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Who Says Women Can't Be Computer Programmers?: The Story of Ada Lovelace
"Known as "The Enchantress of Numbers" by many inventors and mathematicians of the 19th century, Ada Lovelace is recognized today as history's first computer programmer. Her work was an inspiration to such famous minds as Charles Babbage and Alan Turing. This is her story"--
40 pages, Hardcover
Published February 20, 2018
162 people want to read
About the author
Tanya Lee Stone
87 books102 followersTanya Lee Stone is an award-winning author of books for kids and teens. Her work, which includes YA fiction (A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl), picture books (Elizabeth Leads the Way and Sandy's Circus), and nonfiction (Almost Astronauts and The Good, the Bad, and the Barbie) has won national awards such as the ALA's Sibert Medal, SCBWI's Golden Kite Award, YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction, Jane Addams Book Award Honor, Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor, NCTE's Orbus Pictus, and Bank Street's Flora Steiglitz Award. Forthcoming titles include Who Says Women Can't Be Doctors?! and The House that Jane Built (Holt 2013) and Courage Has No Color (Candlewick 2013).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
September 7, 2018
Wonderful book about the first computer programmer! Have asked several of my friends with degrees in computer programming if they had ever heard of Ada - and they said no! We really need to start encouraging our children to look into all the contributions women have made throughout history!
March 25, 2024
I really like it.
I learned about Ada at the university when I was studying for my degree in information sciences but this picture book really puts the Ada's story in a whole new dimension for me.
I learned about Ada at the university when I was studying for my degree in information sciences but this picture book really puts the Ada's story in a whole new dimension for me.
October 17, 2024
Happy Ada Lovelace Day!
Here's my STEM story, including something incredible.
My grandfather began his career as a computer programmer in the U.S. Air Force in the early 1950s. Forty years later, he retired as a programmer for First National Bank in Roswell, New Mexico. I remember he used to bring home discarded green bar continuous form paper that my grandmother would write grocery lists and poetry on.
My mother, his daughter, started her career as a lowly keypunch card operator for the bank under him. She went on to become a computer programmer herself in the mid 1970s until her retirement in the 2000s, where she continued for some more years to work as a well-paid consultant, remotely via dial-up modem. Arg, that horrid sound and slower than Christmas.
My first programming job was with my mother, a freelance job, written on her brand new Mac that had, gulp, a mouse. A clunky, noisy mouse, but fun! (Oh, if we only had that pc now, it's worth tens of thousands!) The manual I wrote for those programs landed me my second job in 1984 for a small company that sold an innovative multi-user computer to small businesses, called Cado. I still work on that software--many, many, many times updated and rewritten--now exactly 40 years later.
My youngest daughter, who always had an aptitude for logic, has degrees in both computer science and mathematics. She is a computer programmer for a large corporation and a champion for the removal of sexism in the workplace. She is a shining example of how women contribute to the progress and innovations of humankind. Additionally, her communication skills are stellar, making the everyday experiences in the workplace helpful and pleasant. Not a small contribution. (She's also helped me with a programming technique or two...hundred.)
Here's the incredible part:
It is entirely possible that my daughter was the world's first, and still possibly the only, fourth generation computer programmer! And she's a woman, just like the world's first ever computer programmer, Ada Lovelace.
Who says women can't be computer programmers? No one.
">-Written by DBugg." That's how I used to sign my programs in the 80s and 90s, when I was married to man with the last name Bugg. Really.
Here's my STEM story, including something incredible.
My grandfather began his career as a computer programmer in the U.S. Air Force in the early 1950s. Forty years later, he retired as a programmer for First National Bank in Roswell, New Mexico. I remember he used to bring home discarded green bar continuous form paper that my grandmother would write grocery lists and poetry on.
My mother, his daughter, started her career as a lowly keypunch card operator for the bank under him. She went on to become a computer programmer herself in the mid 1970s until her retirement in the 2000s, where she continued for some more years to work as a well-paid consultant, remotely via dial-up modem. Arg, that horrid sound and slower than Christmas.
My first programming job was with my mother, a freelance job, written on her brand new Mac that had, gulp, a mouse. A clunky, noisy mouse, but fun! (Oh, if we only had that pc now, it's worth tens of thousands!) The manual I wrote for those programs landed me my second job in 1984 for a small company that sold an innovative multi-user computer to small businesses, called Cado. I still work on that software--many, many, many times updated and rewritten--now exactly 40 years later.
