Virginia wouldn't slow down! The unstoppable Dr. Apgar and her life-saving invention

This appealing picture book introduces the life of Virginia Apgar. Born in New Jersey at the turn of the twentieth century, Apgar grew up playing sports with the boys in her neighborhood. She decided to become a doctor, an unusual choice for women at the time, and she specialized in anesthesiology, a new field. She excelled at her job and took on more responsibility as a teacher, an administrator, and ultimately a champion for responding to the needs of newborn babies worldwide. Her simple method for quickly evaluating infant health immediately after birth changed delivery-room practices and continues to save lives. Today it's known as the Apgar Score. Pearson opens the book by explaining society's expectations for girls in the early 1900s. Her straightforward text portrays Apgar as an active, intelligent, and hardworking person, a view visually supported in Carpenter's detailed, often absorbing illustrations. The artist does a particularly fine job of making Apgar instantly recognizable, even in a crowd scene, as she grows and changes throughout her life. An engaging picture-book biography.