Marie Curie

MARIE CURIE
By Kathleen Krull
Illustrated by Boris Kulikov
Viking, 2007

Category: Middle grade biography

I like these “Giants of Science” books. I like them a lot. There are currently four titles in the series; I’ve read ISAAC NEWTON and have LEONARDO DAVINCI and SIGMUND FREUD on the bedside table. Krull’s writing is light and breezy, even when discussing the finer points of (in the case of MARIE CURIE) particle physics. And I appreciate the pains she takes to give readers a sense of the times in which her subject lived. Readers don’t just read about the great Madame Curie, they visit her.

I’m off to nominate this one for a CYBIL award. (Can I do that? My own book was nominated in the same category!) Have you nominated your favorite book for a CYBIL yet? Get to it, man!