Ernest Rutherford was born in 1871 to a poor family. He and his 11 siblings had a simple life helping by milking cows, feeding pigs and looking after the chickens.

He was also a curious boy, with his nose always stuck in a book, wanting to know how and why things were the way they were.

School was everything to Ern, as that was where he would find out everything he wanted to know. But school costs money which his family didn’t have. There was a way to achieve his dream however. He needed to win scholarships.

Despite being very smart, Ern had to study hard to win those scholarships, often applying more than once. But he wanted to learn about the world and never gave up.

High School, then University was where Ern needed to go. When he achieved those goals he set out some more for himself, going on to break world records, learn how old the Earth was and what he is most famous for – splitting the atom.

This took years of experiments, learning, sharing his knowledge with the world and learning some more.

Ernest Rutherford is known around the world as one of the most influential scientists.

Just an ordinary boy from a small town near Nelson, New Zealand.

Ernest Rutherford was born to a poor ordinary family in New Zealand, but his passion to learn from a young age was far from ordinary.

Known as one of the greatest scientists ever, this beautifully illustrated picture book takes the reader on a journey through Ernest’s life, from cradle through family life, school and his many accomplishments around the world.

He has been immortalised on stamps, NZ’s own 100 dollar note and more across the globe. This and many other interesting facts about Ern are included at the end of the book, not just as lists but also illustrated using real photos for reference.

Maria Gill has done it again, taking young readers back in time to meet another world renown person born in New Zealand. Her effortless style draws the reader in and emphasizes that even a great like Nobel winning prize winner Ernest Rutherford, was once just an ordinary boy.

Author – Maria Gill

Illustrator – Alistair Hughes

Picture Book

Non-Fiction

(2023, Upstart Press, New Zealand, NZ, School, Study, Imagination, Curiosity, Determination, Hard work, Experiments, Wireless, Radiation, Atoms, Split the atom, Science, Nobel Prize Winner, Multi Award winner, NZ Author, NZ Illustrator, History, Historical)