Science Discoveries Series. The life and work of Marie Curie from early childhood to her discovery of radium.

Marie Curie was one of the most famous chemists in the world. This book explores how she wanted to pursue a career in science. This book is great for someone who is very interested in science and wants to learn more about the people that made some of the most important science discoveries possible. Marie Curie's most famous discovery was that of two new chemical elements: radium and polonium. Her famous work also led to the discovery of radioactivity. This book was a great read and any child who loves science will enjoy this book. ( )

This biography not only talks about Marie Curie and her life, but it also talks about her accomplishments and all the things that she has discovered. It talks a lot about Radium and the process it took for Marie Curie to get to the ground breaking discovery of radium and its radioactive properties. The most interesting thing about Marie Curie is that she lived most of her life in pain because of radiation poisoning but never complained and kept studying science. ( )

Science Discoveries: Marie Curie and Radium is a thorough and straightforward children's biography of the mother of radioactivity. Author Steve Parker has written hundreds of children's science books, and his expertise comes through as he tackles complex science at a level appropriate for and understandable by elementary and middle school students.

The book is divided into chapters, though the layout makes it difficult to tell. The sidebars, illustrations, and photographs make the presentation of the material a little chaotic and busy, and presumably this is a format used by multiple books in the "science discovery" series. Access features include a table of contents, a timeline, a glossary, and an index. Parker walks us through Curie's unusual life in chronological order, and places her life, work, and discoveries in historical context. The book also discusses the sexism and xenophobia that she faced as a female Polish scientist working in Paris. Readers discover that Curie is an historical figure worth learning about, but the book's format prevents it from being a page turner. ( )

Steve Parker goes into great detail about Marie Curie's life for younger readers. I appreciate that throughout the book there are interesting details and notes in sidebars on the pages. This helps the reader to connect the biography with movements in science as well as historical events. I appreciate that Steve Parker addresses the issues that Marie Curie experienced being a woman in male dominated field. I also appreciate that Parker showed that not all men were against female scientists, and that her husband was very supportive of her work. I do take pause with the fact that Parker has a B.S. in Zoology, and not in something like chemistry or physics. The book seems well researched, but there is no bibliography listed. These two factors give me pause. If I were to use this book in the classroom, I would want to vet the science with other sources that I know are accurate. ( )