She Stitched the Stars: A Story of Ellen Harding Baker’s Solar System Quilt (She Made History)

Ellen Harding Baker’s three daughters lived lives of adventure and curiosity, despite it being an era when girls and women were expected to know their place in the world and remain within those confines. They loved to roll down grassy hills, trace the constellations in the starry sky, and read about things not taught in school. When their mother announced they were going to embroider the universe, they could hardly wait. They set to work learning about the planets, studying maps, and drafting pictures of telescopes, and after seven years, they had created a masterpiece that now hangs in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

This is an inspiring story about hoping and dreaming big during a time when females’ roles in society were traditional and educational development was mostly reserved for men. Ellen certainly passed down her yearning for knowledge and innovative spirit to her girls. They loved novelty and were inquisitive and mischievous, and the mark she made in their lives as well as on history is spectacular.

This book is ideal for second- and third-grade science and social studies teachers teaching youngsters about courageous women who have stepped outside of the ordinary to achieve the extraordinary. It’s perfect for encouraging students to believe in themselves and their own capabilities.