Minni's Favorite Books - Women in STEAM!
Our Favorite Books on Women in STEAM!
In honor of March being National Women’s History month, we thought it was only appropriate to highlight some of our favorite books that highlight world renowned artists and women in STEAM that have been pioneers in their field, pushed boundaries, and had a positive impact on our world.
We hope these books inform and inspire you and your little one to be a force in your own right, try new artistic methods, and never be afraid to create!
Maya Lin: Artist-Architect of Light and Lines by Jeanne Walker Harvey
In this inspiring story on American artist, Maya Lin, a visionary artist-architect who designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. In her childhood, Maya Lin loved to study the spaces around her. She explored the forest in her backyard, observing woodland creatures, and used her house as a model to build tiny towns out of paper and scraps. The daughter of a clay artist and a poet, Maya grew up with art and learned to think with her hands as well as her mind. Follow her story from first experiments with light and lines to the height of her success nationwide.
Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly
In this beautifully illustrated picture book edition, you and your little one(s) will explore the story of four female African American mathematicians at NASA, and how they overcame gender and racial barriers to succeed in a highly challenging STEM-based career. These women worked hard, persisted, and used their genius minds to change the world.
The World Is Not a Rectangle: A Portrait of Architect Zaha Hadid by Jeanette Winter
Get to know this famed architect and her triumph over adversity. Zaha Hadid grew up in Baghdad, Iraq, and dreamed of designing her own cities. After studying architecture in London, she opened her own studio and started designing buildings. But as a Muslim woman, Hadid faced many obstacles. Determined to succeed, she worked hard for many years, and achieved her goals—and now you can see the buildings Hadid has designed all over the world.
Dancing Through Fields of Color: The Story of Helen Frankenthaler by Elizabeth Brown
Discover how notorious artist Helen Frankenthaler used color to express emotion, and how she overcame the male-dominated art world of the 1950s. Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011) splashed her way through the modern art world. Never shying away from emotion, she poured paint onto her canvas and danced with the colors to make art unlike anything anyone had ever seen. The originator of the influential "Color Field" style of abstract expressionist, painting with her "soak stain" technique, Frankenthaler’s artwork continues to electrify new generations of artists today.
Frida Kahlo and Her Animalitos by Monica Brown
A celebration of one of the world’s most influential painters, Frida Kahlo, and the animals that inspired her art and life! The Mexican artist Frida Kahlo is most remembered for her self-portraits and dramatic works featuring bold and vibrant colors. This story showcases the beloved pets who comforted her along the way - two monkeys, a parrot, three dogs, two turkeys, an eagle, a black cat, and a fawn - and playfully considers how Frida embodied many wonderful characteristics of each animal.
Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl's Courage Changed Music by Margarita Engle
Girls cannot be drummers. Long ago on an island filled with music, no one questioned that rule - until the drum dream girl. Inspired by the childhood of Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, a Chinese-African-Cuban girl who broke Cuba's traditional taboo against female drummers, Drum Dream Girl tells an inspiring true story for dreamers everywhere.
