NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson (STEM Trailblazer Bios) - Softcover

Schwartz, Heather E.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1512457043 ISBN 13: 9781512457049

Publisher: LernerClassroom, 2017

Synopsis

What do you want to be when you grow up? When Katherine Johnson was young, women weren't expected to go into the math and science fields. Johnson loved math, but she never thought she could be a mathematician. After studying math in school and teaching for a few years, she learned that the organization that would later become NASA was hiring women to complete mathematical equations. As an African American woman, Johnson had to work hard to earn the respect of her coworkers, but they soon came to rely on her brilliant calculations. Her contributions to the US space program helped send astronauts to the moon. Learn how Johnson broke barriers as a female African American mathematician.

About this title

About the Author

When Heather E. Schwartz was thirteen years old, she tracked down several lead orphans from the 1983 movie "Annie" and interviewed them by phone. As an adult, she realized she could apply those same early instincts to a career as a journalist and writer. She is the author of more than 35 nonfiction children's titles, published by Lerner Publishing Group, Capstone Press, Teacher Created Materials, Lucent Books, and Tangerine Press, a Scholastic imprint. She has written articles for National Geographic Kids and Discovery Girls. In addition, she developed the content for KidsGetArthritisToo.org, the juvenile section of the Arthritis Foundation's website. Other credits in the children's market include articles for Teen, Girls' Life, and All About You magazines. Additionally, Ms. Schwartz is a former editor at Bridal Guide magazine, co-author of Bridal Guide Magazine's How to Choose the Perfect Wedding Gown (Warner, 2004), and contributor to The Takeout Cookbook (Knock Knock 2007).

Review

"A celebration of innovators and the various STEM fields they pioneered and loved. Throughout the series, the authors routinely but gently emphasize how interconnected the acts of studying, inventing, and playing are (especially in Lonnie Johnson)―a quality that makes these titles natural companion texts for maker spaces. Also, the initial focus on the childhood of each subject allows students to draw their own personal connections (a young Nikola Tesla unsuccessfully tried to fly, Ellen Ochoa's parents divorced when she was a teen). Bright, well-designed layouts make for an effortless reading experience, though the text can be vague at points; for instance, in Katherine Johnson, students may wonder why her town 'did not have a high school she could attend.' Upbeat profiles of admirable STEM figures and fine additions to biography collections."―School Library Journal

(Journal)

Edition details

• Publisher: LernerClassroom
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1512457043
• ISBN 13: 9781512457049
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 32