by Chris Singleton and Ryan G. Van Cleave
Illustrated by Adriana Pérez Perales
4 stars
Such a cool series! Explore the life of Mae Jemison from childhood through years of education, research, and humanitarian efforts to her career as an astronaut and her work after space.
Well-written and filled with interesting facts. Wonderful black-and-white illustrations nicely break up the text.
I love the emphasis on various aspects of Jemison’s life. The book doesn’t only focus on her status as the first Black women in space, but also includes her love of sports and dance, work with the Peace Corps, research in space, her time as an actress and TV consultant, and her continued work to foster young people’s interest and passion in STEM fields.
Nicely designed with short chapters focused on specific time periods in Jemison’s life.
At the end of each chapter are a list of events happening at the same time and reflection questions. There is also a partial glossary of bolded terms used in that chapter. This is a really nice detail as it allows readers to easily access definitions are they read. There is also a full glossary at the end of the book, as well as a timeline of Jemison’s life and a bibliography.
A great read about an inspiring woman. I really liked the format of this and hope there will be more in the series.