Everyday Superheroes
Women in Energy Careers
Science is an accessible career path for all, as displayed by the pioneering women in the biographical compilation Everyday Superheroes.
Erin Twamley, Katie Mehnert, and Joshua Sneideman’s Everyday Superheroes continues an inspiring series about women in STEM with a fresh introduction to dozens of innovators in the energy industry.
This eye-catching science biographies book shares the upbeat stories of “women fighting for a greener, cleaner, and healthier planet.” It is organized alphabetically, with topics including advancing clean energy, inspecting and designing green buildings, and xeroxing the molecules covered. Each subject is explored in terms of related jobs, with profiles of the scientists, business leaders, engineers, researchers, and technicians working in the field on them.
Each profile is complemented by cartoon illustrations showing the women at work, doing tasks like brainstorming about how to make better batteries; they are situated in lively professional offices and on outdoor sites. Succinct descriptions of what such work entails are paired with asides about the women’s hobbies and personal lives, fleshing each subject out further. And there’s a consistent superhero motif at play, suggesting that the women’s efforts toward helping the planet are heroic.
This playful, colorful, and resourceful book takes an informative but light approach to its subject; it also leaves ample space for guided classroom explorations. Its is a multifaceted showcase of possible STEM jobs, bound together by the creative thinking about the planet’s health that each featured career requires. There are jobs such as working on solar panels and wind turbines represented; and the topic of energy is approached from interesting angles, as with that of an environmental scientist tasked with considering how energy might affect local habitats, and that of a behavioral scientist who surveys how people make energy decisions. A clear sense that planning for the future involves more than just those at the forefront of lab discoveries emerges.
Further, the book combines straightforward descriptions about how the earth is powered with examples of renewable and nonrenewable resources for clarity. It proffers definitions of energy, the power grid, and related terms. It also covers STEM skills—including the imagination and curiosity, observation, and problem-solving—in terms of the useful actions that they lead to. They’re actions that audiences can replicate, too––supported by entertaining facts, such as that whey and bacteria turn into usable biogas. The book’s emphasis on multiculturalism is a benefit as well.
Science is an accessible career path for all, as displayed by the pioneering women in the biographical compilation Everyday Superheroes, which highlights energy careers across numerous disciplines.
Reviewed by
Karen Rigby
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
