Green Promises - (Girls Who Love Science) by Jeannine Atkins (Hardcover)

About the Book

"A novel in verse tells how three remarkable women--Mary Agnes Chase, Marguerite Thomas Williams, and Sophie Mack Lutterlough--pursue their scientific passions despite societal barriers, and achieve groundbreaking success in botany, geology, and entomology"--

Book Synopsis

Meet three remarkable women who followed their dreams and paved a path for women in science in this gorgeously written biographical novel in verse from acclaimed author Jeannine Atkins.

As a girl in the late 1800s, Mary Agnes Chase searched the river's edge for wild grasses, wondering how best to capture their likeness with pencil and paper. While her formal education ended in eighth grade, her skill at drawing plants helped land her a position at the Smithsonian Institution. Agnes became a world-renowned expert in grasses she discovered in meadows and mountains.

Far away on the bank of another river, Marguerite Thomas Williams waded in to explore the rocks, wondering what secrets they might tell of long ago. Marguerite became a schoolteacher, then a teacher of teachers, but she wanted more. At last, a nearby university opened its doors to Black women, and after years of study, Marguerite became the first Black woman to earn a PhD in geology.

Marguerite's student Sophie Mack Lutterlough's lifelong interest in insects led to her working her way from being an elevator operator at the Smithsonian Institution to becoming one of the first Black women researchers there in the late 1950s.

With keen eyes and ambition, each woman followed her love of the natural world to blaze a trail for future female scientists.

Review Quotes

"Short but powerful verse 'weave[s] fact with imagination' . . . This engaging series is a celebration of science and the women whose passion has contributed to its growth."--School Library Journal

"[T]he strength of this triple biography in verse is in what it offers for the shelves--a new look at underappreciated women of science, a topic that Atkins is deeply committed to."--Booklist

"Atkins weaves together important historical details with spare, lyrical verse that is descriptive and illuminating."--Horn Book

"This story, rich in historical details, is a love letter to the power of individuals to bring about change and uplift others. Atkins deftly brings Mary Agnes Chase's and Marguerite Thomas Williams' environments and scientific pursuits to life through language that's alternately poetic and direct, making the decades of history she covers both thought-provoking and accessible to young readers. An inspiring account of women who pursued scientific excellence and opened doors for others."--Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Jeannine Atkins is the author of several books for young readers about courageous women, including Finding Wonders: Three Girls Who Changed Science, Grasping Mysteries: Girls Who Loved Math, Stone Mirrors: The Sculpture and Silence of Edmonia Lewis, and Borrowed Names: Poems about Laura Ingalls Wilder, Madam C.J. Walker, Marie Curie, and Their Daughters. She also wrote memoir-in-verse Knocking on Windows. Jeannine teaches writing for children and young adults at Simmons University. She lives in western Massachusetts. Visit her at JeannineAtkins.com.