These profiles of six women are nothing less than inspiring. All were eager and enthusiastic observers of nature from the time they were children, and all grew up to be naturalists who made significant contributions to science. From the time she was young, each woman had a passion she ultimately could not ignore, despite the obstacles that gender, class, and family expectations cast in her way. Jeannine Atkins’ narrative about each life and specific sphere of interest is sure to generate new lovers of the natural world. The profiles in this modestly produced paperback collection, illustrated in black and white, are arranged chronologically. They include Maria Sibylla Merian (17th century); Ann Botsford Comstock (19th century); and four women of the 20th century: Frances Hamerstrom (who spent most of her adult life studying birds in Wisconsin and documenting the causes of extinction), Rachel Carson, Miriam Rothschild, and Jane Goodall. (Ages 8-11)