Blast Off tells a story about a girl named Mary, and throughout her childhood, she was always fascinated by science. In her later years in life, she made it her goal to overcome societal standards and she was determined to create rocket fuel. This book would be great for middle-grade classrooms because it shows women in STEM and could potentially encourage and motivate girls in the classroom. It also ties into science and mathematics through the hard work she put in to create the fuel. ( )

What a great non fiction picture book! I love seeing women in STEAM, it encourages more girls that science and science careers are for everyone. My favorite thing is that it showed her failing, and not giving up. Failure is a part of discovery and learning. Mary didn't give up and because of that, a rocket took a satellite up into space. ( )

Blast Off! tells the often-untold story of Mary Sherman Morgan's development of rocket fuel. Perfect for those interested in women in STEM - or those with children who have a fascination with space travel - Slade keeps the story focused on Morgan's work and the importance of perseverance. The illustrations are beautiful and suit the time and story well, making it a great addition to any educational picture book collection.

Thank you to the publisher and Goodreads Giveaways for providing a copy for review. ( )

What an amazingly wonderful biography. This book is about Mary Sherman Morgan and how she helped get America’s first satellite into space. She was just a country girl who loved chemistry and loved fuels. Without her hard work we could be very behind right now and maybe Neil Armstrong would not have been the first person to walk on the moon. One of my favorite things about this story is it is 100% about her. Within the story component it never mentions her marriage or her kids because they are secondary to what she accomplished for science. There is a tad bit about Mary‘s husband and her son in the info bits in the back and it was just the right amount. Overall this is an excellent book and another great read from Suzanne Slade. ( )