The Girl With A Mind For Math by Julia Finley Mosca

When Raye Montague was only seven years old, her grandfather took her to see her first ship. This ship was a submarine and it astounded Raye. 

She was told engineers built the ship but that she didn't need to know about that. The meaning was clear, that as a girl it wasn't something she needed to ever be involved in. However, Raye decided that she wanted to build ships and therefore needed to be an engineer.  Her mother encouraged her, telling her not to let people tell dissuade her, just because she is a girl, because she's black or because she did not graduate from a good high school. Segregated schools like the one Raye would attend often offered a lower quality of education than schools attended by white students.

So, gifted in math, Raye read plenty of books and taught herself. But when it came to applying to college, she was told that engineering was not taught to black students!

So Raye enrolled in a business program, graduating with honours.  Eventually she got a job typing where submarines were built. In her job at the Navy, Raye paid close attention, watching the engineers as they worked, learning what they did. She also took computer classes at night.

When the entire staff came down with the flu, Raye not only did her job but theirs as well. Her boss was stunned. Despite this, he continued to treat her badly. Then the president of the United States ordered a submarine to be built quickly, so Raye used a computer program to design a ship in just over eighteen hours!Unbelievably, Raye was not invited when the ship was launched. Only white men could attend.

It would take many years for Raye to achieve the recognition she deserved but it did come eventually. Eventually she became the first woman to lead ship design. Other honours soon followed.

Discussion

The Girl With A Mind is a story about perseverance, determination and the courage to follow one's dreams. Raye Montague was born in Little Rock, Arkansas to Rayford and Flossie Jordan on January 21, 1935. It was during World War II that her grandfather took her to see a captured German submarine that was on exhibition. Intrigued by the submarine, Raye asked a man at the exhibition what a person needed to know in order to make such a machine. He told her that engineers build ships but that she didn't need to worry about learning such things. The implication of course was that as a young black girl she would never grow up to be an engineer. But Raye's mother had already prepared her daughter for the many obstacles she would face in life, telling her she was black, a female and went to a poor school.

Raye graduated from Merrill High School in Pine Bluff in 1952 and went on to earn a Bachelor's Degree in Business from the Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical and Normal College in 1956. At this time, African Americans could not earn an engineering degree from colleges in Arkansas. Raye, now twenty-one-years old, began working as a typist a the David Taylor Model Basin. She then moved to Naval Ship Engineering Center where she was a digital computer systems operator. Raye had taken computer courses at night as a way to continue learning and upgrading her skills. When she was required to work night shifts, Raye bought a car and taught herself to drive. There was no public transit at night. 

In 1971, Raye became the first person to design a naval ship using a computer. This happened during the Vietnam War and the request was made by then President Richard Nixon. Normally it would take at least two years to draft the plans for a new ship, but using a computer, Raye accomplished this in just over eighteen hours. This amazing accomplishment earned her the Navy's third highest award, the Meritorious Civilian Service award in 1972.

Raye had a distinguished career in the Navy: she was the Navy's first female program manager and was also a program manager of information systems improvement. She was also recognized by the engineering profession when she was awarded the Society of Manufacturing Engineers Achievement Award in 1978, the first woman to do so. She also finally achieved what she so desperately wanted years ago as an aspiring seven year old, her professional engineer credentials in both the United States and Canada!

Like many other African American women scientists, engineers and mathematicians, Raye Montague's achievements went unnoticed for decades. Raye's success was achieved through hard work, determination, and the courage to excel despite facing many obstacles. The Girl With A Mind For Math especially highlights these qualities that Raye Montague had. The message Raye has for young readers is not to give in, to take a chance and never quit working towards what you really want!

Author Julia Finley Mosca was able to speak at length with Raye and was given access to some personal photographs. Raye passed away on October 10, 2018 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Mosca has crafted a simple retelling of Raye Montague's life, using rhyming verse. The accompanying artwork by illustrator Daniel Rieley help to flesh out Raye's remarkable story.

Included in the back matter is a section based on the author's conversations with Raye, titled Facts and Tidbits from the Author's Chat with Raye!, a timeline of her life and achievements and a detailed biography, About Raye Montague. 

The Girl With A Mind For Math is an inspiring story that encourages girls from all walks of life to dream big.

Book Details:

The Girl With A Mind For Math: The Story of Raye Montague by Julia Finley Mosca
Seattle, WA: The Innovation Press     2018

The Boy Who Loved Math by Deborah Heiligman

This fascinating picture book tells the story of Paul Erdos, a mathematician known for his work in set theory, combinatorics, probability theory and number theory.

Paul was born in 1913, in Budapest, Hungary to parents who were both mathematics teachers. Their love of math helped foster Paul's love of numbers from an early age. He was fascinated by counting and often loved to tell people how long they had been alive in seconds based on their birth date.

When Paul was young, he did not care much for school, so his parents let him stay home. He spent all his time at home working on math problems. When it came time to go to high school, Paul found he enjoyed high school very much because he was able to meet people who were also very interested in math. Paul was so accomplished at math that by the time he was twenty years old, he was well-known for his abilities in the field of mathematics.

As an adult, Paul lived a very eccentric lifestyle. He traveled all over the world, living out of a suitcase. Whenever he arrived in a city, a fellow mathematician would take him into his home. Paul's only obsession was doing math and connecting mathematicians to one another to do math. People who worked with Paul on math problems got an Erdos number of 1, while those who worked with someone who worked with Paul were assigned the number 2. People were very proud of these numbers.

This unusual picture book not only tells Paul Erdos's story in text but also through the thoughtful art of LeUyen Pham. Pham incorporates much information about Paul and mathematics into his colourful illustrations. At the back of the picture book are detailed notes about the illustrations on each page providing information about the numbers, equations and even the people Pham has placed in his pictures.

This is a wonderful book for older epsilons (Paul's term for children!) who love math and who are able to have a parent read it to them and share the notes at the back of the book. The author was inspired to write this book as a result of her son Aaron's interest in math and Paul Edros. She was able to meet with many friends of Paul and even someone who has an Erdos number 1!! In her note at the back of the book, Heiligman relates that there were many facts about Paul's life that she could not incorporate into her picture book, for example that he had two sisters who died of scarlet fever who were also very very smart. Paul Edros passed away in 1996, while attending a math conference in Warsaw, Poland.

Those interested in learning more about Paul Erdos should watch the BBC Documentary N Is A Number: A Portrait of Paul Erdos. The documentary explores Paul's life and his contributions to the many different areas of mathematics.

Image of Paul Erdos: https://www.renyi.hu/~p_erdos/

Book Details:
The Boy Who Loved Math: The Improbably Life of Paul Edros by Deborah Heiligman
pictures by Leuyen Pham  
New York: Roaring Book Press     2013
37 pp.