MargaretBolingMullin

7/20/2011 ** I was sorely disappointed with this book, especially in light of the other great picture book biographies that I've read by this author & publisher. The text would have earned a higher rating. Mortensen didn't gloss over the facts that Curie faced discrimination for being a woman and that her scientific work probably killed her. Perhaps the most interesting part of the book is the collection of "Did you Know..." facts at the end of the book. Given the constraints of the 24 page signature, I would have found it preferable to read less about Curie's early years and more about her scientific work.

The real downfall of this book came with the illustrations. Only one person is frowning in the entire text; even the page in which we learn that the family had just lost their home shows well-clothed, smiling children playing in a room with luxurious drapes & furniture. Likewise, the page in which the illustrator copied an actual photo (which I found using Google images), shows a smiling Curie posed with her smiling husband - in the original photo, both wear looks of concentration.

There are better picture book biographies of Curie, for example, one by Leonard Everett Fisher.