New Informational and Non-Fiction Books - CECH Library New Children's Informational/Non-Fiction Books - Research Guides at University of Cincinnati

New Biographies

by Rachel Hoople on 2024-07-05T09:00:00-04:00 | 0 Comments

Shining Star: Vera Rubin Discovers Dark Matter by Suzanne Slade; Susan Reagan (Illustrator)

Call Number: B RUB

ISBN: 9781635926019

Publication Date: 2023

From the moment she first looked out her window at the night sky, future astronomer Vera Rubin was star-struck. Her cosmic questions about stars, galaxies, and the universe gave Vera the drive to build her own telescope and earn multiple degrees in astronomy, despite an army of naysayers who thought women shouldn't reach for the stars. But Vera did reach for the stars. Studying spiral galaxies, she searched the skies all through the night, using telescopes in unheated observatories, some of which barred women until Vera insisted they let her in. And her studies revealed something stellar: evidence for the existence of dark matter, the most mysterious substance in the universe. Today, scientists continue to build off of Vera's groundbreaking work as they strive to better understand dark matter. A trailblazing scientist, Vera Rubin changed people's understanding of both the universe and what a woman can do.

Her Eyes on the Stars: Maria Mitchell, Astronomer by Laurie Wallmark; Liz Wong (Illustrator)

Call Number: B MIT

ISBN: 9781954354135

Publication Date: 2023

Maria Mitchell's curiosity about the night sky led her to spend hours studying the stars. She discovered a comet as a young woman, winning an award from the King of Denmark for being the first person to discover a new comet using a telescope. Now famous as "the lady astronomer," Maria went on to become a professional astronomer, an unheard of achievement for a woman in the 19th century. She was the first woman to get any kind of government job when she was hired by the United States Naval Observatory. Then as the first woman astronomy professor in the world, Maria used her position at Vassar College to teach young women to set their sights on the sky, training new generations of female astronomers. Her story inspires all of us to reach for the stars.

Rooting for Plants: The Unstoppable Charles S. Parker, Black Botanist and Collector by Janice N. Harrington; Theodore Taylor III (Illustrator)

Call Number: B PAR

ISBN: 9781662680199

Publication Date: 2023

In 1882, Black botanist and mycologist Charles S. Parker sprouted up in the lush, green Pacific Northwest. From the beginning, Charles's passion was plants, and he trudged through forests, climbed mountains, and waded into lakes to find them. When he was drafted to fight in World War I, Charles experienced prejudice against Black soldiers and witnessed the massive ecological devastation that war caused. Those experiences made him even more determined to follow his dreams, whatever the difficulties, and to have a career making things grow, not destroying them. As a botanist and teacher, Charles traveled the United States, searching for new species of plants and fungi. After discovering the source of the disease killing peach and apricot trees, Charles was offered a job at Howard University, the famed historically Black college where he taught the next generation of Black scientists-men and women-to love plants and fungi as much as he did.

The Snow Man by Jonah Winter; Jeanette Winter (Illustrator)

Call Number: B BAR

ISBN: 9781665932394

Publication Date: 2023

When Billy Barr came to the mountains as a young man, his only companions were a skunk and a pine marten. He needed something to fill the hours. So he began measuring the snow that fell. Day after day, and year after year, he measured. As he grew older, he noticed something: the snow was disappearing. It arrived later, melted sooner, and there wasn't as much of it. He shared his records with a local scientist, who shared them with other scientists, until his measurements were used by scientists all over the world studying climate change. Thanks to his curiosity, groundbreaking data was gathered that still helps us today!

Masked Hero: How Wu Lien-teh Invented the Mask That Ended an Epidemic by Shan Woo Liu; Lisa Wee (Illustrator)

Call Number: B WU

ISBN: 9781536228984

Publication Date: 2023

Meet Dr. Wu Lien-teh, defeater of the Manchurian plague--in a story authored by his great-granddaughter, an emergency physician who relied on his life-saving invention during a pandemic a century later. More than a hundred years before Covid, a deadly pneumonic plague threatened to sweep through Northeast China. Medical experts were summoned to help contain it--among them Wu Lien-teh, who had overcome hurdles to be a doctor since his boyhood in Malaysia. Unlike others, Dr. Wu deduced the disease was spread through airborne bacteria and advocated for quarantines and other measures familiar to readers today, including the use of a face covering he designed from layers of cloth and gauze: the first version of the N95 mask. Wu Lien-teh faced ridicule and discrimination, but his trailblazing methods prevailed: the 1910 Manchurian plague was vanquished in four months, and his invention continues to keep us safe now.

