The Sky's the Limit: Stories of Discovery by Women and Girls |  | Author: Catherine Thimmesh
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Category: Book
List Price: $16.00
Buy New: $8.01
You Save: $7.99 (50%)
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Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 1752147
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Hardcover
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Pages: 80
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 7.9 x 0.1
Dewey Decimal Number: 500.82
Publication Date: March 11, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Despite their glaring absence from history books, women have been responsible for countless remarkable discoveries, from the X and Y chromosomes to a 3.5 million-year-old hominid skull to the dark matter of the universe. In this compelling, cleverly illustrated tribute to the curious and brilliant women who have changed the world with their findings, readers will meet the NASA program manager who came up with the idea of using a small "microrover" on Mars. They'll also meet the 19th-century Spanish girl who discovered 15,000-year-old cave paintings that cast a new light on Stone Age people. More than a dozen stories reveal the monumental contributions to science and history made by the "fairer sex"; a selected timeline ranging from the 1300s to the present covers even more territory. Although by no means comprehensive, this compilation by Catherine Thimmesh presents a respectful glimpse at the stunning, too-often overlooked accomplishments and revelations of women--and girls--through time. Especially with the stories about 11- and 12-year-old girls, Thimmesh offers inspiration for young readers to rock the world with their own creative discoveries. Illustrator Melissa Sweet uses collage and scraps of notebook to great effect, evoking the painstaking long hours behind each breakthrough. (Ages 8 and older) --Emilie Coulter
Product Description
They study the night sky, watch chimpanzees in the wild, and dig up ancient clay treasures. They search the beach for rare fossils, photograph old rock carvings, explore the hazards of lead poisoning, and wander into dark caves. And in their watching, digging, and wandering they become discoverers. Young and old, they are women and girls who discover seventy-million-year-old sea lizards, the very origins of counting and writing, Stone Age cave art, mysterious matter in the universe, and how a puddle of water can be sanitized when heated by the sun. Here is a tribute to the findings and revelations of these remarkable women and girls: to their perseverance, their epiphanies, their wondrous curiosity. Brought to life by stunning collage illustrations, these inspiring stories drawn from primary sources consistently probe into still unanswered questions. Here are discoveries that open our eyes not only to what women and girls can accomplish but also to the astonishing world in which we live.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Women and Girls of Science May 15, 2004
Karen Woodworth Roman (DeKalb, IL)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
A thoroughly enjoyable look at some women and girls in science. Well written and interestingly presented research. Mentions some well known and some lesser known scientists. Has a section on top science fair projects prepared by girls. Superb book design. Uses collage and watercolor creating a log book/scrap book effect. Karen Woodworth-Roman, Children's Science Book Review
What an interesting book! October 27, 2002
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
I love the writing in this book. I read Catherine Thimmesh's other book, Girls Think of Everything, and I was really surprised to learn how much girls have contributed to this world. So I was happy to know that they've discovered lots of stuff, too. What they don't tell you in history class!! Thimmesh is a snappy writer, putting only the most interesting parts into her descriptions. GREAT GIFT for any girl you know. Maybe that's EVERY girl you know. Read it ... GIRLS ROCK!!!
 The politics of science June 22, 2005
E. R. Bird (Manhattan, NY)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
As a woman who has never had much interest in science or mathematics, I find myself constantly tipping my hat to those members of my gender who take to it naturally. And as a children's librarian, I've found that it's a good idea to find books about female leaders in these fields for those burgeoning geniuses amongst us. I first heard of "The Sky's the Limit" while living in Minnesota. The author, Catherine Thimmesh, is a Minnesotan resident with a keen interest in creating well-written books about outstanding people with XX chromosomes. As a follow-up to her previous title, "Girls Think of Everything", "The Sky's the Limit" is a remarkable and insightful piece of work within its own right.
"The Sky's the Limit" is about those women who've discovered things. It doesn't matter if those things include dinosaur bones, the fact that chimpanzees use tools, or dark matter. In this book, women (and girls) are responsible for big changes in the world. Through Thimmesh's readable text, readers learn about everything from cuneiform script to the creativity of the Anasazi Indians. Best of all, Thimmesh's final chapter is about contemporary girls and the contributions they have made as well. These discoveries aren't cutesy taglines to the book either. One girl discovered for a science fair project that vegetables grown in soil that contained lead-based paint chips grew with dangerously high levels of lead in the fruits and vegetables themselves. Other girls have found alternative methods of destroying/recycling excess bluegrass as well as inexpensive methods of making bacteria-ridden pond water potable. These may be young girls, but their discoveries are anything but small.
The women in this book are supposed to fall into the category of "discoverers". There are, however, a few notable exceptions. I was delighted to read the story of crazed innovator June Moxon and her quest to drive her original shoe-shaped kinetic sculpture across America. The only problem is that she doesn't really belong in this book. What Ms. Moxon did was an act of freedom and originality. Not discovery, really. Perhaps she discovered something unique about herself and others (the books says as much) but that's stretching the subject area just a tad. Thimmesh for her part is an especially engaging writer, finding just the right balance between fact and fancy. If I've any qualms with the layout in this book, it may be that I wish Thimmesh had included birth dates, just to place the women in this book in context. Otherwise she can do little wrong.
Illustrator Melissa Sweet is just a bit less constant. Many of these illustrations are original collages that draw the eye around the page. Sweet is less adept at diagrams. Too often she relies on her own hand-drawn representations when photographs would have been ideal. The story of June Moxon may be out of place, but I would have loved to have seen her kinetic sculpture in the shape of a woman's high-heeled shoe. Instead, we have only Sweet's sketched version, and there's no telling how accurate this really is. If I could have made any changes at all, I'd have thrown out half the hastily drawn sketches and popped in some lush color photographs for flavor.
Still, I doubt you'll find many other women-centric science titles that are half so engaging as, "The Sky's the Limit". If you've your own budding genius in the works, male or female, be sure to give them a taste of what human beings are capable of. A fine book and a fine title.
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