Almost Astronauts

After reading Almost Astronauts 13 Women Who Dared to Dream by Tanya Lee Stone, I felt myself wanting to know more about these daring pioneers of the 1960's. In the book I discovered so much about the women in space program, but even more about the inequality encountered by these women while pursuing their dreams.
As a young girl growing up in the fifties, sixties and seventies, I now realize I was unaware of so many things. It's hard to believe that in 1961 a woman could not rent a car or acquire a loan from a bank without the signature of a man. Or that a woman could not become a jet pilot or a commercial pilot even though she met all of the qualifications of her male counterparts. When I was growing up, my father encouraged his four daughters to do whatever we dreamed- that we should aspire to be whatever we wanted. In 1970 he approved of my application to a college that had been previously open to only male students. With the acceptance of my class, women would be permitted to live and study on campus along with their male peers. Today, 40 years later, women make up over half of the school's enrollment. Although I became a teacher (a career chosen by many admirable women), one of my sisters entered the male dominated field of metallurgical engineering and found success. My own daughters have pursued careers in science and math, and I am happy to say one is now a chemical engineer, one an accountant, and one is an architect.
Not only did Almost Astronauts 13 Women Who Dared to Dream provide an interesting and enlightening story but also made me think about the equality of women today and how so many pioneers have paved the way for our present experience.
If you have the opportunity to read this book it will provide insight into more than the careers of women in space. It will make you wonder, what is truly a woman's place?

Happy 5th of July!

Don’t miss When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead, this year’s Newbery Award winner. The book is about Miranda, a 12-year-old girl, who lives in a Manhattan apartment with her single mom who works for a New York City law firm. Miranda becomes caught up in a web of mysterious notes that keep popping up unexpectedly. The notes mention things only she would know and seem to beg her to do things she is unsure about. The story is a combination of mystery, historical fiction and a bit of fantasy. It gets you hooked, and I promise, until the mystery is solved, you won’t be able to put it down. The characters are very believable and the clues within the story fit together perfectly in the end. It’s one of those books you may even read again to re-discover all that has happened.
Read Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time before or after reading When You Reach Me. It’s Miranda’s favorite book and Rebecca Stead uses the theme of time travel brilliantly within her story.
Currently When You Reach Me is only available in hard back. Check it out at the public library or if you would like to borrow it this summer, email me! We have a copy in the SCB library.

A New Review

Just finished reading an advanced copy of Hero by Mike Lupica. Unlike his previous books centering on sports themes, this story takes the reader on an adventure of superheros and fantasy powers. Can a fourteen year old boy really follow in his father's footsteps and possess the superpowers to fight the evil which threatens the United States? Billy Harrigan is a boy who is about to discover secrets about his father and about himself. He cannot accept the circumstances of his father's death so he sets out to uncover what really happened. Will he be able to find evidence of foul play while accepting the challenge of his own destiny?

Not my favorite Mike Lupica book, but a good summer read! To discover more about Mike Lupica visit his website:www.mikelupicabooks.com/mikelupica.html

Reading level 9 to 12. Hero will be published in November 2010. Send me an email if you would like to borrow my copy.

ALA Convention

I have just returned from the American Library Association Convention in Washington DC.

I met so many authors including Mo Williems (Don't let the Pidgeon Ride the Bus) and Laura Numeroff (If You Give a Mouse a Cookie). I was able to gather so many items for the library (books and posters) as well as so many bookmarkers for all of my students. We will be set for September!

One of the books I purchased is called Almost Astronauts- 13 Women Who Dared to Dream which is a non- fiction story about 13 courageous women who wanted to become space pioneers. The book describes their journey and the roadblocks of the 1960s that kept them on the ground. I can't wait to read it and then share it with you. This book received the Sibert Medal for the most distinguished informational book for children published in 2009.

I also purchased a book called The Dreamers by Pam Munoz Ryan and illustrated by Peter Sis. It's on my bookshelf for this summer! I'll keep you posted!