Santiago Saw Things Differently: Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Artist, Doctor, Father of Neuroscience by Christine Iverson; Luciano Lozano (Illustrator)

Call Number: B RAM

ISBN: 9781536224535

Publication Date: 2023

Santiago Ramón y Cajal's father, the village doctor, wants Santiago to be a doctor. He discourages his willful son's love and aptitude for art. But drawing and painting are as necessary to Santiago as breathing, so when his father confiscates his art supplies, the boy finds a way to draw in secret. He draws on doors, gates, and walls, and to the neighbors, his drawings are a nuisance. But Santiago sees things differently. He's an artist and always will be, even after he grows up and becomes a doctor. And art helps him discover what no one else could: branching connections within the nervous system.

Ketanji Brown Jackson by Tami Charles; Jemma Skidmore (Illustrator)

Call Number: B JAC

ISBN: 9781665935265

Publication Date: 2023

Discover the incredible story of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who followed her childhood dream of becoming a lawyer and eventually became the first Black woman to sit on the US Supreme Court in this picture book biography. After 232 years and 115 appointments, Ketanji Onyika Brown Jackson became the first Black woman appointed to serve on the US Supreme Court. With Tami Charles's sweeping lyricism and Jemma Skidmore's unforgettable illustrations, readers learn about the narratives that have shaped the Justice's life, and how this historic moment will be impressed upon the minds of the young dreamers of the future.

Nearer My Freedom by Monica Edinger; Lesley Younge

Call Number: B EQU

ISBN: 9781728450988

Publication Date: 2023

Millions of Africans were enslaved during the transatlantic slave trade, but few recorded their personal experiences. Olaudah Equiano's The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano is perhaps the most well known of the autobiographies that exist. Using this narrative as a primary source text, authors Monica Edinger and Lesley Younge share Equiano's life story in "found verse," supplemented with annotations to give readers historical context. This poetic approach provides interesting analysis and synthesis, helping readers to better understand the original text. Follow Equiano from his life in Africa as a child to his enslavement at a young age, his travels across the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, his liberation, and his life as a free man.

The Race to Be Myself by Caster Semenya

Call Number: B SEM

ISBN: 9781324035770

Publication Date: 2023

Olympian and World Champion Caster Semenya is finally ready to share the vivid and heartbreaking story of how the world came to know her name. Thrust into the spotlight at just eighteen years old after winning the Berlin World Championships in 2009, Semenya's win was quickly overshadowed by criticism and speculation about her body, and she became the center of a still-raging firestorm about how gender plays out in sports, our expectations of female athletes, and the right to compete as you are. Told with captivating speed and candor, The Race to Be Myself is the journey of Semenya's years as an athlete in the public eye, and her life behind closed doors. From her rural beginnings running free in the dust, to crushing her opponents in record time on the track, to the accusations and falsehoods spread about her in the press, the legal trial she went through in order to compete, and the humiliation she has been forced to endure publicly and privately. This book is a searing testimony for anyone who has been forced to stop doing what they love.

The Woman in the Moon by Richard Maurer

Call Number: B HAM

ISBN: 9781626728561

Publication Date: 2023

A stunning and intimate biography of Margaret Hamilton, the computer engineer who helped Apollo 11 and mankind get from the Earth to the moon. First-hand accounts, exclusive interviews with the legendary Margaret Hamilton, and detailed science populate the pages of this remarkable biography. In 1969, mankind successfully left our atmosphere and landed on the moon. It took countless hours of calculations, training, wonder, and sacrifice from all of the men and women who worked hard to make that landing. One of those people was Margaret Hamilton. A young computer engineer, Hamilton was hired to develop the completely new software used in the groundbreaking Apollo Space Program. Soon she became the lead engineer, one of the few women in the almost entirely male-dominated profession. But it wasn't always easy.

You're That Bitch by Bretman Rock

Call Number: B ROC

ISBN: 9780358694106

Publication Date: 2023

Who is Bretman Rock Sacayanan behind the screen and how did he become the original superstar influencer and today's beloved best friend of the internet? You're That Bitch welcomes you into Bretman Rock's world--from how his childhood in the Philippines, his family, Filipino culture, and being a first-generation immigrant helped shape him into who he is today. Peek into how Bretman became a social media sensation at the precocious age of 14, balancing living a glamorous jet-setting lifestyle on weekends while still serving lunch at his school's cafeteria, running as a varsity track-star, and making honor roll during the week. With his signature honesty, this is an unfiltered and unprecedented look at what it means to be one of the first digital celebrities and that bitch---from dealing with cancel culture, drama and heartbreak, to what it means to love yourself and your community.

