GIRL POWER! A COMPUTER CALLED KATHERINE

 The recent and highly successful ARTEMIS II flight around the Moon, traveling farther into space with human occupants than any prior space flights, holds other important records. The first, off course, is that distance. The pilot, Victor Glover, is the first Black astronaut to travel to the Moon, whileJeremy Hansen is the first Canadian astronaut to participate in Moon flight. But one of the four astronauts receiving well-earned attention is Christine Koch, mission specialist. She already held records for participating in the first all female space walk, and is now the first woman astronaut to travel on a Moon mission. 

The records will continue to be lauded, as they should be. The wave forward for female astronauts was launched decades earlier, but this acceleration in space travel and Moon exploration means that such FIRSTS are going to continue, followed by more and more diversity and perspectives as we proceed. 

The best part of this is the full visibility of the members of the crew. In the earlier years of NASA's development, astronauts represented "The RIGHT STUFF", meaning prototypical white men, of a particular age, body type, background, and training. Others, though, were behind the scenes. HIDDEN FIGURES was first an adult nonfiction success, then a terrific movie, and also a picture book for young readers. There is now a youth version of the adult book, too.

The above documentation of the team of Black women whose math skills were so extraordinary as to be the basis of every NASA attempt that their job title was "COMPUTER". Much has been made about the fact that those various successful missions, including the Apollo program, were achieved with tiny fractions of available computer power that we now carry around in our phones. When that statement is made, what is not mentioned is the necessity to have utter accuracy and predictability with the intricate calculations behind trajectories and computations for fuel, thrust, adjustments to angles, and countless other data fully figured, tested, and insured by the human brains of that all female  (Black) team of COMPUTERS. 

LITTLE, BROWN, and COMPANY, 2019

HIDDEN FIGURES gave  KATHERINE, of A COMPUTER CALLED KATHERINE, the credit due her. Even so, this new picture book is a worthy and important account of her unique and essential contributions she made. Written by Suzanne Slade and illustrated by Veronica Miller Jamison, the subtitle is: 

HOW KATHERINE JOHNSON HELPED PUT AMERICA 

ON THE MOON.

The account of Katherine's early success in school, especially as a mathematician and scientist, make her unique computing skills clear. This story reveals how the integration of mathematics with physics and calculus and trigonometry combined with the alchemy of her personality to make her an essential element in the countless steps assuring success for the plans. 

I admired Katherine since first learning about her (far too late!). Reading this terrific new picture book lets readers of many ages, even quite young ones, learn about Katherine and can  find themselves in her story, in the best possible ways. End papers show various math diagrams and equations as if on chalkboards. I was also enough of a math kid (everywhere she went, she counted.) to see how many of those I recognized and related to curves and angles and patterns of force. She grew up counting, recognizing relationships and measures and numbers in what can apparently be to be a disorganized world.

Katherine was only one of the many math-women recruited to work (in a segregated building) on the nearly endless computations and calculations, validations and corrections needed to move many tons of materials off the gravitational pull of the earth and into space. To keep it on the intended track, and to realize PRECISELY what to do and and how to it to assure its safe return. 

Like those rocket lifters, she rose from among the pool of gifted and tireless computer-women to ask the right questions, clarify what information was needed, and plot the courses that should be followed from take-off to landing. The number of people responsible for countless details to apply her calculations was enormous, but everything hinged on her being right.

Back matter includes both author and illustrator notes. There I learned that this is the debut picture book for the illustrator, and she knocked it into orbit!

As one of her quotations so perfectly states in the closing pages, 

"Girls are capable of doing everything boys are capable of doing."

And I'll paraphrase lines that suits her so well and open the profile... Katherine counts!

MAKING THREE WISHES... for IMAGINATION!

Today I celebrate picture books that demonstrate and honor the irrepressible imaginations of young readers. George Bernard Shaw's quote is worth remembering:

“We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing”. 

