2025 International Day for Women and Girls in Science book list

This year for International Day for Women and Girls in Science we asked the SNOLAB staff and user community for recommendations of books and podcasts by or about women in STEM. Check out some of their excellent suggestions for readers of all ages below.

Disordered Cosmos by Chanda Prescod-Weinstein – In The Disordered Cosmos, Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein shares her love for physics, from the Standard Model of Particle Physics and what lies beyond it, to the physics of melanin in skin, to the latest theories of dark matter—along with a perspective informed by history, politics, and the wisdom of Star Trek.

How the Universe Got Its Spots: Diary of a Finite Time in a Finite Space by Janna Levin – Is the universe infinite or just really big? With this question, the gifted young cosmologist Janna Levin not only announces the central theme of her intriguing and controversial new book but establishes herself as one of the most direct and unorthodox voices in contemporary science. For even as she sets out to determine how big “really big” may be, Levin gives us an intimate look at the day-to-day life of a globe-trotting physicist, complete with jet lag and romantic disturbances.

Life on Other Planets: A Memoir of Finding My Place in the Universe by Aomawa Shields – A stunning and inspiring memoir charting a life as an astronomer, classically-trained actor, mother, and Black woman in STEM, searching for life in the universe while building a meaningful life here on Earth

The Matter of Everything: How Curiosity, Physics, and Improbable Experiments Changed the World by Suzie Sheehy – An accelerator physicist’s fascinating journey through the experiments that uncovered the nature of matter and made the modern world. Along the way, Sheehy pulls back the curtain to reveal how physics is really done–not by theorists with blackboards, but by experimentalists with brilliant designs. Celebrating human ingenuity, creativity, and above all curiosity, The Matter of Everything is an inspiring story about the scientists who make real discoveries, and a powerful reminder that progress is a function of our desire to know.

The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer – From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Braiding Sweetgrass, a bold and inspiring vision for how to orient our lives around gratitude, reciprocity, and community, based on the lessons of the natural world. As indigenous scientist and author of Braiding Sweetgrass Robin Wall Kimmerer harvests serviceberries alongside the birds, she considers the ethic of reciprocity that lies at the heart of the gift economy. How, she asks, can we learn from indigenous wisdom and the plant world to reimagine what we value most? Our economy is rooted in scarcity, competition, and the hoarding of resources, and we have surrendered our values to a system that actively harms what we love.

I’m a Neutrino: Tiny Particles in a Big Universe by Eve M. Vavagiakis – Before you finish reading this sentence, trillions upon trillions of neutrinos will have passed through your body. Not sure what a neutrino is? Get an up-close-and-personal introduction in this dazzling picture book from MIT Kids Press, told in lilting rhyme from the neutrino’s point of view and filled with mind-bending, full-bleed illustrations that swirl and splash the cosmos to life. Check out the other two books by Eve as well: I’m a Black Hole and I’m a Photon

Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty – Ada Marie is a curious child. Saying nothing until the age of three, she suddenly starts asking her parents, ‘Why?’ ‘What?’ ‘How?’ and ‘When?’ at every available opportunity. As Ada grows up, her curiosity wreaks havoc at school, but she has all the traits of a great scientist. One day, there is a terrible stink, and Ada must form and test a hypothesis about what might be causing it – which leads to a stint in the Thinking Chair…

Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty – Rosie Revere dreams of becoming a great engineer. She creates wonderful gadgets and gizmos – but only when no one is watching. She’s kept her inventions a secret ever since, when she was very small, her uncle Zookeeper Fred laughed at the special cheese hat she designed him to keep snakes at bay. But then great-great-great aunt Rosie, in her red-and-white spotted headscarf, appears on the scene, and helps Rosie to understand that sometimes you’ve got to risk failure before you can find success.

Rebel Girls STEM Stars: 25 Tales of Women in Science – Create a computer with mathematician Ada Lovelace. Design a robot with engineer Cynthia Breazeal. And help others with Rebecca Lee Crumpler, the first African American woman to become a doctor of medicine. Featuring 25 inspiring tales of determination and discovery, these mini biographies highlight women in science, technology, engineering, and math.

Black Women in Science: A Black History Book for Kids by Kimberly Brown Pellum – Throughout history, Black women have blazed trails across the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Black Women in Science brings something special to black history books for kids, celebrating incredible Black women in STEM who have used their brains, bravery, and ambition to beat the odds. Discover 15 science stories for kids that explore the lives of bold female scientists. Learn how each of them advanced their STEM fields and fought to build a legacy. Through the triumphs of these amazing women, you’ll find remarkable role models.

The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires – Award-winning author and illustrator Ashley Spires has created a charming picture book about an unnamed girl and her very best friend, who happens to be a dog. The girl has a wonderful idea. “She is going to make the most MAGNIFICENT thing! She knows just how it will look. She knows just how it will work. All she has to do is make it, and she makes things all the time. Easy-peasy!” But making her magnificent thing is anything but easy, and the girl tries and fails, repeatedly. Eventually, the girl gets really, really mad. She is so mad, in fact, that she quits. But after her dog convinces her to take a walk, she comes back to her project with renewed enthusiasm and manages to get it just right.