Ada Lovelace, Poet of Science
The First Computer Programmer
Diane Stanley author Jessie Hartland illustrator
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Simon & Schuster
Published:20th Oct '16
Should be back in stock very soon
This beautifully illustrated biography details the life of Ada Lovelace, the visionary known as the first computer programmer, highlighting her unique blend of creativity and intellect.
In Ada Lovelace, Poet of Science, readers are introduced to the remarkable life of Ada Lovelace, often celebrated as the first computer programmer. This beautifully illustrated biography, crafted by Diane Stanley and Jessie Hartland, reveals the unique blend of creativity and intellect that characterized Ada's life. Born to the famous poet Lord Byron and his mathematically inclined wife Annabella, Ada inherited a rich legacy of imagination and analytical thinking. Her early years were marked by a passion for science, mathematics, and machines, setting the stage for her groundbreaking contributions to technology.
The narrative takes us through Ada's journey, highlighting her visionary ideas that predated the digital age by a century. With an exceptional ability to connect concepts in innovative ways, Ada envisioned a future where machines could perform complex tasks. Her most significant achievement came when she wrote what is now recognized as the first computer program, demonstrating her understanding of coding long before computers became a reality.
Diane Stanley's lyrical prose, combined with Jessie Hartland's captivating illustrations, brings Ada's story to life in a way that is both engaging and informative. Ada Lovelace, Poet of Science not only celebrates her contributions to computing but also inspires readers to appreciate the intersection of creativity and science that Ada embodied throughout her life.
Stanley has been delighting and informing readers with her biographies for years, and here, her considerable talents are once again on display. . . . Hartland’s charmingly busy art, reminiscent of Maira Kalman’s work, is full of wit—calculations sweep across pages—and meshes well with Stanley’s inviting text. This is a solid addition to STEM studies, yes, but, also a great choice for any biography lovers. -- Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
Complementing the clear prose, Hartland's whimsical gouache pictures portray white figures with coral lips and in period dress. Gestural brushstrokes loosely evoke landscapes and interiors, yet scores of objects—from book titles and period toys to an omnipresent cat—provide plentiful visual interest. Pithy narrative plus charming pictures equals an admiring, admirable portrait of a STEM pioneer. -- Kirkus Reviews
Stanley delivers a breezy but insightful overview of the curiosity and determination that drove Ada Lovelace (1815–1852) to pursue her intellectual passions, tracing her childhood dreams of flight, her friendship and working relationship with Charles Babbage, and her pioneering programming work in service of promoting Babbage’s Analytical Machine. Hartland keeps the mood light in loopy gouache cartoons that humorously portray Lovelace as the creative and intelligent product of parents “as different as chalk and cheese”; in facing family portraits, the “rational, respectable, and strict” Lady Byron stares uncomfortably at her husband, Lord Byron, who looks rakish in multiple senses of the word. An author’s note and timeline conclude a thoroughly engaging look at a trailblazing mathematical mind.
-- Publishers Weekly * August 15, 2016 *
ISBN: 9781481452496
Dimensions: 229mm x 305mm x 10mm
Weight: 558g
40 pages