Review Detail

Santiago Ramón y Cajal was born in the late 1800s. He had a passion for art that was not supported by his father who was a doctor. With no formal training and often facing punishments and practicing in secret, he continued to develop his artistic ability. In his studies to become a doctor he was able to apply his artistic eye to develop an understanding of the brain that turned into the beginnings of Neuroscience.
This biography does a nice job of exploring how his passion for art mingled with his father’s expectations to become a doctor. He often used pencil drawings and the illustrations are reminiscent of that style and give an old-world feel to the book. It was apparent by the illustrations that Santiago was from the past, but I did have to look in the backmatter to try to find a date to understand the period we were in. I do think that would have been beneficial to be mentioned in the story are well.
Overall, this is a good biography for Upper Elementary in understanding the accomplishments Santiago made in the field of science and medicine. This would go well with a unit on cells, anatomy, or biographies of historical figures.