Girls Who Looked Under Rocks – Lisa Connors

I have not had time to go to the library so I thought I would review an old favorite of mine that is geared for middle grade and older, but could be read aloud to an elementary-age child. Girls Who Looked Under Rocks: The Lives of Six Pioneering Naturalists by Jeannine Atkins and illustrated by Paula Conner (Dawn Publications, 2000) portrays award-winning scientists and writers who started out as girls who were comfortable outdoors and did not run from snakes and spiders. When we consider some of the eras they grew up in, their going against traditional norms is all the more inspiring.

The woman profiled include:

Maria Sibylla Merian

Anna Comstock

Frances Hamerstrom

Miriam Rothschild

Rachel Carson

Jane Goodall

Growing up some of these girls had mothers and/or fathers tolerant of their ‘unladylike’ interests, while others did not, leading to some secret outings such as Frances Hamerstrom sneaking out past bedtime to climb trees to watch birds.  Each essay is 5-7 pages long and illustrated with black and white drawings. While it could be read all in one sitting, I think if reading to a younger child, one essay at a time would be more valuable, allowing time to digest what each woman’s life was like. I think all readers will sometimes laugh and sometimes be quiet surprised at some of the antics or activities these women did as young girls and as adults, all in the pursuit of their dreams.

I hope you will share Girls Who Looked Under Rocks with your young reader. A budding naturalist might just grow up to study, write about or respect our natural world and all its amazing inhabitants. I for one grew up climbing trees and rescuing caterpillars and found my way to studying ecology, creating pollinator habitat, and recently I built a frog pond.