Written by Margot Lee Shetterly with Winifred Conkling, Illustrated by Laura Freeman
Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden were good at math…really good.
They participated in some of NASA’s greatest successes, like providing the calculations for America’s first journeys into space. And they did so during a time when being black and a woman limited what they could do. But they worked hard. They persisted. And they used their genius minds to change the world.
This is an inspiring story. While the book is still a little lengthy, this is a great nonfiction book for elementary students to read and understand. The story can be a little confusing for younger students since the stories are somewhat combined, but it can be used as a read aloud. There is a timeline and more background on the women in the back of the book as well.
Review by Vanessa Eyre, Robert Frost Elementary Media Center
Rating: ★★★★½ (4.5 stars)
Interest Level: Grades 1-8
Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race
Written by Margot Lee Shetterly with Winifred Conkling, Illustrated by Laura Freeman
HarperCollins Children’s Books
38 pages
Release Date: January 16, 2018
A review copy was provided by the publisher.
