Margaret and the Moon
By: Dean Robbins; Illustrated by: Lucy Knisley
Alfred A. Knopf, 2017
32 pages
Trigger Warning: n/a
About the Author: Dean Robbins has written several children’s picture books, such as Two Friends: Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass, and The Astronaut Who Painted the Moon: The True Story of Alan Bean. His writing has been recognized in The New York Times, USA Today, and Kirkus Reviews, among others. In addition to writing picture books, Robbins is also an award-winning journalist and was the editor in chief of Isthmus. He currently resides in Madison, Wisconsin, where he continues to write about his real-life heroes.
About the Illustrator: Lucy Knisley is a comic creator, known for her books like French Milk, Relish, and Displacement. In addition to writing, she tours the United States, Canada and Europe, speaking at comic cons and book festivals, and teaching at schools and workshops. Lucy lives in Chicago with her family. You can find more about her at: http://www.lucyknisley.com.
“Could Margaret use computers to get the astronauts…238,855 miles there…
…and 238,855 miles back?
She convinced NASA’s leaders to let her try.“
Margaret and the Moon tells the story of Margaret Hamilton, one of the first female computer scientists in the 1950s and an integral player in the safe landing of the Apollo 11 mission. Her character is positive and empowering, providing children with examples of how to ask big questions and work towards the answer.
Robbins and Knisley provide Hamilton’s biography in a light-hearted, easy to understand narrative, with bright comic style illustrations and plenty of questions sprinkled in to engage young readers. Text and illustrations collaborate to provide the reader with facts and numbers in a visually-friendly way. The story also includes additional resources and pictures on Margaret Hamilton, so it extends to older audiences as well.
This book celebrates a real-life hero while showing kids how much fun learning can be. Margaret and the Moon absolutely falls among the stars.
PRR Writer, Mandy Becker
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