Counting On Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Put Astronauts On The Moon Becker, Helaine And Phumiruk, Dow

Feel your library needs books supporting women in STEM or boasting more BAME characters? Want a book which appeals to those with an interest in Space? Here is one title which does all those things with charm and colour. Katherine Johnson is a true hero who overcame educational challenges due to segregation to be the Maths brain behind much of America's space success. The colourful and bold illustrations would make this book an excellent addition to any home or classroom. You may recognise her story from the movie Hidden Figures. It is a story well worth telling.

Ich bin mehr als zufrieden 😁 meine Enkelin will es mindestens drei mal am Tag lesen ...jetzt will sie wissen „what is Race?“ sie ist 4!

Easy to read aloud in the primary grades. Students will pick up on the repeating line, "You can count on me" which serves to reveal one of the main ideas in this book--that Katherine Johnson played a critical role in the success of NACA/NASA's early space exploration. I'd read this aloud to students for enjoyment and then read aloud again and pose questions for students to turn and discuss in small groups. Questions like - *How does the author show that Katherine Johnson was determined to become a professional mathematician? *What were obstacles Johnson (and her family) faced? How did she overcome those? *Would you describe Johnson as perseverant? Why? *How does the author's repeated use of the response "Count on me" help develop a big idea in this book? *How do the illustrations contribute to understanding the details in the text? ANOTHER STRENGTH of this book is the author's explanation of the kind of mathematics that Johnson did for NASA. I've read several books now about the "computers" at NASA, women who did mathematics for the agency (in its early days) and the authors frequently fail to explain the mathematics or the purpose of the mathematics (other than "it helped NASA") in a way that young children can understand. Young children may wonder why 2+2 is a big deal, you know? Becker, the author, and Phumiruk, the illustrator, have a great two page layout explaining very simply how and why math was helpful in sending a rocket into space. They use the analogy of throwing a ball up-- "But as it runs out, the ball's path curves back toward the ground. Where it lands depends on what angle it was thrown and how high and how fast it flew. Because math is a kind of language, Katherine could ask those questions--how high would the rocket ship go and how fast would it travel?--using numbers..." With Becker & Phumiruk's simple explanation and illustration, students in the primary grades can begin to grasp the value of Johnson's work. After reading aloud the book, reread just these two pages and use this as a jumping off point for a hands-on experiment as part of an integrated approach, using math and thinking about forces and motion. Lots of potential while learning about a very important person.

I loved it! And my daughters too❤️❤️ It was a good follow up after a day spent in a planetarium and a children friendly class on how spacecrafts work. I wish I could be the official French translator of this book.

Good!