Classified

This picture book biography of Mary Golda Ross is absolutely amazing. I love learning about women who did great things, and it is especially good to hear about women in STEM who managed to get as far as they did, despite being born when most women were not encouraged to pursue a career at all.

I was very impressed that the author, who is also Cherokee, brought up the four values to explain why Mary did the things she did.

1 Gaining skills in all areas of life.
2. Working cooperatively with others
3. Remaining humble when others recognize your talents
4. Helping ensure equal education and opportunity for all.

Because she followed these values, she also made it a point to life up others so they too could follow in her footsteps. Because she followed these teachings she gained the math skills that she did, and was able to work with others.

Mary Gold Ross was an amzasing woman, and I'm glad that this informative book is in picture book form so that young women can learn from her.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

Classified provides an excellent introduction to an important figure of scientific history who has gone largely unnoticed. Not only was Mary Golda Ross a female scientist in an era of masculine-led science, but she was also a Native American engineer - something largely unheard of even today. The format of graphic novel to tell this story is a great way to pull younger audiences in to learn about the diverse figures who helped build the scientific community.

This illustrated short biography is exceptional celebrating the genius of the only girl who loved mathematics when girls weren't expected to even like the subject, Mary Golda Ross who made groundbreaking inventions and development in her field as well as in the education world.

Also, this book is a celebration of the award winning artist, Natasha Donovan. The artwork is amazing!

I love how the whole story has been presented in just a few pages. But it's so worth it.

Truly inspirational.

Thank you, authors and the publisher for the advance reading copy.

As a children’s librarian that does collection development, I was excited to come across this title for our biography collection. This picture book biography is about the first known Native American engineer and is written and illustrated by #ownvoices Traci Sorell and Natasha Donovan, respectively.

The illustrations are very captivating and play along with the text very well. Sorell does a great job emphasizing the importance Cherokee values and culture had on Mary Golda Ross’ life and in her success as an educator and engineer. She makes mention of how community, cooperation, and humility, to mention a few - shaped Ross as a person and as a professional. Ross went on to pursue the ambitious career of engineering, at the time a profession made up mainly of White men, where she excelled and was selected for a top-secret classified division focused on the space race.
Sorell closes out the book with an author’s note that highlights the importance of representation, and of sharing with the world the untold stories of so many people that have succeeded against the odds and blazed a trail for future generations. Included at the end is also a list of the four Cherokee values that are interspersed throughout the narrative.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I'm a simple woman, and if I hear that either Traci Sorell is authoring a new picture book or that Natasha Donovan is illustrating a new picture book, I'm willing to read it. That they did a picture book together absolutely thrills me. That picture book being about Mary Gold Ross, a Cherokee aerospace engineer from the mid 20th century? I'm sold on every level before even cracking the spine on a book like this.

I have to say that despite my sky-high expectations, I was not disappointed. Classified uses simple and straightforward prose to cover many points throughout Ross's long life and career, giving us the chance to see who she was as a person and the incredible things she achieved. The story is engaging and informative, and it gives us the chance to explore a side of history that is, unfortunately, far too little known. Donovan's art is absolutely on point, bringing Ross and her work to life in beautiful images that really add to Sorell's narration.

I love reading picture books about STEM history, and this is immediately among my favourites. I highly recommend Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer. This was a story that needed telling, and I'm so glad that it was Sorell and Donovan who got to do that telling.

A wonderful and informative look at the full life of a fierce American Indian mathmatician and engineer. A bounty of backmatter awaits to curious young readers.