By Risa Stiegler.

This spring, we received a few new gorgeous picture books for the library that feature two women trailblazers in the science of water pollution. The Girl who Tested the Waters: Ellen Swallow, Environmental Scientist features Ellen Swallow (Richards), the first woman admitted to MIT, who coined the term ecology to describe the study of how people and organisms relate to each other and the environment.  Magic in a Drop of Water: How Ruth Patrick Taught the World about Water Pollution is about Ruth Patrick, who founded the Limnology Department of the Academy of Natural Sciences, and whose research first explored how biodiversity signals the environmental health of an ecosystem. She fought against water pollution for her entire career and helped write the 1972 Clean Water Act. 

We also got a beautiful book about the incredible astronaut Mae Jemison, who went to Stanford at age 16, became a doctor and worked in the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone, and then became the first African American woman astronaut and the first African American woman in space in 1992.

I wanted to put together a book display to highlight these new books, and also to showcase books we already have in the Water Library that celebrate groundbreaking women scientists like climatologist Inez Fung, astronomer Maria Mitchell, underwater cartographer Marie Tharp, or environmentalist Rachel Carson.  I also wanted to display some of the gorgeous cover illustrations featured in these books – the artwork of women illustrators like Ellen Rooney, Rachel Ignotofsky, Susan Reagan, and Junyi Wu.  I love the way that books like these bring together the fields of science, history, writing, and visual art!

The nineteen books in this display span from picture books for the youngest readers to books for adults: biographies, musings on the relationship of historical women scientists to social media, and essays about Black women scientists’ experiences.  I hope there is a book in this display for everyone! Any adult in Wisconsin can check out a book from us.  If you’re affiliated with UW-Madison, use the library catalog to request a book.  If you’re not, use our Request Form to tell us the title and call number of a book you’re interested in, and we’ll send it to your public library.  Or, email us at askwater@aqua.wisc.edu.

Books in the Display

Top Row

• Mae among the stars by Roda Ahmed (232467 Kids)
• The girl who tested the waters: Ellen Swallow, environmental scientist by Patricia Daniele (162775 Kids)
• Magic in a Drop of Water: How Ruth Patrick taught the world about water pollution by Julie Winterbottom (162778 Kids) 

Second Row

• On a farther shore: The life and legacy of Rachel Carson by William Souder (201756) 
• Sisters in science: Conversations with black women scientists about race, gender, and their passion for science by Diann Jordan (201983)
• Super women: Six scientists who changed the world by Laurie Lawlor (201812 Kids) 
• Soundings: The story of the remarkable woman who mapped the ocean floor by Hali Felt (232444)

Third Row

• Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie, a tale of love & fallout by Lauren Redniss (201746) 
• Headstrong: 52 women who changed science– and the world by Rachel Swaby (202000 Kids) 
• Women in science: 50 fearless pioneers who changed the world by Rachel Ignotofsky (201785 Kids)
• Epigenetics in the age of Twitter: Pop culture and modern science by Gerald Weissman (271439)

Fourth Row

• Wonder women of science: Twelve geniuses who are currently rocking science, technology, and the world by Tiera Fletcher & Ginger Rue (201936 Kids)
• Forecast earth: The story of climate scientist Inez Fung by Renee Skelton (271423 Kids)
• 10 women who changed science and the world by Catherine Whitlock & Rhodri Evans (201981)
• Life in the treetops: Adventures of a woman in field biology by Margaret Lowman (290204 Kids)

Fifth Row

• Rachel: The story of Rachel Carson by Amy Ehrlich (271316 Kids)
• A portrait of the scientist as a young woman by Lindy Elkins-Tanton (202006 Kids, )
• The astronomer who questioned everything: The story of Maria Mitchell by Laura Alary & Ellen Rooney (201982 Kids) 
• Changing the equation: 50+ US Black women in STEM by Tonya Bolden (201906) 

Bibliography

Ahmed, R. (2018). Mae among the stars (S. Burrington, Illus.). HarperCollins Publishers.

Daniele, P. (2025). The girl who tested the waters: Ellen Swallow, environmental scientist (J. Wu, Illus.). MIT Kids Press.

Peck, R. M. (2013, November 13). In memoriam: Ruth Patrick (1907-2013). American Society of Naturalists. https://amnat.org/announcements/MemoriamRP.html 

Winterbottom, J. (2025). Magic in a drop of water: How Ruth Patrick taught the world about water pollution (S. Reagan, Illus.). Rocky Pond Books.