This new Middle Grade series is one that you will definitely need to watch out for! Rebel Girls have come out with a fantastic new set of chapter books about women from the past who stood up for rights, fought for change and made a difference in their communities. These chapter books are about 100 pages long, and include multiple full and part page illustrations per chapter. The text is a really good size and is well spaced. The language used is relatively easy to comprehend and is written in narrative form rather than using non-fiction text features. In a way, these books are somewhere between a picture book biography and an early chapter book historical fiction. Between the pictures and the narrative text it will be much facilitate comprehension and keep readers interested. They are super cool and I can definitely think of Middle Grade (Grades 3-7) students who would love these books! There are also fun activities at the end of the book meant to empower and inspire readers to dig deeper, ask questions and learn more about the ideas in the story.

In Ada Lovelace Cracks the Code, readers will learn about a woman who was intrigued by math and science at a time when this was not a field women were allowed to be part of. She loved learning about machines and computers and even designed machines that used coding and programming. While she was unable to create these machines, she was posthumously recognized for her efforts and her designs were fulfilled in recent decades by engineers and scientists who were amazed by her ability to understand these concepts well before computers and technology were created. I think that girls who enjoy STEM will love to learn more about this trailblazer and the challenges she faced as a woman in her time period.

I would highly recommend this book to parents and teachers of Middle Grade readers looking for chapter books that feature inspiring women, teach about history and science and create openings for future inquiry. I will definitely be purchasing this series when it is published so that I can add it to my classroom library! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book!

These books are just super and really hit the spot, book after book.
This time we follow the sorry of Ada Lovelace and her pioneering brain - this is told in a simply and easy to understand way, it is almost matter of fact about her family situation, death of family members and marriage and concentrates on the power of her brain. A brilliant message of empowerment to girls everywhere.

Adults may know Ada Lovelace for her parentage or for the contributions that she made to Math and computing. Younger girls may not know know her but they will after they read this illustrated chapter book. It opens with a very real eight year old Ada who is brimming with curiosity, energy and imagination, qualities that the adults around her sometimes did not seem to appreciate at times.

Life improved for Ada once Miss Stamp arrived. Young readers will be lucky if they have such a good teacher in their lives. She helped Ada to take off, almost literally.

This book goes on to follow the arc of Ada’s life with its ups and downs, and her discoveries, achievements and accomplishments. Readers will discover that there is much to learn in unexpected places as when Ada visited a factory. Watch where this, along with meeting Mrs Somerville and Mr. Babbage take her.

I think that this book would make a fantastic addition to home and school libraries. It spectacularly shows that STEM is important and that women can both work and marry.

The end of the book has activities. There is also a QR code in this title. Accessing this will extend the experience of Ada’s story and the stories of other Rebel Girls. A nice extra for those who are interested.

Pub date: 17 January 2023

Many thanks to NetGalley and Rebel Girls for this title. All opinions are my own.