Blast Off!: How Mary Sherman Morgan Fueled America Into Space

Gr 1-4--Determination, passion, and intellect help fuel Mary Sherman Morgan from good to great! Morgan grew up in humble beginnings working on the family farm: "Until one day the sheriff and a social services woman came calling. They said eight-year-old Mary belonged in school. It was the law!" Once Morgan entered school, her passion for learning and especially science was sparked. Unfortunately, life got in the way, and she was forced to drop out of college due to the lack of funding. That didn't stop her from continuously seeking knowledge. When one door closed, Morgan looked for and worked hard for another to open. She eventually ended up at NASA, part of a mostly male workforce, but that didn't stop her from pursuing her dreams. Trial and error led to her big discovery of the correct fuel for America's first satellites. Slade dispenses the facts of Morgan's early years with ease, never glossing over the hardships, but they don't stop the story any more than they stopped this heroine. Comport's illustrations set the era with architecture and clothing, capturing the thrills of the dawning space age, and always capturing Morgan with an inner light despite adversity. VERDICT For all biography shelves, especially those covering the early days of the space program. Morgan's hardscrabble origins will inspire others to reach for the skies.--Amanda Austin

Slade introduces a little-known hero of the space race in this dynamically illustrated portrayal of rocket fuel scientist Mary Sherman Morgan (1921-2004), a key figure in developing the propellant that powered America's first satellite into space in 1958. A chronological narrative details Morgan's late start to school, at age eight, before tracing her early career and diving into the excitement of the top-secret task that required the lab's "best man"--Morgan. Wern Comport's vivid multimedia illustrations depict Morgan and other engineers at work in images that teem with equations, data tables, formulas, and slide rules. While the book presents as a biography, an author's note clarifies that a need "to creatively fill in a few gaps" renders the book, instead, historical fiction. Regardless, Mary's example of perseverance and glass ceiling-shattering delivers a motivating message for would-be scientists. Back matter concludes. Ages 7-10. (Apr.)