"Colored and cut paper collage, with design elements stacked for depth and then photographed, underscore the theme of creativity expressed through numbers."

"This picture-book biography clearly conveys Lovelace’s constricted upbringing, her intellectual brilliance, and her pleasure in applying her mind to a complex challenge."

"Robinson’s writing is direct and deft... and mostly accessible to younger readers. But what really steal the show are her whimsical illustrations: paper cutouts arranged in layers and photographed for a striking collage effect."

"This picture-book biography clearly conveys Lovelace’s constricted upbringing, her intellectual brilliance, and her pleasure in applying her mind to a complex challenge."—Booklist

"Robinson celebrates Lovelace for her powerful analytical mind in spite of an overbearing mother, an absent father, and a restrictive social position... A fascinating and uplifting STEAM selection, highly recommended for biography collections."—School Library Journal

"Colored and cut paper collage, with design elements stacked for depth and then photographed, underscore the theme of creativity expressed through numbers."—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Robinson’s writing is direct and deft... and mostly accessible to younger readers. But what really steal the show are her whimsical illustrations: paper cutouts arranged in layers and photographed for a striking collage effect."—The Horn Book

"This picture-book biography clearly conveys Lovelace’s constricted upbringing, her intellectual brilliance, and her pleasure in applying her mind to a complex challenge."

02/01/2017
PreS-Gr 3—Ada Lovelace was only one month old when her strict mathematician mother left her dreamy poet father, Lord Byron, and she never saw him again. Alive during Britain's Industrial Revolution, Lovelace's mother set her daughter upon a strict schedule of rigorous academics when she was still quite young. When Lovelace was 16, her mother introduced her to English high society, including famed inventor Charles Babbage. Together Lovelace and Babbage worked on Babbage's Analytical Engine—a precursor to the computer that helped accurately orient ships on long journeys—and it became Lovelace's way of both escaping social expectations and fulfilling her creative and mathematical mind. Unfortunately, the Analytical Engine was never built, so Lovelace's genius was not recognized in her time. Today she is known as the world's first computer programmer. The fluid and lovely narration by British stage and screen actress Rosalyn Landor is enhanced by music and sound effects. When Lovelace briefly speaks to listeners to explain the logic of the computer's calculations, it is narrated in an entirely different voice. VERDICT This audiobook version of a picture book biography will inspire listeners, especially girls, to follow their talents and interests and be true to themselves. ["A fascinating and uplifting STEAM selection, highly recommended for biography collections": SLJ 10/16 review of the Abrams book.]—Jennifer Verbrugge, State Library Services, Roseville, MN

10/01/2016
Gr 1–3—This latest picture book biography of Ada Lovelace is sure to captive a variety of readers. For visual learners, the illustrations (watercolors cut, arranged, and then photographed) lend the story a rhythmic movement that allows readers to better imagine the chugging of Lovelace's Analytical Engine. The paper-doll appearance of the cast of characters evokes a sense of play around an otherwise dense subject. The text's lilting quality will stick with aural learners long after the book is over. For example, Robinson's citation of Lord Byron's alliterative diminutive for his daughter—the Princess of Parallelograms—intensifies the sing-song, playful pace of the work. Despite the easy tone, Robinson celebrates Lovelace for her powerful analytical mind in spite of an overbearing mother, an absent father, and a restrictive social position. The author adeptly portrays how Lovelace's mathematical reasoning was largely unmatched during her time, as well as how her hopeful, expansive imagining of future incarnations of the Analytical Engine led directly to modern computers. The only drawback of this work is its lack of page numbers or index, hindering classroom or homework use. VERDICT A fascinating and uplifting STEAM selection, highly recommended for biography collections.—Chelsea Woods, New Brunswick Free Public Library, NJ

Narrator Rosalyn Landor’s gentle British inflection brings authenticity to the story of Ada Lovelace, the British woman who is credited with being the first computer programmer—more than 100 years before the development of computers as we know them. Taken on visits to the factories of the Industrial Revolution and steeped in mathematics, young Ada had visions of creating the code to direct both a steam-powered calculator and an analytical engine. Landor’s elocution is as precise as Lovelace’s brain as inventors of the times enlist her assistance. Landor’s enthusiasm comes though especially well in the sequence of Ada describing how an algorithm is like a treasure hunt. The production’s background music complements the story, especially the machine-like passage that echo the Industrial Revolution sweeping across England. A.R. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine