Diane Stanley – Author, Jessie Hartland – Illustrator

Kathy Sullivan, the first American woman to walk in space is the focus of this biographical picture book. It explains her interest in maps and places around the world as a child and her introduction of Sputnik traveling across the sky that inspired her to eventually become an astronaut. Prior to being in space, Ms. Sullivan studied marine biology and became an well known oceanographer as N.A.S.A. was not hiring women to go to space at the time. She the applied and successfully became one of six women who had a chance to become part of a space mission.

This book is a wonderful and inspirational biography about the drive and resilience one can have to achieve their goals. I would highly recommend this book to libraries that need more books about women in STEM. The illustrations are bright and colorful but it is this librarian’s opinion that this book will be more readable for 2nd – 6th graders. At the end of the book there is a list of Ms. Sullivan’s world records, a glossary, and a time line. There are also two lists of resources, one for younger readers as well.