Books to Inspire: Rosie Revere, Engineer
This children's book is about the perseverance of one young girl... smart, industrious and determined; she is a role model for other young girls.
Rosie was laughed at for her invention - a cheese hat that sprays cheese to ward off snakes. After that, Rosie dreamed of being an engineer, but she kept her ideas to herself and hid her gizmos away… until her great-great-great-aunt visits who inspires a “we can do it” attitude. She teaches Rosie that her machines made from levers and gears were perfect and brilliant and that not quitting is necessary, if you want to ‘fly’! The character of Rosie’s great-great-great-aunt, Rosie the Riveter, is based on the well-known WW2 cultural icon who like many women around the world played an important engineering role in factories producing tanks, ships and planes!
There is a push in education to encourage girls to develop STEM skills, to combat the gender disparities reported on employment opportunities in fields such as engineering. So teachers, if you are looking for stories with non-gender conforming stereotypes, this book will be a much loved addition to your classroom. And Makedo is the perfect accompanying resource to engage more girls in hands-on, fun, designing, STEM and constructing opportunities.
Cover art reproduced courtesy of © Andrea Beaty and David Roberts, 2013, ABRAMS books