this little children's non-fiction book. As the subtitle says, I had never heard of her, yet she was a mathematical genius who helped Einstein figure out a problem he was having with the theory of relativity. Because of her gender and the era she lived in, she first had a hard time getting any education to build on her natural mathematical aptitude, and then she wasn't allowed to actually take classes for a degree (only allowed to sit in) at first. Her male colleagues took credit for her ideas that sometimes revolutionized mathematics and physics, first in school and afterward as well. After finally being allowed to get a Ph.D., she then could not officially be a professor as no German university allowed female professors, but she did so anyway without pay. When the Nazis prohibited Jews from teaching at universities, she taught students from home. She eventually immigrated to the US because of fear for her life under Nazism. She had hoped to get a job at Princeton, but they did not have female professors at the time. So she became a mathematics professor at Bryn Mawr, though she surprisingly faced issues there as well. Unfortunately, she did not live long after coming to the US, just a couple of years, before she died of an infection after surgery. Her mathematical work has actually formed the basis of some of what we think of as the modern sciences, like quantum mechanics and computer science. Her story is one of perseverance, despite all the odds stacked against her. There were a few odd things about the book, though. Not in the main text, but short sentences and phrases that were a part of the illustrations. I thought the “Say it, don't spray it” comment was completely unnecessary and detracted from the book. Despite this flaw, I hope young girls interested in math and science find this book and feel inspired to follow their non-traditional dreams. Emmy is certainly one who should inspire!

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Well the book is right in that Emmy Noether is a mathematician that I have never heard of!

The book was a real eye opener and a great introduction to one of the world’s greatest mathematicians who was so instrumental in helping Einstein with his famous theory.

The illustrations work so well with the book, it was easy to follow and understand and I liked the end where it gave more detail on the life of this remarkable woman.

It is 5 stars from me for this one and it one I will be recommending and I am defiantly now going to see what else I can find out about Emmy Noether!

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Thanks NetGalley and Kids Can Press for the ARC for honest review.
Emmy Noether, a person I never knew about until I read this book. She was the most important mathematican indeed. I am glad that I read this book. It is not only an informative but also an inspiring story. I liked that the difficult theories of maths and physics were explained easily for children to understand the works of Noether. I would recommend it to all book lovers.

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You may have never heard of Emmy Noether but if you have heard of theory of relatively, you may know her work. Being a Jewish woman in the turn of the century, she was not taken seriously. Her father a professor and her mother a violinist, she loved math and problem solving. She had a special gift of seeing problems differently. She was a modest woman and one of her greatest pleasures was sharing the love of math.

I enjoyed her story and appreciated the woman she was. If you have a little girl or boy that loves to learn, this read will be inspiring. Highly recommend.

A special thank you to Kids Can Press and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review

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This elementary grade level story about Emmy Noether is a welcome addition to biographies of little known women scientists. Emily Noether's work is associated with one of the most important and well-known scientist of the era, Albert Einstein. Because Emmy Noether's contributions to the theories that Einstein made world-famous is not widely known, this brief biography expands our understanding of her contribution to science.

I love how the book stresses the support of her family, especially her father, in Emmy's education and his support for her scientific research. The comic book-like illustrations captured Emmy Noether's energy and her love of science. As we learn more about the contributions of marginalized people to the important work of science, it is important include stories about women like Emmy Noether that add to children's understanding of the history of science.

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I LOVE books about lesser-known, but super-important people. German born Emmy Noether was a gifted mathematician in a time when women were barely allowed to attend college. Her research was vital and she even helped Einstein with his Theory of Relativity. Of course, men took all the credit for her work. This book would make a nice companion to science units and to examine gender stereotypes and fairness.

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Wonderful #picturebook biography of mathematician Emmy Noether, a German Jewish woman who defied sexism and antiSemitism to pursue a career in math. This book is beautifully illustrated and unabashedly feminist — it emphasizes the value of nonconformity and resistance, grit and courage. It also explains complex physics and math clearly and accessibly. The Author’s Note at the end gives more detail about Noether’s life, work, and escape from the Nazis, as well as a list of recommended reading. Highly recommended.

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Emmy Noether is an astonishing woman who I had never heard about. Einstein I have heard of, but not Emmy Noether. This book was a wonderful story about how she contributed to math and science concepts. Along with her story, we are told the history of how women were treated and what was going on during the Nazi invasion. So much information. A great addition to a classroom.

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Oh, I am ready to purchase this for my school library. We are searching for more books about female scientists. This book brings up many issues in an age-appropriate way. This book also includes thorough Author's Notes and Further Reading. Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for this copy.

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I had never heard of Emmy Nother, but I’m glad to know of her now. Emmy was a Jew from Germany who made significant contributions in the fields of science and math. The reason most people haven’t heard of her is that many of her science and math discoveries built upon someone else’s ideas or her ideas were used by others to build upon. And so they were generally attributed to men who also had a hand in the work.

I enjoyed the fun little checklists showing how Emmy was not like the other girls. She was unique. She forged ahead in a world that wasn’t kind to women mathematicians. When she began university classes, women were not even allowed to attend, but she sat in on the classes even though she did not receive credit. Eventually, she was able to earn her degree after her university changed its policy to allow female students. And since women weren’t allowed to be professors, she taught for free. Math was her passion and she was just happy to be involved in some way.

Emmy’s most important contributions included helping prove Einstein’s theory of relativity, showing that each physical law of conservation is paired with a law of symmetry, and she discovered new math concepts that eventually helped other scientists understand atoms and develop computer software.

The illustrations are fun and include a bit of cartoon-like commentary. I liked that Emmy’s character is illustrated as bright. She is literally shown glowing. She is bright in wisdom and she’s a bright light in the world.

I would say the book is best suited for upper elementary kids. It’s a perfect book to promote involvement of girls/women in STEM (Science, technology, engineering, math) fields. This would be a great addition to any library, science or math classroom.

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

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Honestly before this book I never kneq about this amazing woman.
A nonfiction with beautiful illustrations give this book a fairytale feel.
Its amazing to know how women of this significance were removed from the history.
Highly recommend this book for children specially young girls.They should know that even the sky is not the limit for them .

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I love non-fiction picture books, and lucky for me Helaine Becker has crafted a great one about a very talented lady!

Emmy Noether was a mathematician, and it seems barely anyone has heard about her. As a smart, Jewish lady she didn't become all that popular (mostly due to the times). Despite this fact, this lady managed to solve some of the mysteries of physics (which is just insanely cool, let's be honest!). She created two important theories that changed math and physics, yet barely anyone knows about her.

I think Grade 3 and up would appreciate this book. Middle schoolers would probably find this far more interesting, but young, advanced readers could also love this. It's educational, has a cool story and is just fun! It could be a great bed time read or for reading buddies! I highly recommend it!

The illustrations have a unique vibe to them and give the book personality. The pictures don't always have a background and cover white spaces where the words aren't. I really liked it, because it stood out to me compared to other books.

Five out of five stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kids Can Press for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

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Thank you Netgalley for an advanced ebook copy of this title!

I can't say I knew who Emmy Noether was before reading this title, much less the right way to pronounce her name. Given how large her contributions to the mathematical field were, that's saddening although not surprising. This picture book biography is a great presentation of her life for young readers though, as well as breaking down some her theories that she developed & contributed to (including Einstein's Theory of Relativity). I also appreciated how the book made sure to mention that her work was stalled by Nazi Germany, forcing her to flee to the US. Another great women in STEM pick!

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