Libby Jackson

I just love this book. Each two-page spread contains a detailed biographical essay on a woman involved in space or aviation history, paired with a colorful illustration; the illustrations have a variety of styles, from representational to nearly abstract. I had not heard of maybe half of the women profiled, and they represent a fascinating variety of contributions, from software engineers to space lawyers. My only criticism is that there are not a lot of space scientists — the book is very focused on human exploration, with about a third of the listed women being astronauts. But that’s perhaps a biased quibble; it’s an easy-to-read and enjoyable book for kids age 10 to 18, I think.… (mehr)

A great and fascinating medley of women who have worked on space projects. Inspiring and interesting, and fun to learn about some aspects, such as the LOL (Little Old Ladies) who "wove" copper wires by hand to create a solid computer program that would withstand the vibrations of a space launch; and Mae Jemison, influenced herself by Nichelle Nichols, decided to work in space (and starred in an episode of TNG). The portraits throughout, by students of the London College of Communication, were bright and good mixture of styles. I particularly appreciated the style of Liam James Sproston.
Single page biographies of : Emile du Chatelet, Ada Lovelace, Jeannette Piccard, Mary Sherman Morgan, Jacqueline Cochran, Valentina Tereshkova, Jerrie Cobb, The Mercury 7 Wives, Eilene Galloway, Mary Jackson, Dee O'Hara, Katherine Johnson, Margaret Hamilton, The Waltham "Little Old Ladies", Poppy Northcutt, Rita Rapp, Dottie Lee, The Ilc Seamstresses, Sally Ride, Svetlana Savitskaya, Nichelle Nichols, Christina McAuliffe & Judy Resnik, Mae Jemison, Helen Sharman, Eileen Collins, Chiaki Mukai, Claudie Haignere, Patricia Cowings, Irene Long, Peggy Whitson, Julie Robinson, Suni Williams, Jeanne Lee Crews, Kalpana Chawla & Laurel Clark, Nicole Buckley, Berti Brigitte Meisinger, Samantha Christoforetti, Noriko Shiraishi, Anousheh Ansari, Ginger Kerrick, Elena Serova, Liu Yang & Wang Yaping, Kelly Latimer, Gwynne Shotwell, Frances Westall, Simonetta di Pippo, Ellen Stofan, Monica Grady, Gerda Horneck, Anita Sengupta.… (mehr)

For female STEM awareness this book is excellent. Included are women who surprised me until I realized how vital their contribution was to the space program such as the women who sewed the spacesuits. It includes women worldwide so I learned of individuals I had not heard of before. Layout of the book is one page of the woman’s achievements with an illustration opposite so this would be an excellent bedtime read and discussion due to being able to start and stop using the book. The one disappointment was not having photos of the women or their contribution, however the illustrations are stylistically uniform. What confuses me is this library copy was shelved in the adult nonfiction. I strongly believe it should be in the junior or youth section to inspire the next generation.… (mehr)