(3) K-3 Illustrated by Luciano Lozano. This picture-book biography of Spain’s first scientific Nobel Prize winner, Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852–1934), moves from his imagination-filled childhood in the mountain village of Petilla to his groundbreaking discovery of the structure of the nervous system at the age of thirty-six. Readers will be delighted by the snapshots of a self-willed, precocious, inventive young boy who bucked his teachers’ attempts to clip his artist’s wings, and initially resisted following in his doctor-father’s footsteps, only to fall in love with the field of neuroanatomy on his own terms. Lozano’s stylized digital illustrations are interspersed with fascinating facsimiles of Ramón y Cajal’s photography, paintings, and medical drawings. Back matter delves into the anatomy of a neuron and expounds on Ramón y Cajal’s life and works. A compelling testament to the value of unconventional thinking.

Reviewer: Summer Edward

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Michael J. Rosen. Sullivan, the first American woman to complete a spacewalk, and Rosen immerse readers in the experience of being a space shuttle astronaut, with particular focus on the intense preparation for those who exit the shuttle for an Extravehicular Activity (EVA). In an upbeat tone, Sullivan accompanies "you" through an entire multi-day shuttle flight, from liftoff through daily activities, including the EVA, and then the return to Earth. Sullivan relates her emotions as well as her training, sharing her excitement and awe at being in space while simultaneously capably executing her tasks. "Nothing could prepare you for that thrill of weightlessness--AM I RIGHT? It has to be the most GIDDY, UNBELIEVABLE EXPERIENCE EVER." Helpful diagrams and asides throughout detail equipment, including the complex spacesuits, used on shuttle flights, and the numerous photographs of NASA ground crew and astronauts, including Sullivan, show the people and technology that make EVA possible.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2023