My youngest daughter, who always had an aptitude for logic, has degrees in both computer science and mathematics. She is a computer programmer for a large corporation and a champion for the removal of sexism in the workplace. She is a shining example of how women contribute to the progress and innovations of humankind. Additionally, her communication skills are stellar, making the everyday experiences in the workplace helpful and pleasant. Not a small contribution. (She's also helped me with a programming technique or two...hundred.)
Here's the incredible part:
It is entirely possible that my daughter was the world's first, and still possibly the only, fourth generation computer programmer! And she's a woman, just like the world's first ever computer programmer, Ada Lovelace.
Who says women can't be computer programmers? No one.
">-Written by DBugg." That's how I used to sign my programs in the 80s and 90s, when I was married to man with the last name Bugg. Really.
July 29, 2018
Who says that? Ada Lovelace is one of the ambitious women to break those stereotyped ideas. She was the first computer programmer and this book is about her successful, difficult, and inspiring story.
Illustrations of the book are very beautiful. They are very cute, detailed, creative, original, and dazzling. Colors are vivid and matching. Young artist ladies will love it.
Don’t forget girls can be everything from firefighter to basketball player, from astronaut to surgeon, from mathematician to scientist and also a computer programmer like Ada. Follow your dreams and never give up!
Illustrations of the book are very beautiful. They are very cute, detailed, creative, original, and dazzling. Colors are vivid and matching. Young artist ladies will love it.
Don’t forget girls can be everything from firefighter to basketball player, from astronaut to surgeon, from mathematician to scientist and also a computer programmer like Ada. Follow your dreams and never give up!
March 24, 2018
I'm delighted to have a copy of this biography about Ada Lovelace, often considered the world's first computer programmer. As usual, young readers may find it interesting to compare this one with a different one such as Ada's Ideas by Fiona Robinson. This one delves into her formative years, the child of a broken home and a mother determined to root out her poetic side, which she feared her daughter had inherited from her father. Instead, Adawas fed a steady of mathematics to counteract any creative stirrings she might have. The author describes how Ada takes solace in her cat, Madame Puff, and her friendship with Charles Babbage, an inventor whose Difference Engine and Analytical Engine fascinated her. Since the latter relied on a series of punch cards, Ada realized that the invention could also "weave numbers" (unpaged) just like the Jacquard loom used cards to create patterns in cloth. It is fascinating to imagine, as the author does, if this invention had actually been built, how much more quickly the computer age might have arrived. The author provides additional details to the story in the back matter, including fascinating parts of Ada's life that she had to omit, and how some of the images contain actual mathematical equations. She even describes the type of marriage had and how she compensated for her husband's shortcomings through her friendship with Babbage. Created with gouache and india ink, the illustrations capture the essence of what must have been a feisty, irrepressible, and intelligent girl and woman, often utilizing words and numbers that have been woven across the pages or even on Ada's dress in one scene. As I read this book, I found myself asking how Ada was able to marry these two forms in her lively brain, and how she dared to even suggest the possibilities that Babbage's inventions seemed to hold. This is fascinating stuff, almost too much for my mortal brain to hold. Of course, the book is an excellent addition to a collection devoted to women who pushed boundaries as well as innovators.
July 23, 2018
I was excited to get my hands on this book, this week. What is well known about Ada Lovelace is that she fully understood the whats and ifs behind the modern computer well over 100 years before it became reality. But her childhood and family happenings were quite interesting, as well. Her father was THE Lord Byron who fled England when Ada was still a baby. So her mother, Lady Byron, did everything she could to make sure Ada didn’t develop a “dangerous” imagination, like her father. So she pushed her to study mathematics and abandon her imaginative interests. Eventually she met Charles Babbage and they developed a long, close friendship where they encouraged each other as thinkers. And from this growth Ada eventually wrote her famous notes on the “Analytical Engine” that she believed would process not only numbers, but could also create pictures and music. The back of the book provides two pages of “More to the Story,” information about Ada’s many names, and more reading sources. In the colorful, flowery artwork we often see a bright-eyed Ada surrounded by mathematical equations. These illustrations were created with gouache and india ink on hot-press watercolor paper. For more on this book, please visit my book review blog, The Miller Memo.
