Ada Lovelace, Poet of Science: The First Computer Programmer

Stanley (Mozart: The Wonder Child) delivers a breezy but insightful overview of the curiosity and determination that drove Ada Lovelace (1815-1852) to pursue her intellectual passions, tracing her childhood dreams of flight, her friendship and working relationship with Charles Babbage, and her pioneering programming work in service of promoting Babbage's Analytical Machine. Hartland (How the Meteorite Got to the Museum) keeps the mood light in loopy gouache cartoons that humorously portray Lovelace as the creative and intelligent product of parents "as different as chalk and cheese"; in facing family portraits, the "rational, respectable, and strict" Lady Byron stares uncomfortably at her husband, Lord Byron, who looks rakish in multiple senses of the word. An author's note and timeline conclude a thoroughly engaging look at a trailblazing mathematical mind. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Marcia Wernick, Wernick & Pratt. Illustrator's agent: Brenda Bowen, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. (Oct.)

Gr 3-5--Beginning with "Long, long ago," this title is a colorful, storylike take on Ada Lovelace and her ingenuity. The text frames young Lovelace as a curious though lonely child straddling a stern mother and absent father. ("Ada's parents were as different as chalk and cheese.") The narrative follows Lovelace's life from childhood through adulthood. Highlights include an influential visit to a factory, Lovelace's chance meeting and friendship with Charles Babbage, and her meticulous, step-by-step detail of how to code the numbers of the Bernoulli. The illustrations, done in gouache, are wildly imaginative and portray Lovelace as full of undulating energy and creativity. The ending spread shows Lovelace flying over a futurelike cityscape with billboards littered with contemporary technology references (the Apple logo). The text briefly touches upon such topics as the Industrial Revolution, though students will likely crave more information on the time period. VERDICT Great for read-alouds and lesson plans on coding.--Shannan Hicks, J.S. Clark Elementary School Library, LA