Hello, friends! Our book today is Who is a Scientist? by Laura Gehl, an awesome look at the diversity of the STEM fields and the people who work in them.

Introducing readers to fourteen real-life scientists from various fields of STEM (and all walks of life), little bookworms can look and learn about the people who work in science, what they do, and how they like to spend their free time. The subjects are men and women, young and old, a rainbow of skin tones, ethnicities, and religious dress, and a represent a ton of different interests, hobbies, and fields of study; readers are shown that anybody can be a scientist, including them!

Clever! Far from the stereotypical presentation of what being a scientist “looks like”, this short but sweet collection of scientists, from meteorologist to astronomer to agroecologist and more, are embodied by an incredibly diverse group of people, shown in photos both working and engaging in their off-hours hobbies. Allowing children to view scientists as real people who have many of the same hobbies and interests as they do while also giving them a taste of what their various disciplines entail allow kids from all backgrounds to view themselves as potential scientists as well, and show them that science isn’t always white coats and sterile labs (although sometimes it is, and that’s cool too!). Gehl does a great job of condensing each scientist and their passions into a quick and simple spread that gives readers a sense of the subjects without feeling overly detailed, and the name pronunciation guide in the back allows readers of all ages to educate themselves on how to properly pronounce every scientist’s name. The length was great for a quick read, and JJ enjoyed meeting fourteen new STEM role models. This is a clever way to get kids excited about science and pursuing careers in STEM, and we loved it. Baby Bookworm approved!

(Note: A copy of this book was provided to The Baby Bookworm by a representative of the author in exchange for an honest review.)