April 16, 2018
This book tells about the life of Ada Byron who was an incredibly smart young woman and had a wild imagination during her childhood. As a child, she was tutored in science and mathematics which played a significant role as her interest in math and engineering grew. As she grew older, she attended parties with important individuals from the math and art fields, which is where she met Charles Babbage who had invented an early form of a calculator and was designing a machine that was the precursor to computers. Ada became very involved in his work and helped expand his ideas. Together they imagined computers almost 100 years before they even existed. I appreciated the information provided about Ada Byron, however at times I felt like the book was focusing more on Charles rather than Ada. I would have liked to know more about the work Ada did aside from helping Charles and what she accomplished independently. I did appreciate the detailed, whimsical illustrations that fit the whimsical aspect of Ada's imagination and personality.
July 26, 2018
Great picture book biography about Ada Lovelace!
February 25, 2018
Some really incredible women in history and Lady Lovelace is a very good example.
May 10, 2018
Such a beautiful biography, the text, and pictures are stunning. Some wonderful notes at the end.
September 20, 2018
I enjoyed learning more about Ada Lovelace, including that this was not the name that she went by during her life. I was interested to learn about the challenges of her childhood (poet father Lord Byron left her, mother was almost harsh in her efforts to make sure that Ada didn't go the same "bad route" as her father and thought lots of time studying math was the answer.) She had a privileged life and became a Countess when her husband became Earl, but we don't hear as much about her marriage as we do her friendship with Charles Babbage. The two of them developed the Analytical Machine, and had they had the funds, the age of the computer may have started a hundred years esrlier. I don't really understand the work that she did; it is undoubtedly hard to describe. The title of the book and style of illustrating seem a bit dated to me, but I did enjoy learning a bit more about this woman who had intelligence and imagination and goals and curiosity and desires.
December 10, 2020
Wonderful picture book biography of Ada Lovelace, who could have many volumes written about her without ever repeating information. She is completely fascinating. However, I really didn't like the art in this one. It felt garish and rushed, and in my opinion, did not fit the text at all.
August 16, 2022
"She was a thinker and she was ready for the challenge."
August 9, 2018
A whimsical picture book biography of computer programer Ada Lovelace. This is an easy biography which flows nicely. The afterward adds a lot but this is a lower level elementary biography.
July 6, 2018
This is a beginning biography of a fascinating woman, one who is forever remembered by the wrong name. Her correct married name would have been Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace, or Lady Lovelace, but never Ada Lovelace. So of course the Library of Congress files her under Lovelace, Ada. Sigh...but I digress.
For a simple biography for young readers, this is a treat. Older readers will need to find something more complex, but this book is a teaser, a starting point rather than a complete work. Kids who find this interesting will need to find out more about her life, cut short by illness, but it seems that she was an intuitive mathematician who saw the possible connections between math, mechanized mathematics, and even things like music. Unfortunately her friend Charles Babbage never completed either of his computing machines, so we'll never know if her input was as important as he seemed to think. Still, this is a fun book, worth reading.
For a simple biography for young readers, this is a treat. Older readers will need to find something more complex, but this book is a teaser, a starting point rather than a complete work. Kids who find this interesting will need to find out more about her life, cut short by illness, but it seems that she was an intuitive mathematician who saw the possible connections between math, mechanized mathematics, and even things like music. Unfortunately her friend Charles Babbage never completed either of his computing machines, so we'll never know if her input was as important as he seemed to think. Still, this is a fun book, worth reading.
April 23, 2018
Stone, Tanya Lee and Illustrated by Priceman, Majorie Who says Women can’t be Computer Programmers? The Story of Ada Lovelace, 20 pages. NON-FICTION. Henry Holt (Macmillan), 2018. $18.
This is the story of Ada Lovelace from her restrictive yet highly educated childhood, to her revelation that Math and Imagination can go hand in hand, to her brilliant programming discoveries. Filled with whimsical illustrations.
This is a fantastic book with easy to understand information –a great read-a-loud or research book for 2-4th grade. In my library we have a non-fiction book of Ada already –but this one is more appealing to a younger audience and could be used as an accompaniment to the other –which features photographs.
EL(K-3) – ADVISABLE Stephanie, Elementary School Librarian & Author
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2018...
This is the story of Ada Lovelace from her restrictive yet highly educated childhood, to her revelation that Math and Imagination can go hand in hand, to her brilliant programming discoveries. Filled with whimsical illustrations.
This is a fantastic book with easy to understand information –a great read-a-loud or research book for 2-4th grade. In my library we have a non-fiction book of Ada already –but this one is more appealing to a younger audience and could be used as an accompaniment to the other –which features photographs.
EL(K-3) – ADVISABLE Stephanie, Elementary School Librarian & Author
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2018...
