Welcome, Carrie Pearson!

Science rocks! And so does this new book from Carrie Pearson highlighting Dr. Virginia Apgar and her lifesaving test for newborn babies. Carrie is also the author of REAL PRINCESSES CHANGE THE WORLD, so she isn’t new to writing wonderful biographies.

Welcome, Carrie! Tell us about the inspiration for this latest biography, VIRGINIA WOULDN’T SLOW DOWN. Thanks, fellow STEM author! I first learned about the APGAR Score eons ago in college in my field of study (early childhood education with minors in social and natural science). For a time, I was interested in pursuing neonatal psychology and APGAR Scores were referenced. When each of our three daughters were born, the APGAR Score took on a whole new relevance but I wasn’t a book writer yet. Then, in 2015, I read that the APGAR Score used worldwide to assess newborn health was invented by a woman – Dr. Virginia Apgar -- and that she was born in 1909, a time when most women did not pursue a medical career -- AND that she was a powerhouse of energy, intellect, and moxie. My interest was piqued!

Dr. Virginia Apgar faced many challenges along the way to this discovery but yet she persevered. What was her most daunting? I imagine she would say that one of her darkest times was having to alter her occupational path dramatically. When she had almost completed her surgical residency (a huge accomplishment, especially in a milieu dominated by sexism), her mentor told her that she’d likely not make it as a female surgeon during the Great Depression. She should shift to being an anesthesiologist, which was a completely new and unknown field. But the decision proved to be the right course for her, for many reasons.

Did you face any challenges writing her biography? The largest challenge was distilling Virginia’s big life story and essence into a limited word count. One of my crit buddies kept reminding me through drafts, “You don’t need this for your thesis. Trim.” And my agent, Kelly Sonnack, brought her big picture thinking to the project. After many attempts, we arrived at a story that, with Nancy Carpenter’s amazing illustrations, brings Dr. Apgar to life on the page.

This is such a great STEM title, Carrie. Please tell teachers how they can use this book in the classroom. Thank you. This book will model and encourage a problem-solution mindset which is crucial for all STEM thinking and doing. On the SEL side, Dr. Apgar gave a voice to the voiceless -- a worthy ambition for all of us, even from a young age.

Virginia Apgar never slowed down and neither do you. What’s next for you, Carrie Pearson? Slightly off tangent from my recent bios, I’m working on an unannounced middle grade nonfiction book about animal gestation. The book will offer little known information about how highly adaptive body parts are formed and give us yet another reason to be in awe of – and hopefully want to protect – our animal neighbors. I also have other nonfiction projects in the pipeline. Stay tuned! To learn more about Carrie's books check out her website.