10th October Ada Lovelace Day

Ada Lovelace Day is held every year on the second Tuesday of October. This is not her birthday. That is on 10th December, too close to school holidays and Christmas to celebrate then. Today is a day to celebrate inspirational women in science, technology, maths and engineering, in the hope that by shining a light on such people and increasing their visibility, they can inspire future generations. 

There is so much written about Ada's personal life. She has been the subject of novels, plays and now a large number of picture book biographies.This means that a large number of young children get to know about her 'mathematical genius' and she has become quite a mentor for young girls who enjoy STEM subjects.If you are looking to add books to your library for children as young as eight, these are perfect.

• Ada's Ideas: The Story of Ada Lovelace, the World's First Computer Programmer by Fiona Robinson

• Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine by Laurie Hallmark & April Chu 

• Ada Lovelace, Poet of Science: The First Computer Programmer by Diane Stanley & Jessie Hartland
and look out for these which will be here early in the new year

• Who Says Women Can't Be Computer Programmers  by Tanya Lee Stone & Marjorie Priceman

• Ada Lovelace by Isabel Sanchez Vegara &  Zafouko Yamamoto (part of the Little People Big Dreams series)

And there is a new series of bridging novels just available about an eight year old, third grade  student with a knack for maths, science and solving mysteries with technology.  Written by Emily Calandrelli, Ada Lace, On the Case is book 1 in the series.

8th December International Civil Aviation Day

Yesterday, the 7th December was International Civil Aviation Day, a global celebration organised by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). The purpose of the global celebration is to generate and reinforce worldwide awareness of the importance of international civil aviation in the social and economic development of States, and of the role of ICAO in promoting the safety, efficiency and regularity of international air transport.

Perhaps this is a good time to read about flying and how it has changed our world. You could read about some famous aviators such as the Wright brothers or Amelia Earhart. Both of these are subjects in DK readers - First Flight: The Wright Brothers by Caryn Jenner and Amelia Earhart by Tanya Lee Stone. You could look at how Qantas began, the Flying Doctor Service or just do a picture study of how planes have changed. Books such as DK Big Book of Airplanes by Caroline Bingham or the new Flight: 100 Years of Aviation by Reg Grant are good for this. The latter is too hard to read for younger children but the pictures will keep them absorbed.