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    Reaching for the Moon: The Autobiography of NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson
    Reaching for the Moon: The Autobiography of NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson
    Reaching for the Moon: The Autobiography of NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson
    Audiobook5 hours

    Reaching for the Moon: The Autobiography of NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson

    Written by Katherine Johnson

    Narrated by Heather Alicia Simms

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    “This rich volume is a national treasure.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

    “Captivating, informative, and inspiring…Easy to follow and hard to put down.” —School Library Journal (starred review)

    The inspiring autobiography of NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson, who helped launch Apollo 11.

    As a young girl, Katherine Johnson showed an exceptional aptitude for math. In school she quickly skipped ahead several grades and was soon studying complex equations with the support of a professor who saw great promise in her. But ability and opportunity did not always go hand in hand. As an African American and a girl growing up in an era of brutal racism and sexism, Katherine faced daily challenges. Still, she lived her life with her father’s words in mind: “You are no better than anyone else, and nobody else is better than you.”

    In the early 1950s, Katherine was thrilled to join the organization that would become NASA. She worked on many of NASA’s biggest projects including the Apollo 11 mission that landed the first men on the moon.

    Katherine Johnson’s story was made famous in the bestselling book and Oscar-nominated film Hidden Figures. Now in Reaching for the Moon she tells her own story for the first time, in a lively autobiography that will inspire young readers everywhere.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateJul 2, 2019
    ISBN9781508297710
    Author

    Katherine Johnson

    Katherine Johnson, a 1937 West Virginia State University graduate, was an American mathematician whose calculations of orbital trajectories for NASA were critical to the success of U.S. spaceflights. During her thirty-five years at NASA and its predecessor, she earned a reputation for mastering complex manual calculations and helped pioneer the use of computers to perform the tasks. The space agency noted her ""historical role as one of the first African-American women to work as a NASA scientist."" In 2015, President Barack Obama awarded Katherine the nation’s highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The upcoming 2021 launch of a USAF Space Force GPS III Satellite has been named in her honor, and she has been awarded thirteen honorary doctorate degrees. Four major buildings, including two NASA facilities, have been named in her honor. She died in February 2020 at the age of 101.

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    Reviews for Reaching for the Moon

    4.5/5

    22 ratings5 reviews

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    • 5/5
      It’s book was so interesting and I enjoyed all the pictures . This is SUCH a great book 10/10 !!!!
    • 5/5
      Outstanding! Highly recommended to anyone from late elementary age on up. Both writing and narration were excellent.
    • 5/5
      audiobook (5+ hours) children's middlegrade/teen nonfiction (biography, civil rights history, Black history, space travel history)Well-written overview of Katherine's impressive life and the historic times she lived through--you can tell she is a skilled educator (as well as a prodigy at math).
    • 4/5
      The much celebrated African-American mathematician writes her autobiography for young readers, quite fitting as tutoring kids and helping them understand math has been important and satisfying during her life. Katherine writes about being 4 years old and helping her older brother with his math homework. Despite the obstacles facing blacks during her youth, her parents were determined that their four children would go to college. Their sacrifices ensured that they all did. A unique #ownvoices story that incorporates STEM, history and inspiration and brings a once-hidden figure to life.
    • 4/5
      This is an important book because it captures a time and a place that is, thankfully, gone. I think it's important for people to understand what it was like for people going up under Jim Crow, especially those people who were able to find success, despite the restrictions placed on them.