April 18, 2018
Although this is a picture book in format, Tanya Lee stone and Marjorie Priceman create an insightful biography of Ada Lovelace which will be enjoyed by readers of all ages. It will be especially valuable to readers in grades 3-6. In the early 1800's women were not highly educated. Ada's other, Lady Byron, wanted her daughter to become a proper lady and have a good marriage., but she also gave her a good education in mathematics. When Ada met Charles Babbage, she was entranced by his invention of the Difference Machine, a very early calculator. Ada then began to focus her vivid imagination on creating a more useful machine. Lovelace did marry properly. but she also wrote "notes" about numbers and mathematics. These ideas led eventually to computers many years later.
May 12, 2018
This fascinating picture book biography focuses on Ada Lovelace's contributions to the future development of computer technology. With beautifully rendered illustrations that incorporate mathematical equations into the artwork, this book shares with young readers the early life of Ada Lovelace, who was the daughter of Lord Byron, and her education. At a time when women weren't considered for careers in science or mathematics, Ada became a pioneer. She became friends with Charles Babbage and worked with him on developing his ideas for inventions that could process numbers. This is a terrific book to encourage young girls, and all children, to work hard and learn as much as they can in school. It's a great book to have in a classroom library.
March 24, 2018
Another Lady Lovelace picture book biography! It seems like each one had something a little different to offer. Backmatter contains "More to the Story," quotation sources, and information about Ada's name. As the daughter of poet Lord Byron, Ada's creativity and art love did combine well with her scientific mind and wonderings. A good biography for STEAM collections, and another great collaboration between Tanya Lee Stone (author) and Marjorie Priceman (illustrator). See also: Who Says Women Can't Be Doctors?: The Story of Elizabeth Blackwell
May 7, 2018
This book is very informative on the subject, and presents the information in a way that is easily understandable for young children. It makes sure to clearly explain the relation between the characters, along with explaining why what Ada did was so amazing. This book presented the information in such a way that I caught a few facts that I had missed in the past on this subject (specifically the quote from Lord Byron).
July 8, 2018
I found this in my book bag after finishing up reading Enchantress of Numbers by Jennifer Chiaverini. There are some conflicts in the two narratives, most notably in that Chiaverini's version has Ada introducing the idea of punch cards to Babbage. What is clear in all the many books about Ada Bryon, is how she was able to envision the potential for the analytical engine even beyond that of Babbage himself.
March 5, 2018
The daughter of Lord Byron never knew her father. Her mother tried to fill her head with knowledge so she would not be like her father but she was drawn to science. She followed her heart and helped create an early version of computer.
Great book for Women's History Month.
Great book for Women's History Month.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 7, 2018
Ada Lovelace gets another nonfiction picture book treatment and I'm glad her story is being told and that more and more people are getting to know about her contributions in mathematics and computer programming. It's great to see how her creative mind helped her with her scientific side.
March 31, 2018
Great story! It's a biographical writing of the daughter of Lord Byron, and the role she played in the modern day computer.
April 29, 2018
I enjoyed learning more about a woman from history I’d only heard of previously.
It appears that there might be a series of picture books with the theme “Who says women can’t be ...”
It appears that there might be a series of picture books with the theme “Who says women can’t be ...”
May 12, 2018
This might be my favorite book about Ada Lovelace, yet.
May 16, 2018
Another fine book on Ada with bright whimsical illustrations and a solid storyline.
March 17, 2018
This review was originally written for The Baby Bookworm. Visit us for new picture books reviews daily!
Hello, friends! Our book today is Who Says Women Can’t Be Computer Programmers?: The Story Of Ada Lovelace, written by Tanya Lee Stone and illustrated by Marjorie Priceman, a biography of the visionary mathematician.
Ada was born into a troubled home – her father, the famous poet Lord Byron, was known for his terrible behavior, so her mother left him when Ada was only a month old. Hoping to deter Ada from her father’s “madness”, Lady Byron encouraged rigorous studies, especially in mathematics. Ada had a passion for math and a scientific mind, but also a poetic soul, yet both were considered unsuitable at the time for a lady. Fortunately, Ada made a true friend in inventor and engineer Charles Babbage; both were creative thinkers, and loved bouncing ideas back and forth in the “poetical sciences”. Babbage had devised the “Analytical Engine”, a machine that could calculate impossibly large numbers, and was trying to raise money for it. Ada wanted to help, and Charles suggested that she write notes on a paper about his machine. She did, but her understanding of the science and math behind it far exceeded what even Babbage had thought it capable of. She posited that the machine could do anything they were able to tell it to do, and wrote an algorithm that became the first published for a computer – making Ada the first-ever computer programmer.
