Suzanne Slade
Girl power! I love seeing success stories of women who have had to battle through the bull to rise to the top. And a minority woman...even better! Katherine Johnson fascinates me. Her incredible mind is so inspiring. Her thirst for knowledge makes me want to learn more. I love that there are role models for my daughter that I can say, "Look! She accomplished great things. YOU can accomplish great things. Persevere, work hard, and don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't do something!"
"Some people said it was wrong for children with different skin colors to attend the same school. Others said it wasn't right for women to work at the same jobs as me. Their arguments seemed wrong to Katherine--as wrong as 5 + 5 = 12."
So, what did I think?
5 out of 5 Stars
Katherine Johnson grew up loving math. She counted everything, everywhere she went. She was so advanced that she was able to skip multiple grades in elementary school. Growing up during the time of segregation, she had many obstacles to overcome to be able to get the advanced education that she needed. She started attending college at the young age of 15, and continued to excel. After college, she became a math teacher, but went on to have a job "helping men engineers" design planes. Eye roll. By being persistent, and proving that she was highly qualified, she ended up joining a space team of men engineers to work to send the first American astronaut into space. She. Was. Amazing. Katherine used her math skills to check the work of NASA's computer...seriously. She was that good. "She created a bold, braved path all the way to the moon--and back!"
This book is super child friendly. The illustrations and the text are wonderful. You can't help but find yourself wanting to to keep reading to learn about the next great thing Katherine was able to accomplish. I highly recommend this biography. And, I personally, will be adding more books about Katherine Johnson to my reading list.
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