The inspiring autobiography of the NASA mathematician who helped launch Apollo 11.
“This rich volume is a national treasure.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Captivating, informative, and inspiring…Easy to follow and hard to put down.” —School Library Journal (starred review)
The Story
As a young girl, Katherine Johnson showed an exceptional aptitude for math. In school, she quickly skipped ahead several grades and was soon studying complex equations with the support of a professor who saw great promise in her. But ability and opportunity did not always go hand in hand.
As an African American and a girl growing up in an era of brutal racism and sexism, Katherine faced daily challenges. Still, she lived her life with her father’s words in mind: “You are no better than anyone else, and nobody else is better than you.”
In the early 1950s, Katherine was thrilled to join the organization that would become NASA. She worked on many of the agency's most critical projects, calculating the flight paths for the first American in space and the historic Apollo 11 moon landing.
Why this belongs on your bookshelf:
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First-Hand History: A look at the Space Race from the perspective of the "Human Computers" who made it possible.
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STEM Inspiration: Shows young readers that math is a superpower that can literally take you to the stars.
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Overcoming Adversity: A powerful lesson on resilience, dignity, and breaking barriers.
🔭 From the Desk of Paul Bracken:
"In astrophotography, we rely on computers to track the stars. Katherine Johnson reminds us that the most powerful computer is the human mind. Her calculations were so trusted that John Glenn refused to launch until she personally checked the numbers. A true hero of the space program."
