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Katherine Johnson: A Life Story

by Leila Rasheed (also writes under Ellie Boswell), illustrated by Sarah Papworth

Interest age: 9 to 12
Reading age: 9+

Published by Scholastic, 2019

  • Historical
  • Non-fiction

About this book

It’s 20 July 1969. More than a fifth of the entire population of the world is gathered around a TV set watching grainy black-and-white pictures of the first humans setting foot on the moon.

Most of us know this story but how did the idea of space travel become a reality? How did the engineers work out how fast to fly, what trajectory to take, how to land on the moon and, perhaps most important of all, how to get safely home again?

This life story of a remarkable mathematician has at least some of the answers. And Katherine Johnson wasn’t just a brilliant academic, she was also black and female, which makes her achievements all the more impressive.

Born in the USA, at a time when racial segregation was considered perfectly acceptable and women were often treated as intellectually inferior, Katherine had to fight for every bit of recognition she got. But hers was a discreet battle and one in which she relied on her talent and hard work to get to the top.

This accessible, compelling and inspiring biography is a must for anyone interested in space, science, mathematics, social history or human rights.

About the author

Leila Rasheed is a British-Asian writer of mixed heritage who grew up in Libya. She has always loved children’s literature: its powerful themes, linguistic magic and power to change the world. Her favourite place to be is probably between ages nine to thirteen, but it all depends on the story. Some of her published books are funny and contemporary, but she loves writing historical and fantasy too. Many of her stories are in some way about a search for identity.

She enjoys exploring new forms and genres. Leila’s other role is supporting emerging writers. After graduating from the University of Warwick’s MA in writing, she returned to design and teach a module in writing for children and young people. She created the Megaphone writer development scheme, which supports black, Asian and minority ethnic children’s and young adult writers as they write their first novel. Leila is based in south Birmingham.

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