Katherine knew it was wrong that African Americans didn’t have the same rights as others–as wrong as 5+5=12. She knew it was wrong that people thought women could only be teachers or nurses–as wrong as 10-5=3. And she proved everyone wrong by zooming ahead of her classmates, starting college at fifteen, and eventually joining NASA, where her calculations helped pioneer America’s first manned flight into space, its first manned orbit of Earth, and the world’s first trip to the moon!
My Review:
I received a copy of this picture book from author Suzanne Slade in exchange for an honest review.
Suzanne Slade is a gifted author! Her books never fail to sweep me into the story. “A Computer Called Katherine” is no exception. The book follows Katherine from her childhood love of mathematics to her important work with NASA. The book focuses on Katherine’s courage and determination to keep moving forward. She chose to work in a career with all men. This meant that Katherine had to work twice as hard to prove that she was just as capable of solving equations as they were. The illustrations by debut illustrator Veronica Miller Jamison are bright and detailed. I love the way she incorporated numbers within the illustrations. I loved reading the authors note in the back of the book about how she pulled from her own personal experience working at NASA. The back of the book also had a fantastic timeline that makes this book perfect for book reports. This is an excellent book to share for National Women’s Month and any STEM unit.
Ages 5 and up
40 Pages
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