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Searching Beyond the Stars: Seven Scientists Take On Space's Biggest Questions
Are we alone in the cosmos? Could we one day live on a different planet? How is life formed? What other secrets does the universe hold?
Through profiles of seven remarkable women scientists and their achievements in their respective fields, Searching Beyond the Stars takes us deep into space, looking at once to the distant past and the distant future to capture the awe and intrigue of some of the biggest questions we can possibly ask. Making connections across astronomy, chemistry, physics, history, and more, Nicole Mortillaro draws on her own experience as a woman in STEM to highlight the incredible odds each scientist faces while chasing new discoveries and the ways in which sexism and racism, among other barriers, still affect women scientists to this day. Sidebars filled with fascinating facts take readers behind the science and encourage them to delve deeper. Vibrant illustrations by Amanda Key showcase the wonder of space and the passion and eternal curiosity that drive each scientist in their work unfurling the mysteries of our universe.
Through profiles of seven remarkable women scientists and their achievements in their respective fields, Searching Beyond the Stars takes us deep into space, looking at once to the distant past and the distant future to capture the awe and intrigue of some of the biggest questions we can possibly ask. Making connections across astronomy, chemistry, physics, history, and more, Nicole Mortillaro draws on her own experience as a woman in STEM to highlight the incredible odds each scientist faces while chasing new discoveries and the ways in which sexism and racism, among other barriers, still affect women scientists to this day. Sidebars filled with fascinating facts take readers behind the science and encourage them to delve deeper. Vibrant illustrations by Amanda Key showcase the wonder of space and the passion and eternal curiosity that drive each scientist in their work unfurling the mysteries of our universe.
- GenresNonfiction
120 pages, Paperback
First published October 4, 2022
About the author
Nicole Mortillaro
22 books4 followersNICOLE MORTILLARO is a sports editor and writer from Toronto.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 10, 2022
Searching Beyond the Stars profiles seven women within the field of astronomy from the mid 20th century through to present day. The focus is not only on their accomplishments and contributions within their fields, but the hardships they faced due to gender discrimination and racism.
Beginning with Katherine Johnson, who most people know from Hidden Figures, her story details her perseverance in education for herself and the calculations she made for NASA. Jill Tarter is another name I know as the cofounder of the SETI institute. Jill made strides in listening to space through radio waves and cataloging star systems that could be habitable based on her research. Emily Lakdawalla is a contemporary scientist whose focus is to bring space education to the masses in interesting and easy to understand ways. Tanya Harrison helped to engineer the Mars Rovers and discovered many different geological aspects on the Mars surface. Sara Seager focuses her work on finding exoplanets, especially exoplanets that might support life. Renée Hložek studies how the universe changes over time and ultimately how it will end. Ashley Walker studies the chemistry of other atmospheres to see if life could exist elsewhere.
Each woman's journey into their fields and what sparked their interest from chemistry, physics, geology, history or just the love of outer space, showing that there are many different routes into astronomy. Their stories are accompanied by easy to read facts that break down the science of what they are studying with background information and vocabulary. Written for middle grade readers, Searching Beyond the Stars encourages you to find your curiosity.
Beginning with Katherine Johnson, who most people know from Hidden Figures, her story details her perseverance in education for herself and the calculations she made for NASA. Jill Tarter is another name I know as the cofounder of the SETI institute. Jill made strides in listening to space through radio waves and cataloging star systems that could be habitable based on her research. Emily Lakdawalla is a contemporary scientist whose focus is to bring space education to the masses in interesting and easy to understand ways. Tanya Harrison helped to engineer the Mars Rovers and discovered many different geological aspects on the Mars surface. Sara Seager focuses her work on finding exoplanets, especially exoplanets that might support life. Renée Hložek studies how the universe changes over time and ultimately how it will end. Ashley Walker studies the chemistry of other atmospheres to see if life could exist elsewhere.
Each woman's journey into their fields and what sparked their interest from chemistry, physics, geology, history or just the love of outer space, showing that there are many different routes into astronomy. Their stories are accompanied by easy to read facts that break down the science of what they are studying with background information and vocabulary. Written for middle grade readers, Searching Beyond the Stars encourages you to find your curiosity.
August 29, 2023
This title is nominated for the 2024 Hackmatack Award in the English Non-Fiction category.
Full disclosure: I absolutely LOVED this book! If I was able to vote, this one would be my selection. It ticks all of the boxes - interesting subject, Canadian content, awesome design, and amazing illustrations. When I did my undergrad I took an introduction to astronomy, and until we got to the end of the course & the math started to get complicated I thought maybe I should major in astrophysics....until my best friend told me "you know that's literally 'rocket science' right?" and I came to my senses. But I digress! "Searching Beyond the Stars" is a fantastic book for anyone who has an interest in space. The seven women selected for this book each have a different area of expertise, and each chapter does an excellent job of breaking down the topics into their most basic concepts. I love that the book starts off with a helpful page explaining how to best navigate & what certain graphics indicate within the text. All of the chapters start with a timeline & key words/concepts that 'you need to know'. I thought they were a great length too, providing natural stopping/starting points which made it easy to go back to. And there is a glossary at the end, followed by a list of sources (listed by individual) and an index. Finally, I have to give special recognition to Amanda Key, the illustrator for this book. I thought the design of the book was prefect, not too much information per page & beautiful eye-catching illustrations. Absolutely beautiful.
I would recommend this book to space enthusiasts of all ages, and girls who have an interest in STEM.
Full disclosure: I absolutely LOVED this book! If I was able to vote, this one would be my selection. It ticks all of the boxes - interesting subject, Canadian content, awesome design, and amazing illustrations. When I did my undergrad I took an introduction to astronomy, and until we got to the end of the course & the math started to get complicated I thought maybe I should major in astrophysics....until my best friend told me "you know that's literally 'rocket science' right?" and I came to my senses. But I digress! "Searching Beyond the Stars" is a fantastic book for anyone who has an interest in space. The seven women selected for this book each have a different area of expertise, and each chapter does an excellent job of breaking down the topics into their most basic concepts. I love that the book starts off with a helpful page explaining how to best navigate & what certain graphics indicate within the text. All of the chapters start with a timeline & key words/concepts that 'you need to know'. I thought they were a great length too, providing natural stopping/starting points which made it easy to go back to. And there is a glossary at the end, followed by a list of sources (listed by individual) and an index. Finally, I have to give special recognition to Amanda Key, the illustrator for this book. I thought the design of the book was prefect, not too much information per page & beautiful eye-catching illustrations. Absolutely beautiful.
I would recommend this book to space enthusiasts of all ages, and girls who have an interest in STEM.
August 23, 2022
We learned so much from this book! There have been so many women who have made ground breaking discoveries in science. The book is well organized and has such beautiful illustrations. It would make a perfect birthday or Christmas gift.
Thank you NetGalley and Annick Press Ltd. for the opportunity to review this book.
Thank you NetGalley and Annick Press Ltd. for the opportunity to review this book.
July 26, 2022
“Searching Beyond the Stars” is a beautifully illustrated collective biography about seven female trailblazers in the field of astronomy. Great pop out text provides interesting facts, context knowledge, and definitions. It’s appropriate for those readers who want to know more about space along with those who are looking for female role models.
September 20, 2022
Searching Beyond the Stars: Seven Women in Science Take On Space’s Biggest Questions, by Nicole Mortillaro and illustrated by Amanda Key is a well-intended book that redresses a long-standing issue — the erasure of women and minority contributions to the sciences (particularly astronomy) and the obstacles these groups have had to overcome. It does so by introducing readers to seven highly accomplished and important women in the field. Unfortunately, while the book is solid in terms of content, it’s structure and writing leave something to be desired, though it's still a worthy book to read and/or have in a public/school library or classroom.
The first profile is probably the one, perhaps the only one, that most readers will recognize — Katherine Johnson, whose name finally entered the public consciousness via Hidden Figures (the book first and then the movie). Mortillaro does an excellent job in detailing the integral role Johnson played in early NASA achievements, and in later decades. Other women covered were:
• Jill Tarter: a pioneer in attempts to find alien life via SETI
• Emily Lakdawalla: communicates the wonders of space science via her role in the Planetary Society
• Tanya Harrison: An Astrogeologist who played a key role in Mars rover missions and began the Women in Space conference series
• Sara Seager: Works on finding/analyzing exoplanets
• Renée Hložek: an astrophysicist exploring both the beginning and the ending of the universe
• Ashley Walker: an astro-chemist who explores the possibility of life on other planets
Besides the profiles, the book I filled with numerous asides that explain scientific concepts, give some historical references/context, and offer a very brief discussion of sexism and racism in the STEM fields (several of the women above are heavily involved in combatting these via groups, social media, conferences, etc.)
