Ada's Ideas: The Story of ADA Lovelace, the World's First Computer Programmer

Award-winning author/illustrator Fiona Robinson's picture book biography Ada's Ideas is a compelling portrait of a woman who saw the potential for numbers to make art.

Ada Lovelace (1815-1852) was the daughter of Lord Byron, a poet, and Anna Isabella Milbanke, a mathematician. Her parents separated when she was young, and her mother insisted on a logic-focused education, rejecting Byron's "mad" love of poetry. But Ada remained fascinated with her father and considered mathematics "poetical science."

Via her friendship with inventor Charles Babbage, she became involved in "programming" his Analytical Engine, a precursor to the computer, thus becoming the world's first computer programmer.

"Robinson celebrates Lovelace for her powerful analytical mind in spite of an overbearing mother, an absent father, and a restrictive social position . . . A fascinating and uplifting STEAM selection, highly recommended." --School Library Journal

Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers
Published: 08/02/2016
Pages: 40
Weight: 1lbs
Size: 8.10h x 11.00w x 0.60d
ISBN: 9781419718724
Age: Ages 9-12

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 5.1
Point Value: 0.5
Interest Level: Lower Grade
Quiz #/Name: 192157 / Ada's Ideas: The Story of ADA Lovelace, the World's First Computer Programmer


Review Citation(s):
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 10/01/2016
School Library Journal 10/01/2016 pg. 130
Horn Book Magazine 01/01/2017 pg. 117

About the Author
Fiona Robinson is the author-illustrator of The Useful Moose: A Truthful, Moose-full Tale. Publishers Weekly praised her "flair for humor tinged with heart." Her work has been honored by the Royal Academy of Arts and been featured in many gallery shows. She lives with her family in Brooklyn, New York.