• Age: 9 to 13
• Grade: 3 to 8
• Reading age: 9 to 12

This book in the acclaimed Women’s Hall of Fame Series profiles 10 incredible women with an itch to invent. Written in an accessible, engaging, and informative style, Incredible Women Inventors examines both the challenges and successes in the lives of ten international problem-solvers. From Anna Sutherland Bissell, inventor of the carpet sweeper, to Elizabeth “Elsie” MacGill, the first woman aircraft designer in the world, young readers will have much to motivate them after reading these biographies, both in science and in life in general.

Sandra Braun is a Toronto-based writer and editor.

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Incredible Women Inventors

And now it’s the girls’ turn. This title is the latest in the series from Second Story Press in the Women’s Hall of Fame series. Like the others in the series, it introduces, in chronological order, a number of women who rose to the top of their profession or achieved something out of the ordinary. Three of the ten women profiled here are Canadian, five are American and two are Austrian, including Hedy Lamarr (yes, the Hedy Lamarr) who invented “spread spectrum technology” (it has to do with radio signals being transmitted without being detected or jammed). Who knew? Indeed, who knew about most of these women and their inventions – some convenient, some life-saving? There is Madam C. J. Walker, who invented hair products for black women and became the first American self-made female millionaire; Elsie Muriel MacGill, who in 1927 became the first Canadian female electrical engineer and designed a war plane; and Wendy Murphy, who invented the WEEVAC 6 Infant Emergency Evacuation Stretcher (and was recently named one of the Fifty Greatest Canadian Inventions by the CBC).

It’s an interesting and very wellwritten book, and a useful addition to this important series. Recommended for all schools and public libraries.

Incredible Women Inventors (Women’s Hall of Fame)

This book profiles ten female inventors, from the 19th century to the present, and addresses their challenges and successes. Three Canadians are among those featured: Maple Leaf Trainer II plane inventor Elizabeth Muriel Macgill; Laurie Tandrup, inventor of the Travelbud infant cushion support system; and WEEVAC6 baby-stretcher inventor Wendy Murphy.