Astronauts: Women on the Final Frontier by Jim Ottaviani - ADVISABLE

Astronauts: Women on the Final Frontier by Jim Ottaviani, illustrated by Maris Wicks, 160 pages.  GRAPHIC NOVEL NON-FICTION. First Second (Macmillan), 2020.  $20.  

Content: Language: PG (4 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence: G.  

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS – ADVISABLE  

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE  

Dr. Mary Cleave narrates the journey of women in the space program.  In the sixties when space started to gain momentum, it was a boys’ club and even though women could fly airplanes, they weren’t invited into the new space frontier.  As many women made their voices heard and made valid points about women contributing to the program, they were slowly accepted as peers.  Dr. Cleave explains the two journeys into space she was apart of as well as how she contributed to science after she was done being an astronaut.  

Amazing illustrations!  I think the cover appeal alone will gain a lot of attention, but the story is text heavy with a lot of different names and scientific explanations.  There is a part of the story that explains part of Russia’s history with space travel and it is mixed in with Dr. Cleave’s story.  I think younger readers would get discouraged trying to understand the story, but middle or high school students who are interested in space would enjoy it.  It concentrates on celebrating women’s contribution to space.  

Reviewer, C. Peterson