Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream. By Tanya Lee Stone. Candlewick Press, 2009. 144 pages. $24.99

Summary: Almost Astronauts begins with a play by play of the Columbia space shuttle launch in 1999. This mission is commanded by Eileen Collins and significantly, Collins is the first woman to command a space shuttle. In the launch audience is a woman named Jerrie Cobb who hoped to be in Eileen Collins’ shoes nearly 40 years before. Cobb was the first woman to undergo the intensive NASA testing required for astronauts in 1960. Cobb and 12 other women passed the testing with flying colors, but they never made it into space. Author Stone tells the story of these 13 highly qualified pilots who fought for the chance to be astronauts. The story revolves around NASA, but the impact of these women’s experience is far greater. The 13 women may have be “almost astronauts,” but they were fully instrumental in furthering the rights of women in the United States in the 1960’s.

Standard(s): California History/Social Science 11.10.7: analyze the women’s rights movement from the era of Elizabeth Stanton and Susan Anthony and the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the movement launched in the 1960’s, including the differing perspectives on the roles of women.

Suggested age range: 10+ years

Annotation: Almost Astronauts takes readers on a journey back to the 1960’s when men ran the country and the space program. Stone shares the emotional story of 13 highly qualified female pilots who long to go into space, but are denied the opportunity based on gender. Stone’s story is told with passion and offers personal insights from the women themselves, as well as a photo essay of women in space. This book is fascinating and overdue. Americans know the stories of the Mercury 7 astronauts and Sally Ride’s and now, they will know the story of these 13 women who missed out on the chance to go into space, but helped pave the way for women’s rights. Stone has done a thorough job researching the story and casting Jerrie Cobb as a main character gives the story a personal point of view. Photo artifacts, which include a copy of a cover of Life Magazine from 1962 and letter from then Vice President Johnson, convey the historical significance of this story. The letter, drafted by Johnson’s secretary, is an attempt to get Johnson to champion the Mercury 13. Johnson scribbles “stop this now” across the letter and never sends it. Seeing Johnson’s handwriting is powerful and gives the reader a reality check about women’s rights in the 1960’s. Jerrie Cobb suggests that Johnson’s intention is to prevent not just women, but racial minorities from attaining the rights enjoyed by white men at the time. Stone has compiled compelling facts for readers ages 10 and up. A detailed index, source notes, appendix and a list of suggestions for further reading contribute to this high-quality work of non-fiction.

Subjects/themes: Women astronauts, sex discrimination, space program, United States history, 1960’s

Awards:

=Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards, 2009 Nomination

=Robert F. Silbert Informational Book Award, 2010

=Jane Addams Children’s Book Award, 2010

=Beehive Children’s Informational Book Award, 2011 Nomination

=Orbus Pictus Ward, 2010 Nomination

Reviews:

=Booklist (February 15, 2009)

=Publishers Weekly (May 4, 2009)

=Voice of Youth Advocates (February 1, 2009)

=School Library Journal (March 1, 2009)

High interest annotation: Almost Astronauts tells the true story of 13 women who underwent rigorous NASA testing in during the early 1960’s in hopes of going into space.