The Brilliant Calculator

The Brilliant Calculator How Mathematician Edith Clarke Helped Electrify America

First edition

Hardback (14 Mar 2023)

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Publisher's Synopsis

A 2024 Mathical Honor Book

Hidden Figures
meets Rosie Revere, Engineer in this STEM/STEAM picture book about Edith Clarke, the innovator who solved an electrical mystery and built the first graphing calculator-from paper!


Long before calculators were invented, little Edith Clarke devoured numbers, conquered calculations, cracked puzzles, and breezed through brainteasers. Edith wanted to be an engineer-to use the numbers she saw all around her to help build America.

When she grew up, no one would hire a woman engineer. But that didn't stop Edith from following her passion and putting her lightning-quick mind to the problem of electricity. But the calculations took so long! Always curious, Edith couldn't help thinking of better ways to do things. She constructed a "calculator" from paper that was ten times faster than doing all that math by hand! Her invention won her a job, making her the first woman electrical engineer in America. And because Edith shared her knowledge with others, her calculator helped electrify America, bringing telephones and light across the nation.

Book information

ISBN: 9781662680069
Publisher: Astra Publishing House
Imprint: Calkins Creek
Pub date:
Edition: First edition
Language: English
Number of pages: 40 unnumbered
Weight: 437g
Height: 287mm
Width: 224mm
Spine width: 8mm