The Next Scientist: The Unexpected Beginnings and Unwritten Future of the World’s Great Scientists
by Kate Messner; illus. by Julia Kuo
Primary, Intermediate    Chronicle    64 pp.
8/24    9781452176963    $19.99

This attractive, informative, and ambitious collective biography begins with a challenge: “Quick! Name the world’s greatest scientist.” Messner (The Next President, rev. 3/20) introduces well-known and lesser-known scientists throughout history and organizes the book by theme (scientists as observers, as artists, as readers, etc.). A typical spread depicts three scientists as children engaged in a similar activity, such as tinkering (James West, Grace Hopper, Ayah Bdeir) or skygazing (Johannes Kepler, Maria Mitchell, Adriana Ocampo). Short captions provide information about each as a child, and the book then reveals their corresponding grown-up versions and achievements. This clever structure allows for a smooth flow and offers connection and comparison among scientists across time, cultures, and locales. “Snapshot” interludes provide brief information about specific shared interests (sewing/knitting; the study of Pluto). Kuo’s digital illustrations in clear black line and a rich color palette have a paper ­doll–like quality­ while still being dynamically posed and presented on the pages. Thoughtful curation results in representation of a wide range of identities, fields of study, and challenges throughout the history of modern science. Culminating in a hopeful call for future scientists to create “a better world,” the book presents supplemental mini-biographies, further reading, selected sources, and a list of some of the scientists’ favorite books.

From the "September/October 2024 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.