She Caught the Light: Williamina Stevens Fleming: Astronomer

Highlighting the life of Scottish-born astronomer Williamina Stevens Fleming, this picture book biography illuminates how her work chipped away at sexist barriers of the late 19th century. Lasky’s straightforward narrative describes how the young single mother transitions from being a maid to becoming one of Harvard’s first female “human computers,” studying astronomical photographs to determine a star’s composition. Fleming later discovered the Horsehead Nebula and classified more than 10,000 stars, though she and other women weren’t allowed to peer through a telescope. Swaney’s digitized watercolor and gouache illustrations include stars on a deep indigo field, the motif skirting the edges of scenes while complementing the narrative’s accessible scientific explanations. Wide-ranging back matter provides further information related to this pioneering astronomer. Ages 4–8. [em](Jan.) [/em]