Adorable Kid Book Highlights Women in Stem

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Rating: 5 out of 5.

If you know a small person – especially a femme-presenting one- you will absolutely want to share this book with them. We all know we need more women in STEM, especially women of color, and this book is a wonderful highlight and inspiration of that concept.

About the Book

Eight-year-old problem-solver Terysa is determined to win the school science fair.

There is only one snag: she has so many good ideas, she doesn’t know which one to choose.

Terysa loves astronomy, so she wants her project to be space-related. But what exactly should

she present? Luckily, her sister Shana is an astronomy wiz and is on hand to help. Shana inspires Terysa with the tale of mathematician Dorothy Vaughan, NASA’s first Black supervisor and a computer programming pioneer.

Together, the sisters puzzle out the Python code that will get Terysa’s science project moving all on its own, and will soon have a project that is out of this world. But will it be enough to win the top science fair prize?

My Thoughts

I loved this book. Because I have a five-year-old, I jumped at the chance to share this book with her, and I am so glad I did. I, too, have a little budding scientist a la Terysa and Shana, and she often tells me how she wants to go to the moon – as long as me and her dad can go along – so this seemed like the perfect book for her.

Otherwise, I thought it brought a lot of great history and scientific facts into the mix. The book was a great jumping off point for budding scientists to start their research. It would make a great addition to any classroom library, and would be a great highlight for either Black History or Women’s History month classroom curriculums.

I also love that the author is herself a women of color working in a STEM field. That provides that extra inspiration and role model to show little girls they can grow up to be scientists just like her!

For my neurodivergent five-year-old, it did get bogged down in history and science facts a little – but she still enjoyed the story once we found the right setting for her, which if you have an neurodivergent kid, you know is key. She enjoyed seeing little girls like herself tackling science, and really enjoyed the concepts. It might be slightly more appropriate for slightly older kids, but having only raised my ND child, other neurotypical five-year-olds might be more able to focus on it.

This is a great book for kids who love science, and it might help inspire some kids who don’t alreay love science. It’s a great read for middle to upper elementary students, and I really think parents and teachers will enjoy reading this along with their children.

Apparently, this is the second in a series about Terysa, and we will definitely be looking into that book, and will keep an eye open for future installments. Terysa and her sister are loveable, and have definitely earned a spot on my family’s bookshelf.

About the Author

Terysa Ridgeway is a Technical Program Manager at Google. Before that, Terysa was a rocket scientist developing code for Exoatmospheric Spacecraft!

Terysa holds Computer Science and Mathematics degrees from Southern University and A&M College, and was recently accepted into Stanford University’s Executive Education LEAD program.

Terysa is inspired to write by her insanely vivid dreams, stories from her children’s ‘out of this world’ imagination, and by seeing brilliant young minds at work.

Terysa lives with her supportive husband and their four children, a creative ten-year-old, a nine-year-old aspiring author and songwriter, an inquisitive three-year-old, and an energetic two-year-old.

Terysa believes that when it comes to learning, with the right support, the sky is the limit!

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