Counting the Stars: The Story of Katherine Johnson, NASA Mathematician

Author:   Lesa Cline-Ransome ,  Raúl Colón
Publisher:   Simon & Schuster
ISBN:  

9781534404755


Pages:   32
Publication Date:   08 October 2019
Recommended Age:   From 4 to 8 years
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
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Counting the Stars: The Story of Katherine Johnson, NASA Mathematician


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Overview

“A detail-rich picture book.” —Kirkus Reviews “Straightforward and inviting.” —School Library Journal From award-winning author Lesa Cline-Ransome and acclaimed illustrator Raúl Colón comes the sensitive, informative, and inspiring picture book biography of the remarkable mathematician Katherine Johnson, one of the NASA “human computers” whose work was critical to the first US space launch. Before John Glenn orbited the Earth or astronauts walked on the moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as “human computers” used their knowledge, pencils, adding machines, and writing paper to calculate the orbital mechanics needed to launch spacecraft. Katherine Johnson was one of these mathematicians who used trajectories and complex equations to chart the space program. Even as Virginia’s Jim Crow laws were in place in the early 1950s, Katherine worked analyzing data at the NACA (later NASA) Langley laboratory. In 1962, as NASA prepared for the orbital mission of John Glenn, Katherine Johnson was called upon and John Glenn said “get the girl” (Katherine Johnson) to run the numbers by hand to chart the complexity of the orbital flight. He knew that his flight couldn’t work without her unique skills. President Barack Obama awarded Katherine Johnson the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015 and her incredible life inspired the Oscar-nominated film Hidden Figures. Get to know this incredible and inspirational woman with this beautifully illustrated picture book from an award-winning duo.

Full Product Details

Author:   Lesa Cline-Ransome ,  Raúl Colón
Publisher:   Simon & Schuster
Imprint:   Paula Wiseman Books
Dimensions:   Width: 21.60cm , Height: 0.80cm , Length: 27.90cm
Weight:   0.449kg
ISBN:  

9781534404755


ISBN 10:   1534404759
Pages:   32
Publication Date:   08 October 2019
Recommended Age:   From 4 to 8 years
Audience:   Children/juvenile ,  Children / Juvenile
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

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Reviews

Cline-Ransome (Finding Langston, 2018, etc.) traces Johnson's love of math, curiosity about the world, and studiousness from her early entry to school through her help sending a man into space as a human computer at NASA. .... Many biographies of black achievers during segregation focus on society's limits and the subject's determination to reach beyond them. This book takes a subtler approach, mentioning segregation only once (at her new work assignment, she ignored the stares and the COLORED GIRLS signs on the bathroom door and the segregated cafeteria ) and the glass ceiling for women twice in a factual tone as potential obstacles that did not stop Johnson. Her work is described in the context of the space race, which helps to clarify the importance of her role. Colon's signature soft, textured illustrations evoke the time period and Johnson's feeling of wonder about the world, expressed in the refrain, Why? What? How? ... A detail-rich picture book best for readers who enjoy nonfiction and are interested in history or science. (Picture book/biography. 9-12) * Kirkus *


Author Information

Lesa Cline-Ransome is the author of numerous nonfiction and historical fiction titles for picture book, chapter book, middle grade, and young adult readers including Game Changers: The Story of Venus and Serena Williams and The Power of Her Pen: The Story of Groundbreaking Journalist Ethel L. Payne. Her verse biography of Harriet Tubman, Before She Was Harriet was nominated for an NAACP Image Award and received a Jane Addams Children’s Book Honor, Christopher Award, and Coretta Scott King Honor for Illustration. Her debut middle grade novel, Finding Langston, won the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction and received the Coretta Scott King Award Author Honor. She lives in the Hudson Valley region of New York with her husband and frequent collaborator, James Ransome, and their family. Visit her at LesaClineRansome.com. Raúl Colón has illustrated several highly acclaimed picture books including the New York Times bestselling Angela and the Baby Jesus by Frank McCourt and Susanna Reich’s José! Born to Dance, which received a starred review in Booklist. Mr. Colón lived in Puerto Rico as a young boy and now resides in New City, New York, with his family.

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