The profiles themselves are solid enough and do a good job information-wise, and the science concepts are for the most part explained concisely and clearly enough for the target MG audience. The language and style are adequate I’d say, but flat, not offering much beyond the information itself. That’s obviously the important part, but some livelier, richer prose would have enhanced the reading experience, similar to what the pleasant illustrations did.
More problematic are the, I’d say, too-frequent interruptions via the sidebars, insets, etc. I will say this issue was exacerbated by the e-book formatting, which had these textual asides enter in abruptly, but still, ignoring that, the frequency of the sidebars, and sometimes their somewhat tenuous connections made for a choppy reading experience.
In the end, as noted, it’s a worthy book to have in a classroom or library for sure. On an individual level, I’d describe it as more a check-out-of-the-library book versus a buy-to-own book. An important text for both boys and girls as well as for members of minority groups (girls for the information and inspiration, boys so their eyes might be opened a bit and to encourage them to be allies). I just wish it had met its potential more fully via style and structure.
The first profile is probably the one, perhaps the only one, that most readers will recognize — Katherine Johnson, whose name finally entered the public consciousness via Hidden Figures (the book first and then the movie). Mortillaro does an excellent job in detailing the integral role Johnson played in early NASA achievements, and in later decades. Other women covered were:
• Jill Tarter: a pioneer in attempts to find alien life via SETI
• Emily Lakdawalla: communicates the wonders of space science via her role in the Planetary Society
• Tanya Harrison: An Astrogeologist who played a key role in Mars rover missions and began the Women in Space conference series
• Sara Seager: Works on finding/analyzing exoplanets
• Renée Hložek: an astrophysicist exploring both the beginning and the ending of the universe
• Ashley Walker: an astro-chemist who explores the possibility of life on other planets
Besides the profiles, the book I filled with numerous asides that explain scientific concepts, give some historical references/context, and offer a very brief discussion of sexism and racism in the STEM fields (several of the women above are heavily involved in combatting these via groups, social media, conferences, etc.)
The profiles themselves are solid enough and do a good job information-wise, and the science concepts are for the most part explained concisely and clearly enough for the target MG audience. The language and style are adequate I’d say, but flat, not offering much beyond the information itself. That’s obviously the important part, but some livelier, richer prose would have enhanced the reading experience, similar to what the pleasant illustrations did.
More problematic are the, I’d say, too-frequent interruptions via the sidebars, insets, etc. I will say this issue was exacerbated by the e-book formatting, which had these textual asides enter in abruptly, but still, ignoring that, the frequency of the sidebars, and sometimes their somewhat tenuous connections made for a choppy reading experience.
In the end, as noted, it’s a worthy book to have in a classroom or library for sure. On an individual level, I’d describe it as more a check-out-of-the-library book versus a buy-to-own book. An important text for both boys and girls as well as for members of minority groups (girls for the information and inspiration, boys so their eyes might be opened a bit and to encourage them to be allies). I just wish it had met its potential more fully via style and structure.
July 8, 2022
This is one of the more impressive "women in science" books, that don't screech about wrongs and historical injustices, but can include the nuance of that alongside the actual stories of success. We start of course with Katherine Johnson, the "Hidden Figures" 'computer', whose story of segregated loos and science-result-sharing meetings that her gender locked her out of is the closest this gets to the more common diatribe. Jill Tarter was a chief advocate for SETI and our scanning of radio waves for alien messaging; Sara Seager is a kind-of sequel, being hot on exo-planets. Jewellery designer (not mentioned here – funny that!) and sometime space science advocate and ambassador, Emily Lakdawalla, is a little bit of a weak link in that none of the actual science is hers, however immense her legacy of people interested in space and extra-terrestrial geology. Tanya Harrison is high up in the current set of Mars programmes – and Martian meteorology. Renee Hlozek is pondering the heat death of the universe, and Ashley Walker brings us back to the inherent race issues in STEM science whilst trying to concentrate on the atmosphere of Titan, and tests here to see if it could carry bizarre life forms out there.
