 | Rewriting The Rules: How Dr. Kathleen Friel Created New Possibilities For Brain Research And Disability Author: Zeiger, Danna | |
| Price: $14.99 | ||
Summary:
As someone with cerebral palsy who runs a lab to help others with cerebral palsy, Dr. Kathleen Friel is rewriting the rules, defying expectations, and opening up new possibilities for herself and others.
Reviews:
Booklist (08/01/25)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 08/01/2025 This picture-book biography begins with a young Kathleen Friel trying to blow wisps off a dandelion to make a wish. When her muscles don’t listen due to her cerebral palsy, Friel tries another tactic and waves the wisps away. This solution-oriented attitude informs the rest of Friel’s story, from finding new ways of learning and making friends to convincing teachers and strangers that she’s capable of taking care of herself to becoming a world-leading cerebral palsy researcher, innovating ways of reprogramming brain cells. The action moves at a brisk clip, emphasizing how Friel had to win others over at every stage of her life, and how she persisted to show she was a friendly, funny, and intelligent person. The cheerful illustrations effectively express people’s initial wariness and Friel’s frustrations, and the rich back matter includes information on cerebral palsy and how the brain works. This stellar biography checks multiple positive role model boxes: a challenge-defying, determined, rule-breaking, problem-solving woman of STEM. - Copyright 2025 Booklist.
