Virginia Wouldn’t Slow Down!

• A Junior Library Gold Guild Selection!
• A School Library Journal Best Books of the Year 2023!
• Selected for CCBC Choices 2024, the annual best-of-the-year list of the Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC).
• A Starred Review from School Library Journal! “With a focus on Apgar as a determined woman in the medical field and an emphasis on her as a quirky individual, this book is an excellent choice for STEM/STEAM collections.”
• A Society of Midland Authors 2024 Children’s Reading Roundtable Award for Children’s Nonfiction Honoree
• A Michigan Reading Association “Great Lakes, Great Books Award” nominee (2nd-3rd grade)
• “…detailed, often absorbing illustrations…An engaging picture-book biography.” Booklist

STARRED REVIEW, SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: Gr 1-3–Many adults may be familiar with the term “Apgar Score,” but most children will be meeting Dr. Virginia Apgar, the anesthesiologist who invented the eponymous test, for the first time. Born at the turn of the 20th century, Apgar showed little interest in traditional girls’ pursuits: she was not quiet, she preferred sports over cooking, and she wore “all sorts of outfits,” including pants. Graduating near the top of her medical school class, Apgar became the second board-certified female anesthesiologist in the United States and used her training to develop a five-step newborn evaluation. Asked about her process, she outlined on the back of a scrap of paper what would become a global medical standard. Pearson uses Apgar’s determination and interests to endear her to readers, touching on her use of her sense of humor to relax and support new medical students, her passion for world travel, and other hobbies, such as hand-making string instruments. Carpenter’s illustrations capture Apgar’s energetic and playful spirit, showing a child and later, a woman, in near-constant motion. Back matter includes an author’s note, time line, and sources. End papers display an array of baby footprints. VERDICT With a focus on Apgar as a determined woman in the medical field, and an emphasis on her as a quirky individual, this book is an excellent choice for STEM/STEAM collections.–Rosemary Kiladitis

BOOKLIST: This appealing picture book introduces the life of Virginia Apgar. Born in New Jersey at the turn of the twentieth century, Apgar grew up playing sports with the boys in her neighborhood. She decided to become a doctor, an unusual choice for women at the time, and she specialized in anesthesiology, a new field. She excelled at her job and took on more responsibility as a teacher, an administrator, and ultimately as a champion for responding to the needs of newborn babies worldwide. Her simple method for quickly evaluating infant health immediately after birth changed delivery-room practices and continues to save lives. Today it’s known as the Apgar Score. Pearson opens the book by explaining society’s expectations for girls in the early 1900s. Her straightforward text portrays Apgar as an active, intelligent, and hardworking person, a view visually supported in Carpenter’s detailed, often absorbing illustrations. The artist does a particularly fine job of making Apgar instantly recognizable, even in a crowd scene, as she grows and changes throughout her life. An engaging picture-book biography.