Hidden figures : the true story of four Black women and the space race / by Margot Lee Shetterly with Winifred Conkling ; illustrated by Laura Freeman.
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Item type | Current location | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
CML Dewey | University of Texas At Tyler CML Dewey Area | 510.92 S539fi (Browse shelf) | Available | 0000002248391 |
Explores the previously uncelebrated but pivotal contributions of NASA's African American women mathematicians to America's space program, describing how Jim Crow laws segregated them despite their groundbreaking successes. Includes biographies on Dorothy Jackson Vaughan (1910-2008), Mary Winston Jackson (1921-2005), Katherine Colman Goble Johnson (1918- ), Dr. Christine Mann Darden (1942- ).
Katherine, Dorothy, Mary, and Christine were all good at math. Really good. And it was their understanding of numbers that helped them do what seemed impossible. They were women, and they were African-American, and they lived during a time when being black and a woman limited what they could do. But Katherine, Dorothy, Mary, and Christine were hardworking and persistent and, most important, smart. And that's why NASA hired them to do the math that would one day send the United States into space for the very first time. New York Times bestselling author Margot Lee Shetterly and illustrator Laura Freeman bring to life the inspiring story of the struggles of these four "hidden figures" and what they overcame to succeed. The math work they did would change not only their own lives, but the face of air and space travel forever. -- From dust jacket.
Ages 4-8.
980L Lexile
Coretta Scott King Award Honor Book, 2019
Reviews provided by Syndetics
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Shetterly introduces young readers to the inspirational and groundbreaking stories of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden, and their once-hidden contributions to science, aeronautics, and space exploration. Shetterly expertly puts these women's achievements in their historical context: segregation, blatant sexism and racism in the workplace, the civil rights movement, and the space race. Despite the challenges these women faced, they persisted, worked hard, and put a man on the moon. In this picture book take, the text, at times, reads a bit clinical and it's occasionally difficult to distinguish one woman's characteristics from another's while reading. This is remedied with the handy time line of short profiles in the back matter. Freeman's full-color illustrations are stunning and chock-full of details, incorporating diagrams, mathematical formulas, and space motifs throughout (including the women's clothing and jewelry), enhancing the whole book. VERDICT An essential purchase for elementary school and public libraries.-Megan Kilgallen, Packer Collegiate -Institute, Brooklyn © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.Author notes provided by Syndetics
Margot Lee Shetterly was born in Hampton, Virginia in 1969. She is a graduate of the University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce. After college she worked in investment banking for several years. Her other career moves have included working in the media industry for the website Volume .com, publishing an English language magazine, Inside Mexico; marketing consultant in the Mexican tourism industry; and writing. Hidden Figures is her first book, a New York Times Bestseller and was optioned for a feature film.(Bowker Author Biography)
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