Santiago!: Santiago Ramón Y Cajal! Artist, Scientist, Troublemaker
by Jay Hosler (Author)
Based on a true story, Santiago Ramón y Cajal is every child who has struggled to navigate the expectations of adults.
As a young boy, all Santiago wanted to do was be an artist. But his father wanted him to become a doctor, insisting that pursuing art was not a true profession. Although Santiago was forbidden by his parents to make art, Santiago secretly kept at it—making homemade paints and brushes and honing his craftsmanship. He also loved figuring out how things worked and made slingshots for his friends and even a fully functioning (and very dangerous) cannon. Sadly, the one thing he couldn’t figure out was his father.
After years of locking horns, Santiago’s father seemed to win, and Santiago was sent to medical school. As a medical student he discovered the wonders of how animal bodies work, and his studies eventually led him to the microscopic mysteries of the brain. Using the artistic skills he honed as a child, Santiago painted brain cells to unlock their secrets. His pursuit of art had trained him to be observant, persistent, resourceful, and creative in his research. In 1906, he won the Nobel Prize for medicine and is considered the father of modern neuroscience—proving anything is possible, even for a mischief maker.
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Publishers Weekly
Hosler (The Way of the Hive) energetically captures the early life and eventual success of Nobel Prize-winning Spanish neuroscientist Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852-1934) in this buoyant graphic novel biography. In 19th-century Ayerbe, Spain, a rambunctious and persistent Ramón y Cajal relentlessly pursues a career in art, despite his doctor father's wish he'd use his intellect to practice medicine. Ramón y Cajal's mischievous exploits to gather art materials leave him vilified in the eyes of adult citizens and his boarding school administration, especially for roping his friends and little brother, Pedro, into his schemes. After being sent to a Catholic school run by priests, where he endured flogging and nights without food, Ramón y Cajal attended medical school, became a doctor, and used his love of art to illustrate how the brain works. Full-color illustrations portraying animated facial expressions and kinetic action rendered in exaggerated lines imbues Ramón y Cajal's hardships with good humor and playfulness. Well-researched and packed with tongue-in-cheek hijinks, Hosler delivers a witty and earnest depiction of a boy who wholeheartedly believes that art can help people see the world and change the way one thinks. Source notes and a bibliography conclude. Ages 8-12. (Nov.)
Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
Santiago is a fun and lively illustration of the link between Art and Science.—Rafael Rosado, illustrator of The Ultra Squad series A delightful celebration of a charming troublemaker who changed the world. —Jorge Aguirre, author of The Chronicles of Claudette series
Health
Neurosciences
Ramaon y Cajal, Santiago
