The Sky's the Limit: Stories of Discovery by Women and Girls

by Catherine Thimmesh, Melissa Sweet (Illustrations)

They study the night sky, watch chimpanzees in the wild, and dig up ancient clay treasures. They search the beach for rare fossils, photograph old rock carvings, explore the hazards of lead poisoning, and wander into dark caves. And in their watching, digging, and wandering they become discoverers. Young and old, they are women and girls who discover seventy-million-year-old sea lizards, the very origins of counting and writing, Stone Age cave art, mysterious matter in the universe, and how a puddle of water can be sanitized when heated by the sun.
Here is a tribute to the findings and revelations of these remarkable women and to their perseverance, their epiphanies, their wondrous curiosity. Brought to life by stunning collage illustrations, these inspiring stories drawn from primary sources consistently probe into still unanswered questions. Here are discoveries that open our eyes not only to what women and girls can accomplish but also to the astonishing world in which we live.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Picture Books, Middle Grade, Childrens, Womens, Biography

73 pages, Hardcover

First published March 11, 2002

About the author

Catherine Thimmesh is an award-winning author, speaker, and creativity educator.

Her creative children’s nonfiction titles have won numerous awards, including a New York Times Notable Book and the prestigious Sibert Medal. She is the author of the best-selling book: GIRLS THINK OF EVERYTHING: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women — which was substantially revised and newly released in 2018. TEAM MOON: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon won the Sibert Medal, while CAMP PANDA: Helping Cubs Return to the Wild was a Sibert Honor book.

Her newest book — SMASH, CRASH, TOPPLE, ROLL! The Inventive Rube Goldberg: A Life in Comics, Contraptions, and Six Simple Machines — is a Junior Library Guild Gold Selection and releases May 6, 2025.

You can watch her discuss the importance of creativity in her TEDx talk: Creativity in the Classroom (in 5 minutes or less) on YouTube, or Catherine’s website.

Catherine lives and works in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

Reviews

[Jacquelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Nonfiction Reading level: Ages 10-13
Girls, do you think that science is dry and boring? Do you think that only boys can be famous inventors? Did you know that Beatrix Potter was a scientist? Yes, she made a discovery about lichen in 1896. The Sky’s the Limit introduces some very interesting females and their contributions to science. Young and old, discoveries from the heavens to the microscopic, women are shown in the text to have contributed some very important knowledge. This fun book is written in an engaging style without talking down to the reader. Many of the illustrations resemble a scrapbook with photos, captions, and stamps in a three-dimensional layered look. The author tells us a bit about each woman or girl discoverer, and why and how she made her discovery. Inserts give us a snippets of extra information about the subject being discussed. The timeline, index, and sources in the back are designed to inspire young women go forth and discover.
Other books about girls and science:
Cool careers for girls in computers, Ceel Pasternak
Twentieth century women scientists, Lisa Yount
The ultimate girls guide to science: from backyard experiments to winning the Nobel Prize!, Beth Hoyt

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is good, but seems a bit intimidating. compared to some of the others we've read recently. I suppose it is probably for a bit older audience. We ran out of time to read the whole thing, but read a couple of parts over the past couple of nights. They were interesting stories, particularly talking about modern young girls winning science fairs with amazing projects. It's very text heavy, although the figures are great, and we had to go back over parts of the stories for my almost 8 year old to catch it all. One thing we learned from this book that I have yet to read elsewhere is about Beatrix Potters experience in natural history, which was fascinating to learn.

[Natalie Moreland · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book, but in the end I just liked it. The brief biographies of girls and women in science offer enough to pique interest and keep you reading. The scrapbook-style artwork was particularly appealing. A reference to Pluto as a planet and to an upcoming film that apparently never panned out date the book a bit.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book offers numerous examples of women who discovered something new and exciting about the world around us. Some of the examples are famous women in history, but what makes the book even better are the examples of young women who are making discoveries even in their teens.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good resource for girls to learn what women and girl's have discovered. It's not in depth, but it's enough to pique curiousity.