All told this is really well put together. The purpley aesthetic is really pleasing, the amount of text to pictures on the easy-to-read side, and while it has copious box-outs and small areas for definitions they don't really interrupt the flow. We get a few also-rans to suggest there could have been much more content, which is good as one charge that could always be brought to this is the Western bias (a lot of people here have connections with Canada, which is handy given the publishers). But I liked the more mature way of giving the science and the women in tandem, from a book that seems to know that hard facts, data and discoveries are all far more important than the 'wokeness' or lack thereof behind the scenes. As a result the lessons available to secondary school pupils from these pages, and the typical encouragement to grab the STEM by the, er, stem and run with it, are all the more clear. Four and a half stars.
All told this is really well put together. The purpley aesthetic is really pleasing, the amount of text to pictures on the easy-to-read side, and while it has copious box-outs and small areas for definitions they don't really interrupt the flow. We get a few also-rans to suggest there could have been much more content, which is good as one charge that could always be brought to this is the Western bias (a lot of people here have connections with Canada, which is handy given the publishers). But I liked the more mature way of giving the science and the women in tandem, from a book that seems to know that hard facts, data and discoveries are all far more important than the 'wokeness' or lack thereof behind the scenes. As a result the lessons available to secondary school pupils from these pages, and the typical encouragement to grab the STEM by the, er, stem and run with it, are all the more clear. Four and a half stars.
August 13, 2022
“Searching Beyond the Stars” written by Nicole Mortillaro and illustrated by Amanda Key, aims to address ‘Space’s Biggest Questions’ by featuring seven female scientists representing various fields. This book presents answers to these key questions while providing biographical information about each scientist. Unfortunately, this book was not what I hoped it would be. The writing, though generally clear and direct, repeatedly ricochets between technical descriptions and answers to biographic information and political treatises. Overall, Mortillaro tries to synthesize too much in one book. If we want to celebrate the accomplishments of women and minorities in the sciences, it would be more effective to let their work speak for itself and treat the socio-political issues more thoroughly and directly by other means (By writing an illustrated book about the challenges faced by the New York birder, for instance). The at times well-intentioned politicized content is not always fully integrated within the framework of the book as set out, leaving the reader feeling that the book is more about the politics of women and minorities in sciences than about their accomplishments and continued work.
Teacher Tips
* I might use this book selectively, presenting the concepts related to space sciences and what each scientist is trying to achieve and how she’s working towards those aims
* The glossary and the technical definitions in each section are helpful and informative
* The presentation in the appendix about the contributions of other women in space sciences is a good jumping off point
Teacher Tips
* I might use this book selectively, presenting the concepts related to space sciences and what each scientist is trying to achieve and how she’s working towards those aims
* The glossary and the technical definitions in each section are helpful and informative
* The presentation in the appendix about the contributions of other women in space sciences is a good jumping off point
October 2, 2022
A beautifully illustrated glimpse at women in the space sciences.
Searching Beyond the Stars profiles seven women scientists and explores their impacts on various fields related to space. There are also notes about the racism and sexism endemic in STEM and provide fun facts about science. Amanda Key created fanciful and informative art to go along with the information.
Overall, I love any book that introduces science to broader audiences. This book gives us some interesting science knowledge and historical and current perspectives of women in science. For young readers, they'll be able to see some of the major open questions in space sciences and ways they may be able to impact these fields if they pursue careers in STEM. I definitely think this is a great option for anyone interested in science or space!
Thank you to NetGalley and Annick Press for providing an advanced copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.
Searching Beyond the Stars profiles seven women scientists and explores their impacts on various fields related to space. There are also notes about the racism and sexism endemic in STEM and provide fun facts about science. Amanda Key created fanciful and informative art to go along with the information.
Overall, I love any book that introduces science to broader audiences. This book gives us some interesting science knowledge and historical and current perspectives of women in science. For young readers, they'll be able to see some of the major open questions in space sciences and ways they may be able to impact these fields if they pursue careers in STEM. I definitely think this is a great option for anyone interested in science or space!
Thank you to NetGalley and Annick Press for providing an advanced copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews