Florence Nightingale

On My Own Biography

by Shannon Zemlicka, Shannon Knudsen, Nicolas Debon (Illustrator)

Growing up in a wealthy family that believed nursing wasn't a respectable job, Florence Nightingale was determined to help others. After more than sixty years of service as a nurse, she had helped to make nursing an honorable profession, left behind safer, cleaner hospitals, and saved countless lives.

Genres: Biography, History, Historical

48 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2002

About the author

This author also writes as Shannon Knudsen.

Reviews

[Teri]

I am enjoying this series of biographies. On My Own biographies. I loved learning about this courageous hardworking woman who helped so many. Florence Nightingale came from a wealthy family. When she was 16 she was sure she heard the voice of God as she was sitting in a favorite place under two cedar trees. The voice asked her to serve. The story tells how she entered into nursing. The afterword says, "She left behind safer, cleaner hospitals where trained nurses played an important role in caring for patients." She started to rest some around 73 years of age and died in 1910 at age 90.

[Stacie]

A very fine biography of Florence Nightingale written for young readers. Moody pictures with lots of life in them.

[Olya]

Pleasantly surprised to see God mentioned in this book. A great biography for young readers.

[JS]

Another nice, basic one. Much shorter than the other Florence Nightingale we read--but this one mentioned that she felt called by God, whereas the other one mentioned nothing like that. So now I find myself wondering and wanting to know more. All from reading kiddo nonfiction! My daughter has now sated herself on Florence Nightingale (we've read three short biographies), but now I have a bunch checked out from the library for me.

[Shelli]

This is a fantastic book for independent young readers, filled with informative facts about Florence Nightingale. Students will learn so much about this remarkable woman, her contributions to health care, and what field hospitals were like before the mid-1800s. This book is perfect for additional elementary history curriculum, or for a nightly reading assignment. I enjoyed the layout very much and look forward to reading additional books in this collection with my daughter.

[Betty Matthews]

I learned that Florence Nightingale suffered because she thought life should be more than fun that her rich family enjoyed. She chose to help others by becoming a nurse despite the fact that her mother and sister disapproved of her actions. So did her father. Florence listened to her heart. Florence was able to finally stop working after she improved the hospital in Turkey during the Crimean War.

[Elizabeth Toms]

I learned that Florence Nightingale worked to help others but did not start until she was thirty-three years old. She is an inspirational person.