Hidden Figures: Young Readers' Edition of Hidden Figures―Celebrating African American Women Pioneers at NASA
BookElementaryMiddle SchoolScientist

Hidden Figures: Young Readers' Edition of Hidden Figures―Celebrating African American Women Pioneers at NASA

Margot Lee Shetterly

Why we picked it

Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson leap off the page as brilliant mathematicians who powered NASA's early missions against incredible personal and societal barriers.

Our review

Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson leap off the page as math whizzes who powered NASA’s early missions. Short chapters, photos, and fact boxes keep the pace brisk for middle-grade readers. Themes of perseverance, equity, and teamwork spark rich classroom discussion. A STEM role-model powerhouse that proves brains beat barriers.

About this book

From the product listing

The uplifting, amazing true story—a New York Times bestseller!

This edition of Margot Lee Shetterly’s acclaimed book is perfect for young readers. It's the powerful story of four African-American female mathematicians at NASA who helped achieve some of the greatest moments in our space program. 

Before John Glenn orbited the earth, or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as “human computers” used pencils, slide rules, and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space.

This book brings to life the stories of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden, who lived through the Civil Rights era, the Space Race, the Cold War, and the movement for gender equality, and whose work forever changed the face of NASA and the country.


Resource details

Resource type
Book
Age ranges
Elementary, Middle School
Careers
Scientist
Good for kids who are
Realistic
Based on its careers · What is RIASEC?
Author
Margot Lee Shetterly