The Brilliant Calculator: How Mathematician Edith Clarke Helped Electrify America

By Jan Lower

Book Overview

A Mathical Honor Book

Hidden Figures meets Rosie Revere, Engineer in this STEM/STEAM picture book about Edith Clarke, the innovator who solved an electrical mystery and built the first graphing calculator--from paper

Long before calculators were invented, little Edith Clarke devoured numbers, conquered calculations, cracked puzzles, and breezed through brainteasers. Edith wanted to be an engineer--to use the numbers she saw all around her to help build America.

When she grew up, no one would hire a woman engineer. But that didn't stop Edith from following her passion and putting her lightning-quick mind to the problem of electricity. But the calculations took so long Always curious, Edith couldn't help thinking of better ways to do things. She constructed a "calculator" from paper that was ten times faster than doing all that math by hand Her invention won her a job, making her the first woman electrical engineer in America. And because Edith shared her knowledge with others, her calculator helped electrify America, bringing telephones and light across the nation.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1662680066
• ISBN13: 9781662680069
• Release Date: March 2023
• Publisher: Calkins Creek Books
• Length: 40 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 8.7" x 11.0"
• Age Range: 7 to 10 years
• Grade Range: Grades 2 to 5