Girls & STEM: Rosie Revere & Ada Twist

Today I'd like to tell you about two of my favorite children's books: Rosie Revere, Engineer and Ada Twist, Scientist. Both are written by Andrea Beaty and illustrated by David Roberts.

The two books are about precocious young girls with big questions and big dreams. Rosie loves to build things to solve problems, but feels discouraged when grown-ups laugh at her inventions. That is until her great-great Aunt Rose, with her signature red scarf, comes to town and teaches Rosie an important lesson:

“Your brilliant first flop was a raging success! Come on, let's get busy and on to the next!" She handed a notebook to Rosie Revere, who smiled at her aunt as it all became clear. Life might have its failures, but this was not it. The only true failure can come if you quit.”

Meanwhile, Ada Marie (named for Ada Lovelace and Marie Curie) has a thirst for knowledge that cannot be quenched. In her story, it is actually her parents that learn a lesson: that little scientists should be encouraged, not suppressed.

All parents and teachers of young children should run out and get these books today! It is so easy to get exasperated by the never-ending questions, and the mess that seems to materialize every time you leave a kid alone for five minutes. My own daughter literally wants to stop and smell the roses every day as we leave her school. It's so annoying! But it's also so important to let her do it, because curiosity and creativity have to be cultivated, or they will not survive the impending apathy of adolescence!

The world of education has been placing a lot of emphasis on STEM these past few years, but it's disturbing to see how few women and girls enter these fields. Growing up, I always loved math and consistently scored well in my classes, but was never once told to take an advanced math class or asked about pursuing a STEM career. I have no regrets about the path I took--I also always loved to read!--but I can't help but wonder why no one saw that potential in me.

But things will be different for my daughter's generation! With characters like Rosie and Ada, and real world role models like Danica McKellar and Dr. Karen Panetta,  I hope we will see more girls entering STEM fields and changing the world for the better!