Genre 4 - Non-Fiction
"Read one of the following Orbis Pictus/Sibert Award winning/honor books"
Plot Summary
Almost Astronauts follows the beginnings of and subsequent trials of 13 highly qualified females secretly vying for a spot among NASA's team of astronauts. After pilot Jerrie Cobb undergoes the full battery of tests to which male astronauts are subjected and performs excellently on them, twelve other women are recruited and tested in part before behind-the-scenes political workings shut it all down abruptly. Details are given about the congressional hearings and the reasons the program was stopped. The book does not end with the trials of the Mercury 13 women, however; it goes on to detail the advances into space made by women after the Mercury 13 were shut down.Critical Analysis
The narrative form of the text is compelling to read. It details not only the events immediate to Jerrie Cobb and the rest of the Mercury 13 but also the media and political climate during the era. Even though this is a story of these particular women, it gives a good idea of the politics of the era as surrounds womens rights and space travel.The photographs are varied enough in size and layout to break up the extensive text into less intimidating chunks. Their placement coincides with the mention of their photographic subjects so that they flow well with the text itself. Political cartoons and television stills are also included to show the media climate and reactions to the female astronaut candidates.
Connections
- Explore the political climate of the 1960s.
Gidgets and Women Warriors: Perceptions of Women in the 1950s and 1960s (Images and Issues of Women in the Twentieth Century)
by Catherine Gourley
The 1960s Decade in Photos: Love, Freedom, and Flower Power (Amazing Decades in Photos)by Jim Corrigan
- Examine various women's rights movements throughout history.
With Courage and Cloth: Winning the Fight for a Woman's Right to Vote (Jane Addams Award Book (Awards))
by Ann Bausum
33 Things Every Girl Should Know About Women's History: From Suffragettes to Skirt Lengths to the E.R.Aby Tonya Bolden
- Learn more about space travel evolution and advancements.
Laika
by Nick Abadzis
T-Minus: The Race to the Moonby Jim Ottaviani
Awards/Reviews
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award 2010Nominated for Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards 2009
Nominated for NCTE Orbis Pictus Award 2010
Nominated for Jane Addams Children's Book Award 2010
Nominated for Beehive Children's Informational Book Award 2011
From Publishers Weekly:
Enlivened by numerous b&w and color photographs, this thorough book takes readers back to the early 1960s . . . Readers with an interest in history and in women's struggle for equality will undoubtedly be moved.From School Library Journal:
Stone adopts a tone of righteous indignation in chronicling the quixotic efforts of 13 women to win admission into NASA's initial astronaut training program in the early 1960s. . . Illustrated with sheaves of photos, and based on published sources, recently discovered documents, and original interviews with surviving members of the "Mercury 13," this passionately written account of a classic but little-known challenge to established gender prejudices also introduces readers to a select group of courageous, independent women.-John Peters, New York Public LibraryFrom The Horn Book:
The story of the ultimately unsuccessful effort to get women into NASA's Mercury astronaut training program is meticulously researched and thrillingly told by Stone using first- and second-hand sources, including interviews with many of the women who participated in Lovelace's tests, and a set of outstanding historical photographs. . . There is no sugarcoating here -- Stone presents the full story of early-sixties public discourse about women's capabilities and clearly shows the personal, political, and physical risks taken by the women in pursuit of their dream. The details will likely be a revelation for the intended middle- and high-school audience, who may be surprised to find the world of their grandmothers' childhoods a far cry from their own. Extensive bibliographies and endnotes are appended.From Booklist:
Space gals. Astronettes. Astrodolls . . . Who do these women think they are? The media mocked them. Male astronauts did not want them, and neither did then vice-president Lyndon Johnson. If they were to let women into the space program, blacks and other minorities would be next. Nearly 20 years before the U.S. officially admitted women into the astronaut program, 13 women, known as the Mercury 13, fought for the right to soar into space. This dramatic, large-size photo-essay covers their stories, along with the exciting politics of the women's liberation struggle in the 1950s and '60s ( What is a woman's place? ) and the breakthrough science and technology surrounding space exploration, including details of the would-be astronauts' tests and training. The chatty, immediate style ( Picture this ) and full-page photos make for a fast read, and the crucial civil-rights history will stay with readers. The long, spacious back matter is part of the story, with detailed chapter notes and a bibliography.--Rochman, Hazel
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