The Stuff Between the Stars: How Vera Rubin Discovered Most of the Universe By Sandra Nickel Illustrated Aimée Sicuro

Back of Book:

Vera Rubin was one of the astronomers who discovered and named dark matter, the thing that keeps the universe hanging together. Throughout her career, she was never taken seriously as a scientist because she was one of the only female astronomers at that time, but she didn’t let that stop her. She made groundbreaking and incredibly significant discoveries that scientists have only recently been able to really appreciate—and she changed the way that we look at the universe. A stunning portrait of a little-known trailblazer, The Stuff Between the Stars tells Vera’s story and inspires the youngest readers who are just starting to look up at the stars.

My Review:

I received a copy of this picture book from Abrahms Publishing and Blue Slip Media in exchange for an honest review.

“The Stuff Between the Stars How Vera Rubin Discovered Most of the Universe” By Sandra Nickel tells the fascinating story about the work and life of astronomer Vera Rubin. As a young child, Vera loved watching the beauty of the night sky. As she entered college she was encouraged to study some simple like painting. Vera didn’t want to paint she wanted to observe. After college Vera began studying the idea that galaxies rotated around the center of the universe. She plotted her research and presented it to a gathering of America’s most important senior astronomers. Vera was told that her ideas were “ridiculous” defeated Vera wondered if she would ever be a real astronomer. Over the years Vera would continue to study the night sky and make amazing discoveries. She broke barriers and created a name for herself in a world where she wasn’t welcomed. Sandra did a wonderful job of bringing the struggles and joy of Vera to life. The illustrations by Aimée Sicuro are dreamy and capture the beauty of the sky and galaxies. The back of the book has detailed author notes, a timeline, and a selected biography. This is a wonderful story that celebrates one woman in science and the discoveries that shaped our understanding of the universe. 

Ages 5 and up

48 Pages