Birdgirl by Mya-Rose Craig

Call Number: B CRA

ISBN: 9781250807670

Publication Date: 2023

British-Bangladeshi birder, environmentalist and activist Mya-Rose Craig is an international force. In her moving memoir, Birdgirl, she chronicles her mother's struggle with mental illness, and shares her passion for social justice and fierce dedication to preserving our planet. Meet Mya-Rose - otherwise known as "Birdgirl." In her words: "Birdwatching has never felt like a hobby, or a pastime I can pick up and put down, but a thread running through the pattern of my life, so tightly woven in that there's no way of pulling it free and leaving the rest of my life intact." Birdgirl follows Mya-Rose and her family as they travel the world in search of rare birds and astonishing landscapes. But a shadow moves with them, too--her mother's deepening mental health crisis. In the face of this struggle, the Craigs turn to nature again and again for comfort and meaning. Each bird they see brings a moment of joy and reflection, instilling in Mya-Rose a deep love of the natural world. But Mya-Rose has also seen first-hand the reckless destruction we are inflicting on our fragile planet, as well as the pervasive racism infecting every corner of the world, leading her to campaign for Black, Indigenous, people of color. Joining the fight of today's young environmental activists, Mya-Rose shares her experiences to advocate for the simple, profound gift of nature, and for making it accessible to all, calling her readers to rediscover the power of our natural world. Birder, activist, daughter: this is her story.

Desert Queen by Jyoti Rajan Gopal; Svabhu Kohli (Illustrator)

Call Number: B KUM

ISBN: 9781646142620

Publication Date: 2023

This picture book biography, spun in vibrant verse by Jyoti Gopal, traces the journey of a beloved Rajasthani drag performer who defied tradition and dazzled the world. Fueled by an inner fire, young Harish yearns to join the captivating desert dancers, their music pulsing through his veins. But societal constraints paint a narrow path, one that clashes with his vibrant spirit. Through lyrical stanzas and Svabhu Kohli's evocative art, Harish's story unfolds, a tapestry woven with resilience and the transformative power of dance. From village gatherings to Bollywood stages, Queen Harish twirls her way into hearts, leaving a trail of shattered stereotypes and empowering others to embrace their true selves. This is a celebration of courage, finding your inner queen, and dancing to your own rhythm.

How Do You Spell Unfair?: MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee by Carole Boston Weatherford; Frank Morrison (Illustrator)

Call Number: B COX

ISBN: 9781536215540

Publication Date: 2023

From a multi-award-winning pair comes a deeply affecting portrait of determination against discrimination: the story of young spelling champion MacNolia Cox. MacNolia Cox was no ordinary kid. Her idea of fun was reading the dictionary. In 1936, eighth grader MacNolia Cox became the first African American to win the Akron, Ohio, spelling bee. And with that win, she was asked to compete at the prestigious National Spelling Bee in Washington, DC, where she and a girl from New Jersey were the first African Americans invited since its founding. She left her home state a celebrity--right up there with Ohio's own Joe Louis and Jesse Owens--with a military band and a crowd of thousands to see her off at the station. But celebration turned to chill when the train crossed the state line into Maryland, where segregation was the law of the land. Prejudice and discrimination ruled--on the train, in the hotel, and, sadly, at the spelling bee itself.

Queen of Leaves by Isabel Muñoz (Illustrator); Stephen Briseño

Call Number: B MEX

ISBN: 9781959244011

Publication Date: 2023

The wax palm knows what it's like to defy the odds. Ynes Mexia knew it too. QUEEN OF LEAVES tells the true story of Ynes Mexia, the inspiring and fearless Mexican-American adventurer-botanist, and her quest to find the mysterious wax palm tree. Ynes enrolled in university in her 50s, at an age when women were not expected to be students. There she discovered botany -- a passion that would lead her all over the world on many adventures and change the study of botany forever. She went on to lead expeditions gathering plant and flower samples for universities and museums around the globe, introduce the botany world to the elusive wax palm tree, and forever cement herself as the QUEEN OF LEAVES.

The Fire of Stars by Kirsten W. Larson; Katherine Roy (Illustrator)

Call Number: B PAY

ISBN: 9781452172873

Publication Date: 2023

Astronomer and astrophysicist Cecilia Payne was the first person to discover what burns at the heart of stars. But she didn't start out as the groundbreaking scientist she would eventually become. She started out as a girl full of curiosity, hoping one day to unlock the mysteries of the universe. With lyrical, evocative text by Kirsten W. Larson and extraordinary illustrations by award-winning illustrator Katherine Roy, this moving biography powerfully parallels the kindling of Cecilia Payne's own curiosity and her scientific career with the process of a star's birth, from mere possibility in an expanse of space to an eventual, breathtaking explosion of light.

Swishing by Victorica Monroe; Shawn Richardson (Illustrator)

Call Number: B MON

ISBN: 9781737711728

Publication Date: 2022

In "Swishing", readers are taken along on Victoria's journey of identifying as Deafblind, facing prejudice, and playing basketball. This children's book explores important topics, such as diversity, acceptance, and discovering identities.

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