Never Give Up: Dr. Kati Karikó and the Race for the Future of Vaccines

by Debbie Dadey (Author) Juliana Oakley (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade

Growing up in a small Hungarian town, Kati Karikó was curious about everything.

As an adult, she channeled her curiosity into her work as a scientist. An mRNA vaccine had never been made before, and she faced frequent criticism and was told by other scientists she would never succeed. After many years of hard work and dedication, she figured out how to use mRNA to make a vaccine--and when a deadly virus called COVID-19 started infecting millions of people, Kati's invention turned out to be exactly what the world needed.

Never Give Up is the inspiring true story of a determined scientist who proved that a little bit of curiosity and a lot of hard work can save lives.

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An engaging look at scientific dedication and the timely development of effective vaccines.

School Library Journal

Starred Review

Gr 2-6--Katalin "Kati" Karikó became fascinated with science from a young age. Born in 1955 and raised in Hungary, she grew up on a farm where she was often curious about life and what comprised it. At school, her thirst for knowledge only increased as she learned about cells and saw them under a microscope. Not surprisingly, Karikó grew up to work in a lab where she was interested in mRNA, a part of DNA that is useful when illness strikes. Sure she could find a way to train cells to cure illness, Karikó persevered despite her colleagues' doubts. To learn more, she moved to the United States where she lost one job and was demoted in another because she simply would not give up on her idea. Dr. Anthony Fauci, a fellow doctor of infectious diseases, is quoted as saying, "She was, in a positive sense, kind of obsessed with the concept of messenger RNA. It's going to be transforming." It wasn't until Karikó met another scientist that things changed. By working together, Karikó and Drew Weissman came up with a breakthrough that led to the founding of Moderna and was key to the development of the COVID-19 vaccine at Pfizer. Bright, beautiful illustrations are rendered in pencil and finished digitally. Back matter includes a time line, glossary, resources, and more. VERDICT Informative as well as inspiring, this book shows how Karikó's tenacity is proof to never give up. A first purchase for all biography collections.--Tracy Cronce

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

 

Classification
Non-fiction
ISBN-13
9781728456331
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Millbrook Press (Tm)
Publication date
March 07, 2023
Series
-
BISAC categories
JNF007090 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Biography & Autobiography | Science & Technology
JNF007120 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Biography & Autobiography | Women
JNF024020 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Health & Daily Living | Diseases, Illnesses & Injuries
Library of Congress categories
Hungarian Americans
Biochemists
Karikao, Katalin

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