Who Was Katherine Johnson? (Who Was?)

Synopsis

Read all about how a young Black girl who loved numbers grew into a brilliant mathematician who helped land the first person on the moon in this inspiring addition to the Who Was? series.From a very young age, Katherine Johnson counted everything—the number of dirty dishes she'd washed, the steps she walked to church, and even the number of leaves on the trees. By 1928, she was so intelligent and skilled at math that she was able to skip several grades and start high school at age ten! And while Katherine had to deal with racism, segregation, and prejudice throughout her life, she did not let this hold her back from becoming a mathematician. In 1953, she started working as a "human computer" at America's space agency, now known as NASA. Katherine calculated complex equations by hand, and these calculations helped astronauts travel safely into space. She was a part of many important missions, including the Apollo 11 mission that put the first person on the moon.Katherine Johnson broke barriers and became a trailblazer for women and people of color in the fields of math and science, and her story in this illustrated biography shows young readers that with hard work and determination, anyone can reach for the stars!

Copyright:

2025

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

Book Size:

112 Pages

ISBN-13:

9780593752180

Related ISBNs:

9780593752166, 9780593752173, 9798217081417, 9798217081868

Publisher:

Penguin Young Readers Group

Date of Addition:

10/21/25

Copyrighted By:

Penguin Random House LLC

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

Children's Books, Nonfiction, Science, Biographies and Memoirs

Grade Levels:

Third grade, Fourth grade, Fifth grade, Sixth grade, Seventh grade

Reading Age:

8–12

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.

Illustrated by:

Dede Putra