Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
The bold story of Katherine Johnson, an African-American mathematician who worked for NASA during the space race and was depicted in the film Hidden Figures.
You've likely heard of the historic Apollo 13 moon landing. But do you know about the mathematical genius who made sure that Apollo 13 returned safely home?
As a child, Katherine Johnson loved to count. She counted the steps on the road, the number of dishes and spoons she washed in the kitchen sink, everything! Boundless, curious, and excited by calculations, young Katherine longed to know as much as she could about math, about the universe.
From Katherine's early beginnings as a gifted student to her heroic accomplishments as a prominent mathematician at NASA, Counting on Katherine is the story of a groundbreaking American woman who not only calculated the course of moon landings but, in turn, saved lives and made enormous contributions to history.
Christy Ottaviano Books
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Becker's biography of the NASA mathematician, readers first meet Johnson as a child with boundless curiosity and a remarkable aptitude for mathematics. Due to segregation, Johnson's family moved to a town with a black high school so that she could continue her studies. Her interest in research mathematics eventually led her to employment at NASA, doing the "tasks that men thought were boring and unimportant." On the contrary, Becker emphasizes, the roles that Johnson and other women played were essential to determining a spaceship's trajectory a point made clear as Johnson calculates the flight path to ensure the safe return of Apollo 13. Phumiruk works in a crisp, uncluttered art style, infusing emotionality into more private moments of reflection. Johnson is pictured gazing at the moon, encircled with strings of mathematical equations: "She was no longer the kid who dreamed of what lay beyond the stars. She was now a star herself." Ages 5 9.
