Women in Space

November 18, 2013
In this addition to the Women of Action series, Gibson (Women Aviators) chronicles the long, challenging journeys undertaken by women from around the world as they worked to become astronauts. While several women—such as the “Mercury 13”—underwent rigorous training and were qualified to travel to space, they were often overlooked in favor of their male counterparts; Mercury 13 member Jerrie Cobb once stated that Vice-President Johnson had told her, “Jerrie, if we let you or other women into the space program, we have to let blacks in, we’d have to let Mexican-Americans in, we have to let every minority in and we just can’t do it.” The 23 individuals profiled include Judith Resnik, mission specialist onboard the Challenger; Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman to travel to outer space; Sally Ride, the first American woman in space; and Yi Soyeon, the first South Korean in space, female or male. Photographs, personal stories, and details about the physical and emotional hurdles required to becoming an astronaut create an informative and hopeful overview of underrecognized scientists and explorers in a male-dominated field. Ages 12–up.

January 1, 2014
The history of women in space is chronicled through profiles of 23 astronauts from 10 countries whose careers span a half century. Dividing her account into four parts, Gibson begins with the story of the Mercury 13, women aviators who proved to be as intelligent and fit as any man but who were nonetheless barred from NASA's astronaut program because of their gender. (Their story is told more compellingly and in greater depth in Tanya Lee Stone's Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream, 2009.) The second part is devoted to Soviet and Russian cosmonauts, beginning with Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space. The third and largest part of the book chronologically profiles American women astronauts beginning with Sally Ride and includes Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman in space, and Peggy Whitson, who logged over a year in orbit while aboard the International Space Station. The last part profiles international astronauts from Canada, France, Italy, Japan and South Korea. Sidebars supply factual information on such topics as training, experiments, sleeping and eating in space, and the physical and psychological effects of space travel. This workmanlike book is most valuable for the profiles on cosmonauts and international women astronauts, subjects that have received scant attention. An informative introductory overview of the many important contributions women have made to space exploration. (source notes, glossary, further reading, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 12 & up)

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March 1, 2014

Gr 7-10-In the space race between the Soviet Union and the United States, the first woman in space was the Soviet, Valentina Tereshkova, in 1963. America's first female astronaut, Sally Ride, went into space in 1983. This book details the stories of 19 others from across the globe who overcame obstacles of prejudice to fly in space. They include four Soviet women, Canadian astronaut Roberta Bondar, Japanese doctor Chiaki Mukai, French astronaut Claude Andre-Deshays Haignere, and Yi Soyeon, the first Korean in space. The story of the Mercury 13 is fascinating; 15 women were selected by NASA in the late 1950s. Successful pilots and scientists, they trained, as did the (male) crew of the Mercury 7, but then were not allowed to travel. Each chapter contains photographs and "Learn More" suggested readings. Sidebars are scattered throughout the book. This volume is a companion to the author's Women Aviators (Chicago Review, 2013) and an important addition to women's-history collections.-Patricia Ann Owens, formerly with Illinois Eastern Community Colls., Mt. Carmel

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2014
Grades 6-9 Gibson follows up Women Aviators (2013) with a similar, international gallery of pioneering women who reached for the stars (or, in the notorious case of the Mercury 13, were deliberately prevented from doing so). As in the previous title, she incorporates thorough research and a strong feminist message into her accounts, covering her subjects' specific accomplishments on earth and in space, while also surveying the general history of space flight and astronaut training with a special focus on the gender prejudice that had to be battled and (mostly) overcome. Along with the usual suspects, such as Sally Ride and Mae Jemison, there are many lesser-known women, from Svetlana Savitskaya (the second Russian woman in space) to Kalpana Chawla, who died aboard the space shuttle Columbia, and a number of other women from a variety of countries. This illuminating gathering of role models is also bolstered with sheaves of source notes and useful references to further resources.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)