Storybook Guide Based on Helaine Becker’s “Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13”

Katherine Johnson wanted to become a research mathematician. But she faced many obstacles, including segregated schools and a lack of job opportunities for women. Katherine began teaching elementary school. In the 1950s, the new U.S. space program hired women mathematicians, including Katherine, who calculated—by hand!— numbers essential for designing the spaceship. Later, she was responsible for plotting the route home for the damaged Apollo 13 spaceship. She had achieved her goal.

universe, research mathematician (someone who makes discoveries about math), catapulted, graph, reputation, astronaut, triumph

As children read the book, they can learn about these topics:

• A simple model explains a rocket ship’s trajectory in space.
• Black children faced discrimination in school.
• Girls and women were (wrongly) not considered capable of doing mathematics or engineering (or much else!).
• Although very angry at the discrimination she faced, Katherine persisted to overcome these obstacles and make a vital contribution to the space program.