The first-ever picture book biography about Dr. Katalin Karikó, winner of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Growing up in a small Hungarian town, Kati Karikó was curious about everything.That included her family’s farm animals—and the cells inside of them. As an adult, she channeled her curiosity into her work as a scientist.

Kati wanted to find a way to use mRNA to help the body fight illnesses, but it wasn’t easy. An mRNA vaccine had never been made before, and she faced frequent criticism and was told by other scientists she would never succeed. But 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.