The first is SUNDUST,

Kokila, 2025     CALDECOTT HONOR BOOK

written and illustrated by Zeke Peña. This adventure is set in the desert wildlife just beyond an urban 

landscape, beyond the "bulldozers and things that don't belong". There  cacti and hummingbirds thrive, there blossoms and scaled critters reveal themselves, there chrysalis develops and butterflies emerge, there sudden rains turn concrete drains into watery adventures. Throughout each step and discovery, the words are as crisp and revealing. The colors and lines, expressions and sprawls are expansive. As a vibrant, nearly-neon sun moves toward setting, the long day of exploration winds down and a mother's call is heard. Even so, the two friends linger long enough to watch the final sunset, gathering "sundust", feeling the universe of stardust within themselves. 

A day such as theirs is a gift, to them, and to  any reader lucky enough to open the covers of this book. Journey with them as they notice and appreciate nature at its finest. A marvelous world is waiting just beyond the edge of the everyday.

NEAL PORTER BOOKS
HOLIDAY HOUSE, 2020

Next up is a less reality-based adventure but one equally inviting. Author Philip Stead and illustrator Matthew Cordell have combined their creative talents in another cartoon-style picture book, but in an entirely different visual effect. Characters in SUNDUST feel firmly anchored in their habitat, even as their post-swim brown skin dries in cracks that resemble the hard-caked earth. In FOLLOW THAT FROG the text is more complex and adventurous, as are the various pages of full and spot illustrations. Speech bubbles combine with hand-letter sound effects, longer text, and cross-hatched and intricate drawings from quilts to chickens to dreamy-memory sequences related by Aunt Josephine. She recounts her youthful Peruvian adventure involving a giant frog who swallows an admiral's son. Succeeding pages reveal rides on ostriches and tortoise backs, pirates, misdirection, rescues. Throughout this surreal tale, a loud KNOCK continues. I leave it to you to fully explore (intentional word choice) the continents, critters, and comedy that bounces off these pages. 

NEAL PORTER BOOKS
HOLIDAY HOUSE, 2026

Finally (for today, at least) is a picture book that celebrates the cumulative creativity of kids left to their imaginations. Most cultures include the spontaneous game of ... "The floor is lava"... or some other assertion that requires survival by hopping from chair to couch, or even counter-surfing. In IF THIS WERE THE WORLD, written by Stephen Barr and illustrated by Ag Ford, the story spans one recess period in which various suggestions like the above example are shared, then each is countered by "we played that yesterday... or last week..."  or other indication that these imaginative kiddos are not afraid of big ideas. That's when a boy lifts a perfectly round orange from his lunchbox and challenges:

 "What if THIS... were the world?"

After sharing the juicy segments, other possibilities emerge- large spheres, a massive tree, and more. In each scenario they explore ways to use, share, and even over-use the supposed "world" in their imagination. Each fails to fully succeed. Finally, ... But I will not share the conclusion, despite the fact that I long to do so! There is such simplicity and depth to the conclusion that it feels nearly like a prayer. Not a formal or "religious" one, but a sense of awakening to ourselves and our place among our true world. The current moon mission has been sending color images of our amazing planet. That's a timely reminder of the power of awareness of just how precious our planet and our places on it and among each other really are. 

May you all, one and all, read these. And be inspired to PLAY!

Haiku Magic.... A POND, A POET, AND THREE PESTS

 In the prior post I pointed out that April is POETRY MONTH, featuring a book that included HAIKU. I've reviewed and praised Haiku collections for young readers in past posts, HERE, HERE, and  HERE.The form originates in Japan, which requires translation for those of us who don't speak Japanese. (That would be many of us, no doubt). The word meanings and syllable counts may change with translation, but the essence of HAIKU captures a moment in time, an emotion or observation of nature, a sense of our place in relation to the natural world. The three-line syllable count matters, but not more so than the essence of the thought. There are other renowned haiku poets from around the world, including from the USA. BASHO was perhaps the best known haiku poet, a journeying man who chose a life of humble means and deep reflection. 

