The Girl Who Tested the Waters

January 1, 2025
An impressive tribute to MIT's first woman student, who went on to a distinguished career as an ecologist and food scientist. "Home economics" may sound quaint today, but it was once an innovative concept, championed by Ellen Swallow (later Richards). Not only did she serve as the first president of the Home Economics Association, but along with being an early user of the termecology, she also helped lead the way in bringing public health into the domestic sphere. Daniele sketches out her subject's progress from a homeschooled farm child with a love of nature and an active mind to her 1871 entry into MIT at age 28; at first she wasn't even allowed into the classrooms. From there, she went on to a grueling two-year study of pure and polluted water sources around Boston and similar investigations of unsanitary groceries--both of which led to new state pure food and water standards. What readers may miss unless they read the closing timeline and author's note is that, despite being denied a doctoral degree, she also opened and ran an instructional "Women's Laboratory" at MIT in a garage before finally being admitted to the faculty. Her vital legacy continues, the author writes, in the ongoing "fight for clean water and a healthy environment." In Wu's softly textured color pencil illustrations, Ellen stands out as an alert, bright-eyed figure. A warm portrait of a pioneering mind and spirit. (bibliography, source notes)(Picture-book biography. 7-9)

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January 16, 2025
Grades K-4 In 1842, Ellen Swallow was born with weak lungs. Throughout her childhood, young Ellen's mother followed the doctor's orders: long walks outdoors, fresh air, fresh foods, and clean water. Ellen grew stronger physically and intellectually. Homeschooled by her parents, she began working to earn money to pay for a college education in advanced math and science. She attended Vassar, where she studied applied chemistry. Later, she became the first woman student at MIT on a full scholarship. After a professor conducting an extensive water-quality survey for Boston chose her to collect and test samples, she began working on ways to provide clean water and test foods for impurities. Wu's beautifully shaded, color-pencil illustrations will help young readers and listeners envision the historical era as well as Ellen Swallow. In addition to the clearly written text, the book includes an appended section with an author's note, a useful time line, a bibliography, and source notes. An insightful picture-book biography introducing a trailblazer in the movement to provide clean, safe air, water, and food.

COPYRIGHT(2025) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.