Breaking through the clouds The sometimes turbulent life of meteorologist Joanne Simpson

Sandra Nickel

Book - 2022

"Joanne Simpson made groundbreaking--or should we say cloudbreaking--discoveries about weather and how it worked. Born in Massachusetts in 1923, she became interested in clouds while sailing in Cape Cod. As a young adult, she went to the University of Chicago and began studying and then teaching meteorology. After the war, women were expected to go back to being homemakers, but Joanne instead received her Masters Degree and began a PhD program. She decided to focus on tropical cumulous clouds, even though at the time no one thought that clouds affected the weather--they thought they were just a byproduct. Though the scientific establishment--mostly men--tried to stop her at every turn, her stubborn determination prevailed. She was the ...first woman in the United States to receive her PhD in meteorology, and her discoveries still affect how we think about clouds and the weather today!"--

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Subjects
Genres
Picture books for children
Published
New York : Abrams Books for Young Readers [2022]
Language
English
Main Author
Sandra Nickel (author)
Other Authors
Helena Pérez García (illustrator)
Physical Description
1 volume (unpaged) : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 28 cm
Audience
Ages 6 to 9.
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN
9781419749568
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

Nickel's The Stuff between the Stars (2021) introduced Vera Rubin as a child who loved stargazing and as an astronomer whose ideas were derided by men in her field. Nickel's latest picture book spotlights Rubin's contemporary Joanne Simpson, who loved watching clouds as a child but, as an adult, was similarly disdained by male gatekeepers within her field. Simpson's active, focused mind and fierce determination led her to become the first woman with a doctorate degree in meteorology. The well-paced narrative emphasizes her curiosity and intense resolve in overcoming obstacles to studying cumulus clouds, a topic previously dismissed as unimportant. Her surprising discoveries challenged assumptions, changed weather forecasting, and "sparked a new branch of knowledge." An appended note offers more biographical details along with a few photos of Simpson at work. Pérez Garcia, a Spanish artist who uses color beautifully, illustrates the story with gouache paintings that place Simpson within orderly twentieth-century surroundings, while occasionally integrating imaginative elements that help viewers visualize her inspirations, her emotions, and her insightful work. A satisfying picture-book biography featuring a groundbreaking meteorologist.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Joanne Simpson (1923--2010), the first woman to receive a doctorate in meteorology, is the subject of this profile. Enlivening simply relayed cloud facts ("Just like people, cumulus clouds are born, grow, and die. But unlike people, they exist for no longer than two hours"), Nickel threads the well-paced tale with myriad weather-related metaphors, as Simpson faces first her mother's neglect and abuse, and later derision from men in academia. Perez Garcia's bold strokes of vibrant gouache create dimensional compositions and occasional surreal evocations of Simpson's life: when "the men at the university" laugh at her plans, white clouds swath Simpson's face, as her sanguine dress pops, aptly representing her resolve. An energetic, compassionate examination of a determined researcher who left her mark on the field of atmospheric sciences. Back matter includes an author's note, b&w photographs, and a timeline of Simpson's life. Ages 6--9. (Mar.)

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Review by Horn Book Review

Starting with her abusive home life, this lyrical picture-book biography of a pathbreaking woman meteorologist explains the pervasive sexism she faced getting an education during the 1940s and conducting her revolutionary research into cumulonimbus clouds. Due to her persistence, a previously dismissive male mentor had a change of heart and gave her computer time to build a mathematical model of cloud motion that "sparked an entire branch of science." Full-bleed illustrations in muted pastels straddle the literal and metaphorical (an illustration of her receiving her doctorate has her "flying higher than the clouds themselves"); an author's note, bibliography, timeline, and three archival black-and-white photos relay further facts. (c) Copyright 2023. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.