Skip to main content
Displaying 1 of 1
Queen of physics : how Wu Chien Shiung helped unlock the secrets of the atom
2019
Availability
Annotations

"When Wu Chien Shiung was born in China 100 years ago, girls did not attend school. But her parents named their daughter "Courageous Hero" and encouraged her love of science. This biography follows Wu as she battles sexism at home and racism in the United States of America to become what Newsweek magazine called the "Queen of Physics" for her work on how atoms split"-- - (Baker & Taylor)

Meet Wu Chien Shiung, famous physicist who overcame prejudice to prove that she could be anything she wanted.

Wu Chien Shiung's story is remarkable—and so is the way this book does it justice.” —Booklist (Starred review)

When Wu Chien Shiung was born in China 100 years ago, most girls did not attend school; no one considered them as smart as boys. But her parents felt differently. Giving her a name meaning “Courageous Hero,” they encouraged her love of learning and science. This engaging biography follows Wu Chien Shiung as she battles sexism and racism to become what Newsweek magazine called the “Queen of Physics” for her work on beta decay. Along the way, she earned the admiration of famous scientists like Enrico Fermi and Robert Oppenheimer and became the first woman hired as an instructor by Princeton University, the first woman elected President of the American Physical Society, the first scientist to have an asteroid named after her when she was still alive, and many other honors.

Winner - 2020 Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature Picture Book!
An NCTE Orbis Pictus Recommended book!
- (Sterling)

When Wu Chien Shiung was born in China 100 years ago, most girls did not attend school. But her parents gave her a name meaning “Courageous Hero” and encouraged her love of science. This engaging biography follows Wu as she battles sexism and racism to become what Newsweek magazine called the “Queen of Physics” for her work on beta decay.
- (Sterling)

When Wu Chien Shiung was born in China 100 years ago, most girls did not attend school. But her parents gave her a name meaning 'Courageous Hero' and encouraged her love of science. This engaging biography follows Wu as she battles sexism and racism to become what Newsweek magazine called the 'Queen of Physics' for her work on beta decay.
- (Sterling)

Meet Wu Chien Shiung, famous physicist who overcame prejudice to prove that she could be anything she wanted.

'Wu Chien Shiung's story is remarkable'and so is the way this book does it justice.' 'Booklist (Starred review)

When Wu Chien Shiung was born in China 100 years ago, most girls did not attend school; no one considered them as smart as boys. But her parents felt differently. Giving her a name meaning 'Courageous Hero," they encouraged her love of learning and science. This engaging biography follows Wu Chien Shiung as she battles sexism and racism to become what Newsweek magazine called the 'Queen of Physics' for her work on beta decay. Along the way, she earned the admiration of famous scientists like Enrico Fermi and Robert Oppenheimer and became the first woman hired as an instructor by Princeton University, the first woman elected President of the American Physical Society, the first scientist to have an asteroid named after her when she was still alive, and many other honors.

Winner - 2020 Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature Picture Book!
An NCTE Orbis Pictus Recommended book!
- (Sterling)

Author Biography

Teresa Robeson was born in Hong Kong, raised in Canada, and now writes and creates from her mini-homestead in southern Indiana where she lives with her scientist husband. A nonfiction winner of the We Need Diverse Books Mentorship Program, Teresa advocates for greater scientific and cultural literacy. Visit her online at teresarobeson.com and on Twitter @TeresaRobeson.   
 
Rebecca Huang is an illustrator from Taiwan who currently lives in the Bay Area. Rebecca received her MFA degree in illustration from Academy of Art University in San Francisco. She is the author and illustrator of Bobo and the New Baby. You can visit her at rebeccamhuang.com.
- (Sterling)

Teresa Robeson was born in Hong Kong, raised in Canada, and now writes and creates from her mini-homestead in southern Indiana where she lives with her scientist husband. A nonfiction winner of the We Need Diverse Books Mentorship Program, Teresa advocates for greater scientific and cultural literacy. Visit her online at teresarobeson.com and on Twitter @TeresaRobeson.   
 
Rebecca Huang is an illustrator from Taiwan who currently lives in the Bay Area. Rebecca received her MFA degree in illustration from Academy of Art University in San Francisco. She is the author and illustrator of Bobo and the New Baby. You can visit her at rebeccamhuang.com.
- (Sterling)

Large Cover Image
Trade Reviews

Booklist Reviews

*Starred Review* To have a girl child in China at the turn of the last century was not considered fortunate for most families. But the Wu family was not like most, and Chien Shiung was not only encouraged to go to school (her parents were educators), she was told she could be whatever she wanted. That support was taken to heart, and Robeson details in short but informative bites of text how the young woman extended her education, moving ever further from home and finally to the U.S., where she would delve deeply into her passion, the study of atoms. Writing biographies about people from different times and cultures can have challenges, but trying to explain physics—especially Wu's specialization, beta decay—in a picture-book biography certainly ups the ante. Robeson surmounts these almost effortlessly, getting to the heart of Wu's professional life and simply detailing her many accomplishments, as well as informing her audience how Wu was slighted when it came to awards like the Nobel Prize, with male colleagues taking the honors. The text's accessibility is supported and enhanced by Huang's collage-style artwork that captures Wu's dedication and willingness to take on leadership roles both in the scientific community and in leading political protests in China. Wu Chien Shiung's story is remarkable—and so is the way this book does it justice. A short biography and a dictionary of physics terms is appended. Grades 1-3. Copyright 2019 Booklist Reviews.

Publishers Weekly Reviews

Robeson details the life of Wu Chien Shiung, a female physicist of the mid-20th century who completed important, often unrecognized work in beta decay. Fortunate to have parents who started a girls' school in China, Wu was educated like her brothers, attended university, and led student protests to "resist Japanese invaders" just before WWII. After moving to the U.S., she investigates parity and beta decay in California and New York, often facing prejudice, and is passed over for the Nobel Prize as her male colleagues receive accolades. All the while, she perseveres, remembering her Baba's words: "Just put your head down and/ keep walking forward." Huang's stylized illustrations feature chalkboards full of equations and backdrops with swirling nuclear symbols. A list of Wu's "firsts" (first woman instructor at Princeton, for example) and a glossary of nuclear terms close this bittersweet biography of a brilliant woman. Ages 5–up. (Oct.)

Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly.

Librarian's View
Displaying 1 of 1