Reaching for the Moon: The Autobiography of NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson

The subject of Reaching for the Moon: The Autobiography of NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson was made known to many people through the new movie Hidden Figures. This is the story of Katherine Johnson’s childhood, career and life. It shows how she grew up in a time when it was harder to succeed as female and as African American. Katherine Johnson has always been gifted for math, and she was one of the first black, female mathematicians for NASA. Katherine Johnson celebrated her 101st birthday this August and just wrote this book, which is pretty amazing.

I liked reading Reaching for the Moon because I love books with strong leading female characters and because I had seen Hidden Figures and wanted to learn more about Katherine Johnson. I would recommend this book to teen girls who want to learn about strong women in history and about growing up in the southern US during segregation. I really like how Johnson shows real pictures of her and her family. My favorite parts were when she talked about her wedding with Jimmie Goble and her childhood. I found Reaching for the Moon easy to read, and told from a very personal point of view. There are definitely some emotional things to think about when it comes to African Americans and US history. I think Katherine Johnson is a role model for not just African American girls but all young girls. She shows us we can overcome obstacles and do anything we set our minds to.