Katherine Johnson by Thea Feldman Illustrated by Alyssa Petersen
Image:
Genre: Non-Fiction
Introduction
and Justification:
Young African Women need icons they
can look up to. After the release of the movie Hidden Figures books have
come out describing these wonderful women. This biography or informational book
discusses the life of Katharine Johnson. The introduction of the book relates
to students by asking them what their favorite subject in school was. They then
related it to the book by describing why Katharine Johnson liked math. This
book is important for so many girls to see that they can succeed, math is not
just for boys, and that you can accomplish amazing feats. This book also has multiple text features for
students to use and identify. It has learning extensions, and career
opportunities listed in the back.
Evaluation
of book:
The illustrations reinforce the text. Each picture aligns
with the text. For instance, when the family moved the reader sees a picture of
the family belongings in a truck. When discussing how her parents firmly
believed in their kids getting an education there is a labeled picture of her
parents. This helps the reader understand they were a loving couple who made
sacrifices for their daughter. The illustrator shows her graduating which was a
big accomplishment for African Americans. In the 1950s computers looked
differently then they do currently. The picture with her next to a computer
helps give the readers schema on what the computers were like and the magnitude
of them.
While the book deals with a time of racial turmoil the
author uses understatement to express the situations. The author also uses
understatement to discuss the scope of her accomplishment’s and the very
different technology. The book is able get its point across without going into
too much depth and detail. For instance, the author talks about how they had to
eat separately, and the picture shows how it is just African American Women
eating separately (Feldman, 2017, p. 22) . The text also shows
her concern when it says “Katherine admitted to being concerned about the return flight” (Feldman,
2017, p. 33) .
This shows how important she was to the mission. Her numbers were responsible
for making sure that the astronauts got to space and returned home safety.
This book was written for young children in mind. The
author uses precise vocabulary. The precise vocabulary helps the book to be
child friendly without being condescending or written over the readers head.
This takes a lot of skill. This nonfiction text is filled with information
about Katharine Johnson, her life, and her accomplishments. The book is
positive using terms like “Katherine’s persistence paid off” and “it could not
have been possible without Katherine’s help” (Feldman, 2017, pp. 30,31) . These clear simple
sentences make a point without overwhelming the reader. They allow the reader
to see she had to work hard and change the expectations and that she was a
critical member of the team. The book discusses the sacrifices of her family as
well. The way that her mom took her kids to another town so they could have an
education. The way this was written models how hard it was for her parents to
get her an education and how important her education was.
Response:
(c) This book was very informational.
The book taught me a lot about Katherine Johnson, such as her upbringing, careers,
and what missions she worked on. It gave me a better understanding of her accomplishments.
“She became a college freshman at fifteen” (Feldman, 2017, p. 13) . That alone is an
impressive accomplishment. (d) This book is important for young women to read.
It shows that women can do amazing things in the world of STEAM and mathematics.
Young girls need positive academic role models to look up to. It is also
important to note that Katherine Johnson was always humble. This will mean a
lot to African American ladies. (f) The simple text and matching illustrations
help the reader to understand the text. The book gave a lot of good information
without being condescending or overwhelming. Younger students could read and
benefit from this book. The illustrations and beautiful as well. They are done
in clear calming colors. Each picture appears to be painted to be a mixture of
realistic and cartoon. The pictures also show excitement on Katherines face in
every picture. This just demonstrates her spirit.
Conclusion:
Thea Feldman
is a talented author. She brings to life an important figure in a simple non-fiction
text. She highlights the major accomplishments of Katherine Johnson without losing
Katherine Johnsons persona. She uses the illustrations to reinforce the text, understatement,
and precise vocabulary to teach about this historical figure and role model. Katherine
Johnson is an inspiration for African Americans, women, and anyone else who needs
a reminder to believe in themselves. She is humble and can teach a lot of people
about being humble and doing your best to succeed.
Works Cited
Feldman, T. (2017). Katherine Johnson. New
York: Scholastic.
Tunnell, M. O., Jacobs, J. S., Young, T. A., &
Bryan, G. (n.d.). Children's Literature, Briefly. Pearson.
Williamson, O. M. (n.d.). How to Write a Reaction
Paper or Reader Response. Retrieved from Reader Response:
http://utminers.utep.edu/omwilliamson/engl0310link/readerresponse.htm
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