THIS LITTLE SCIENTIST is a great board book which features a scientist plus a cute rhyming phrase about their work on the left and then a depiction of them with their relevant work and a longer description about them on the right. The book features 10 scientists (6 women) with many more shown on the last couple pages in brief mentions. The scientists shown on the primary pages are ones most people will recognize, though some of the facts could be new.

What I loved: This book can be explored at a couple levels. By just reading the rhyming phrases, this can be fun for young toddlers. When you add the facts/information below the main picture, this can be helpful for older toddlers who can process more information and learn more about the scientists work. The illustrations are fantastic and suit the scientists perfectly, capturing toddler attention with lots of bright colors. The diversity (in terms of gender primarily) is great and really shows the breadth of who can be a scientist. The book can be quite inspirational for budding young scientists who are constantly exploring their world.

What left me wanting more: I imagine it must be difficult to pick out which scientists to feature, and you can tell by the last couple pages that many were considered. While a few scientists of color are featured, it would be great to see even more of them. The popular scientists were selected, but I would have loved to see some scientists I had not heard of. Of course, it is always great to see people parents will recognize and with whom they are already familiar to fill in any questioning toddler’s knowledge from the board book.

Final verdict: This is a great installment to the “This Little” series, and I love seeing a book about scientists! With levels of reading ages included (by electing to read only the rhymes or also the facts), this book can be great across toddler ages. The inclusion of so many female scientists is also fantastic, and this is a great book for inquisitive toddlers who may grow up to be future scientists.