This was a really good story and I really enjoyed all of the illustrations throughout the book as well. Overall the book taught others about an amazing story about following your dreams and not letting the negative thoughts or comments of others get in the way. ( )

This biography for kids aged 9 and up tells the story of math prodigy Katherine Johnson. Katherine had to overcome the twin barriers of being female and being black, but no one could ignore her talent.

As a child, Katherine kept skipping grades, starting her first year of high school at age 10! At age 15, she got a full scholarship to the math program at West Virginia State Institute. After college and marriage to Jimmy Goble, Katherine taught high school and had children. Needing money, the family moved to Hampton, Virginia, where there were shipyard jobs for Jimmy and a job at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics for Katherine as a “computer.”

Katherine’s skill made an immediate impression in the Flight Research Division, and she was responsible for critical contributions to the space race. The author recounts the story of how John Glenn refused to go into space in 1962 until Katherine personally checked all the numbers.

An Author’s Note provides more background on Katherine Johnson.

Raúl Colón’s signature soft, textured illustrations using watercolors, colored pencils, lithograph crayon and a scratch tool, give a dream-like look to the book.

Evaluation: The dense narrative of the book is focused more on the space race than on Katherine and the barriers she faced in her time. The latter might have added more “human interest” to the story. ( )