Wonderfully educational. The story covers the important aspects of Ada’s life and scientific contributions, and the language is not dumbed down for kids. The swirly-twirly art is old school, but works beautifully here, capturing the way poetry and science combines in Ada’s mind; numbers seem to dance through the air around her. The length is best for slightly older bookworks, though JJ made it through fine, and we enjoyed it. Baby Bookworm approved!
(Note: A copy of this book was provided to The Baby Bookworm by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)
Be sure to check out The Baby Bookworm for more reviews!
August 30, 2020
Who Says Women Can't Be Computer Programmers?: The Story of Ada Lovelace is a biographical children's picture book written by Tanya Lee Stone and illustrated by Marjorie Priceman. It briefly retells the life of Ada Lovelace – the first female computer programmer.
Ada Lovelace was an English mathematician and writer, chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine. She is believed by some to be the first to recognize that the machine had applications beyond pure calculation, and is believed by some to have published the first algorithm intended to be carried out by such a machine. As a result, she is often regarded as the first to recognize the full potential of computers and one of the first computer programmers.
Stone's text is rather simplistic, straightforward, and informative. Stone explores the life of Ada Lovelace, whose imagination rivaled that of her poet father, Lord Byron, to the chagrin of her mother. Backmatter includes an afterwards with additional information. Working in her familiar style of bright, swooping gouache illustrations, Priceman fills the pages with numbers, letters, and mathematical computations.
The premise of the book is rather straightforward. Lovelace found a kindred spirit in scientist Charles Babbage, and her imagination and mathematical knowledge helped her recognize that his proposed Analytical Engine. She emerges as an independent innovator whose enthusiasms are contagious.
All in all, Who Says Women Can't Be Computer Programmers?: The Story of Ada Lovelace is a wonderful biographical children’s book of Ada Lovelace – the first female computer programmer.
Ada Lovelace was an English mathematician and writer, chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine. She is believed by some to be the first to recognize that the machine had applications beyond pure calculation, and is believed by some to have published the first algorithm intended to be carried out by such a machine. As a result, she is often regarded as the first to recognize the full potential of computers and one of the first computer programmers.
Stone's text is rather simplistic, straightforward, and informative. Stone explores the life of Ada Lovelace, whose imagination rivaled that of her poet father, Lord Byron, to the chagrin of her mother. Backmatter includes an afterwards with additional information. Working in her familiar style of bright, swooping gouache illustrations, Priceman fills the pages with numbers, letters, and mathematical computations.
The premise of the book is rather straightforward. Lovelace found a kindred spirit in scientist Charles Babbage, and her imagination and mathematical knowledge helped her recognize that his proposed Analytical Engine. She emerges as an independent innovator whose enthusiasms are contagious.
All in all, Who Says Women Can't Be Computer Programmers?: The Story of Ada Lovelace is a wonderful biographical children’s book of Ada Lovelace – the first female computer programmer.
October 8, 2018
I encourage the two little girls I watch to be strong and independent women! They are only six and four but they are on their way!
This book is just enchanting! It is the beautifully illustrated and fun filled account of Ada Byron, the first "computer programmer!"
Yes that Byron - Lord Byron - the poet and no, she didn't get her love of mathematics from her father. Lord Byron actually abandoned his family when she was just an infant!
Women back then were not encouraged to study and be heard! Ada was "supposed to marry a suitable man."
Well, she did do that but before that she met Charles Babbage, a scientist who liked to surround himself with interesting people and interesting new contraptions. From their friendship would come Ada's acceptance that math and imagination didn't have to be separate entities!
Thanks so much Jon(athan) for recommending this book! I am going to ask my daughter and her boyfriend (both heavily into computers) if they have ever heard of Ada Lovelace.
This book is just enchanting! It is the beautifully illustrated and fun filled account of Ada Byron, the first "computer programmer!"
Yes that Byron - Lord Byron - the poet and no, she didn't get her love of mathematics from her father. Lord Byron actually abandoned his family when she was just an infant!
Women back then were not encouraged to study and be heard! Ada was "supposed to marry a suitable man."
Well, she did do that but before that she met Charles Babbage, a scientist who liked to surround himself with interesting people and interesting new contraptions. From their friendship would come Ada's acceptance that math and imagination didn't have to be separate entities!
Thanks so much Jon(athan) for recommending this book! I am going to ask my daughter and her boyfriend (both heavily into computers) if they have ever heard of Ada Lovelace.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews