Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Put Astronauts on the Moon
About this ebook
Winner of the information book category of the UKLA Book Awards.
As a child, Katherine loved to count. She counted the steps on the road, the number of dishes and spoons she washed in the kitchen sink, everything! Boundless, curious, and excited by calculations, young Katherine longed to know as much as she could about maths, about the universe . . .
Helaine Becker interviewed Katherine and her family for this authorized biography. From Katherine's early beginnings as a gifted student to her heroic accomplishments as a prominent mathematician at NASA, this is the true story of a groundbreaking African-American woman who went above and beyond what was expected of her in the 1960s, saving lives and making enormous contributions to history.
Featuring Dow Phumiruk's gorgeous full-colour illustrations throughout.
About the author
Helaine Becker has written over seventy books. She attended high school in New York before graduating from Duke University. She is married with two sons and is an active swimmer, runner and cyclist, as well as being a compulsive read-aholic. She has an orange belt in karate and is contemplating going for her grapefruit belt. Her award-winning non-fiction includes Counting on Katherine, Worms for Breakfast and Zoobots, and she has written many picture books and young adult novels. She also writes for children’s magazines and for children's television.
Dow Phumiruk trained to be a pediatrician, before finding her passion in children's book art. Her favourite subjects are children (especially girls) and animals. She lives in Lone Tree, Colorado with her husband of over 2.5 decades, three artistic daughters, one dwarf rabbit, one hamster, one tiny frog, and a really cool bearded dragon named Sparkles. Dow also enjoys fast and furious sewing projects and limited hiking and biking.