GROUNDWOOD BOOKS, 2025   

A POND, A POET, AND THREE PESTS is written by Caroline Anderson and illustrated by Lauren Tamaki. This nearly mystical, dreamlike tale suggests an evening respite for BASHO, resting at a small pond. The three pests are pond residents who each recognize BASHO and hope to gain his attentions, to perhaps achieve fame by becoming the subject of one of his poems.

First, the golden carp flashes his sparkling scales, but goes unnoticed. Then the water lily wafts its most appealing fragrance, but also is unnoticed. Mosquito, though, is well aware of the effects of a droning buzz near the ear. Even that does not get a reaction from BASHO.

When a frog leaps into the pond, BASHO wakens, composing one of his most highly regarded poems... about the frog. No attempts at fame and attention succeeded, but simply following its nature earned frog fame in a globally-recited poem. How much we could all learn from that frog. And from those fame-seeking "pests" whose gifts and traits were overlooked by trying too hard for attention rather than for seeking joy in being their true selves. 

The narrative text to share this proverb-like tale is as minimal and resonate as a poem, which suits the story perfectly. The illustrations are evocative of Japanese ink scrolls combined with the lush and luminous colors of silks. Images seem to glow or ripple as your eyes shift from page to page while lines suggest ink-brushed lines and calligraphy. BASHU's Buddha-like image reveals his pilgrim/traveler persona and allows him to blend into the nature he deeply respects and purposefully seeks.  

BASHU and ISSA are two of the most well-known Haiku poets, and their collections have been the subjects of doctoral studies and scholarly tomes. They are also featured in books for young readers, in which the careful selection of poems combine with enhancing illustrations to make writing haiku an appealing project for many young folks and adults alike. COOL MELONS TURN TO FROGS is one such picture book that features poems by ISSA. I hope you'll seek out this recent BASHO book and the much earlier ISSA book. Both will take you into a world that may offer you respite from screens and fame-seekers, while deepening your own awareness of the natural world at our fingertips. 

Welcome SPRING, Seasons, and POETRY MONTH

 A collection of poems by a single author is a rare accomplishment in the current publishing world. Those with a golden track record (Nikki Grimes, Nikki Giovanni, Shel Silverstein, etc.) are worthy of such an investment and their works become well-worn classics. Otherwise, poetry for children tends toward anthologies by multiple authors, present and past. In the case of POEMS FOR EVERY SEASON, the work was originally published in the Netherlands and then brought to the US market with the addition of a skilled translator. 

Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2024/2026

POEMS FOR EVERY SEASON; A YEAR OF HAIKU, SONNETS, and MORE 
offers text by Bette Westera and illustrations by Henriette Boerendans, with translations by David Colmer. This creative team has produced a seamless whole. The collection provides a wealth of poems, each lovely as a stand-alone. But there are many other benefits to the arrangement of poems in this subtle and sensory picture book, including that each poem is labeled with its poetic form. Back matter develops further understanding of the patterns and encourages attempts by readers. As the title suggests, the collection features the four seasons, launching with SPRING. A gentle haiku introduces each season, followed by  poems revealing scenes and emotions of that particular season. 

Illustrations feature the talented woodcut art and textured coloration that suit each poem and each season. The full conceptual organization is bracketed with endpapers of migrating geese, markers of annual changes across many regions and climates. The animals featured, and some of the poetic forms, will be familiar across many ages. Structures like the  SONNET, often considered challenging and/or off-putting, become pleasing and evocative when describing lambs in spring. Any time a translator is trusted with lyrical text, the bar is especially high: to sustain the original meaning while adjusting for differences in syllable counts, rhythm, rhyme, etc. The English versions of the poems read naturally and appealingly. 

This picture book will reach the hearts and minds of young people and offer a rich read-aloud by adults. The poems and structures provide mentor text for older aspiring writers, and inspiration for anyone aiming to create works that offer lyrical insights across many layers of appeal. It is a timely offering as we savor SPRING, and APRIL is NATIONAL POETRY MONTH. (<<< Click to find an easy link for a free POETRY MONTH poster!)