Virginia Wouldn't Slow Down! - Carrie A. Pearson - ★★★★★

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AUTHOR: Carrie A. Pearson
ILLUSTRATOR: Nancy Carpenter
GENRE: Children's Nonfiction Picture Book.
RATING: 5 stars.

In a Nutshell: Perfection all the way!


Most of us would have heard about the Apgar Score, which is used to gauge a newborn’s health at birth. But do we know how this score came to be used?

Dr. Virginia Apgar was an American physician and anaesthesiologist. Born in 1909, she was not a typical girl child of that era, more interested in music and medicine than in homemaking. This book looks at her life, right from childhood to the development of her rating system that would later be called APGAR in her honour.

Every single page of this book is a feast to the senses. Right from the content to the illustrations, the book gets all the important aspects spot on!

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Dr. Apgar’s life is inspiring in every way. Even today, the STEM fields are male-dominated, so imagine how tough it would have been for Dr. Apgar a century ago to be accepted and to be heard.

I loved how the book highlighted her skills as well as her supposed shortcomings such as the lack of passion for cooking. But more importantly, I appreciate how it highlighted her values and her hard work. Dr. Apgar didn’t come from a wealthy family, and she worked her way to success and stuck to her principles throughout. A true inspiration!

A good picture book must have outstanding illustrations, regardless of its textual content. This book delivers well even on the graphics front. I loved how inclusive the illustrations were, incorporating parents and babies of various cultural backgrounds as well as familial backgrounds. The colours are in muted pastels, which works perfectly for the story as the hues don’t distract from the text. A plus for me was the presence of all those cute babies on almost every page. (Of course, this is a kids’ book, and kids won’t go all gooey-eyed at the sight of the babies the way I did, but hey… it is a plus for me!)

There is a detailed author’s note at the end, revealing some fascinating insights about this amazing doctor and even having a couple of her photographs. Loved this inclusion!

The book is officially aimed at the age group of 4-8 years, but I think it will work better for a slightly older age range, say 6-10 years, because of the content and vocabulary.

Definitely recommended to homes, schools, as well as libraries. No better way of creating a greater gender balance in STEM fields than by inspiring the next generation of girls through the story of a pioneering woman medical professional!

My thanks to W. W. Norton, Norton Young Readers and Edelweiss+ for the DRC of “Virginia Wouldn't Slow Down!” This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

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