A Computer Called Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Helped Put America on the Moon

Katherine has always had a love for numbers. She was so brilliant she was able to start high school at 10 and college at 15. This book is the biography of Katherine Johnson, and everything she was able to accomplish in her life. She had a super computer brain and went on to work for NASA (she’s one of the women from Hidden Figures). This would be a good book for children to read, so they can see a black women as someone to look up to. It is great that this book shows something she accomplished, and it’s more than sports or civil rights. Like we talked about in class, these are things to celebrate but it is not everything people of color have done, and they deserve more representation.

The book A Computer Called Katherine by Suzanne Slade is about a young girl named Katherine who was really good at math since she was a young girl. She encountered a lot of social justice issues growing up regarding her race and gender, but that didn't stop her from working for NASA and helping the first man land on the moon! I liked this book because it is really empowering to young girls or kids of color. I would use this book in my class as a read aloud. It could be used in a unit about space, to teach kids how important it is to be precise and how much goes into sending someone to space. I also think its a great book to tie math and science together.

I loved reading this book; I learned a lot and felt inspired at the end. Children will learn about an important person in modern history, Katherine Johnson. This book tells the story of how Katherine loved math from a very young age, and was always counting something! She had a very supportive family, who moved to a different town so that Katherine could attend high school, as there was no high school for black children in their previous town. This book is inspirational to young women especially, but also to anyone who has a passion about something. Katherine worked hard and persevered through a lot of adversity in order to continue working in mathematics. She played a huge role in space travel. This book has a cool timeline that I show more think kids will enjoy, and really great, colorful illustrations. This book is a great way to incorporate science, math, history and the pursuit of your dreams! This book could be used when talking about the importance of mathematics, history and backstory of traveling to the moon, or when learning is feeling difficult. Katherine could offer some inspiration and motivation. show less

This story is not a new one. Adult readers meet Katherine in the popular book and movie Hidden Figure. This book brings that story down for children to read and learn about. Katherine is an important historical figure because she proved that you can be both a woman, and black, and still do impossible things like help launch people into space. The story is well written, easy to understand, and keeps the reader's attention. The illustrations are beautiful and a perfect match.
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Summary:
Katherine was an African-American girl who loved school and loved math. However, many people discouraged her due to their prejudices against women and people of color. But Katherine knew they were wrong. Katherine kept learning more and more about math. Then one day Katherine helped engineers calculate the location and time of the first rocket launch and landing. It was a success so then Katherine helped NASA's computers calculate how to get a man to the moon. The rocket launched and four days later man took their first steps on the moon.

Age Appropriate:
K-3rd

Review:
This book is a good book to talk about discrimination against women and people of color. This book tells a story that is often left out of history. This book gives show more diverse representation that is often overlooked. This book is a great encouragement for girls who are interested in STEM. show less

This is a book that educates readers about the life of Katherine Johnson. It begins when Katherine was a child and discovered a love for math and counting. It continues by telling readers how she progressed through school and overcame challenges involving her race and gender. Eventually, Katherine began working with NASA and proved her knowledge to others as she helped send America’s first astronaut into space and land on the moon.
This book would be a good read aloud for students to learn about a significant stem role that was held by a minority. It can encourage students to pursue interests in stem. It is also a good book to use for integrating math and science together as the book references math terms and equations often.

This is the true story of Katherine Johnson. Her story was also told in the book/film Hidden Figures. Her contributions to the Apollo space missions are incredible. A wonderful book for kids.