(3) K-3 Illustrated by Veronica Miller Jamison. This biography about a lesser-known African American figure follows Montague’s inspiring path from her 1940s Arkansas childhood to her groundbreaking work with the U.S. Navy, emphasizing the countless race- and gender-based obstacles placed in her way. With determination and vision, Montague eventually became the first person to create a computer program that could “calculate every part of a [navy] ship’s design.” Jamison’s engaging illustrations enhance Swanson’s clear-eyed text about this STEM trailblazer. Back matter includes more about Montague’s life, an author’s note, and sources.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Veronica Miller Jamison. In 1953, Katherine Johnson started work as a "computer," or mathematician, for what would become NASA. During her career, Johnson calculated Alan Shepard’s First-American-in-Space flight path, John Glenn’s First-American-to-Orbit-Earth trajectory, and Apollo 11’s Race-to-the-Moon-and-Back flight path. Inspiring, upbeat, and clever, Slade's text highlights the racism, sexism, and other false beliefs that Johnson confronted. Equations, angles, and diagrams fill Miller Jamison's expressive, layered illustrations. Images of Johnson's work are appended. Timeline. Bib.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2019