Marie Curie And Radium

Science Discoveries

by Steve Parker

Details the life and work of Marie Curie from early childhood to the discovery of radium and her two Nobel Prizes

Genres: Science, Childrens, Biography

32 pages, Library Binding

First published October 1, 1992

About the author

Steve Parker is a British science writer of children's and adult's books. He has written more than 300 titles and contributed to or edited another 150.

Born in Warrington, Lancashire, in 1952, Parker attended Strodes College, Egham and gained a BSc First Class Honours in Zoology at the University of Wales, Bangor. He worked as an exhibition scientist at the Natural History Museum, and as editor and managing editor at Dorling Kindersley Publishers, and commissioning editor at medical periodical GP, before becoming a freelance writer in the late 1980s. He is a Senior Scientific Fellow of the Zoological Society of London. Parker is based in Suffolk with his family.

Parker's writing career began with 10 early titles in Dorling Kindersley's multi-award-winning Eyewitness series, from the late 1980s to the late 1990s. He has since worked for more than a dozen children's book publishers and been shortlisted for, among others, the Rhone-Poulenc Science Book Prize, Times Educational Information Book of the Year, and Blue Peter Book Award.

Reviews

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Previewed for 9-year-old granddaughter. I was on the fence with this one. While it appeared to be well-documented, and had a good glossary for young readers, I was off-put by the Mr. Parker's persistence in placing her achievements "in perspective," as though, in the main scheme of things, her contributions were not especially note-worthy.

Young girls NEED heroes in STEM subjects, and while he does a good job with photos and illustrations, in his efforts to highlight scientific advances chronologically, he seems to minimize both her amazing tenacity and perseverance towards a what she tackled. Just my opinion. Otherwise, quite readable for young readers.

[Amanda Witt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect size for a kids/teen book or even as a bite size of the basic facts for adults. Contains all the history of Marie and her husband, and the work they did in the late 1800's/early 1900's around radium and other things

[Becky Shattuck · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short, simplified biography for older children (young teens, perhaps). It briefly discusses Marie Curie's life, and it gives a good basic introduction to her work (how she reduced substances to basic elements) and its significance. There are a few interesting references to her health and her lab, like how her lab chair & notebooks stayed radioactive for a long time after her death. Some of the information is dated (Czechoslovakia is mentioned a few times), and some of the information is questionable (like describing light as only waves, and describing electrons' movement as planetary orbits). I think parts of this book are great, while other parts just aren't.

[N_soliloquios · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gostei muito de ler este pequeno livro e de saber mais sobre a grande mulher e cientista que foi Marie Curie. Uma leitura descomplicada mas muito prazerosa e instrutiva.