Book Review: Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream by Tanya Lee Stone

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Title: Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream
Author: Tanya Lee Stone
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Publication Date: February 24, 2009
ISBN: 978-0763636111

PLOT SUMMARY
Almost Astronauts is a photo essay book that tells the story of thirteen female pilots, known as the "Mercury 13," who attempted to join NASA's astronaut program in the 1960s. Dr. Randolph Lovelace, the chairman of NASA's Life Sciences committee and the doctor who conducted the fitness and mental tests for the first American astronauts, who believed that women would be cost-effective and were just as capable of being astronauts. He started the Women in Space program, in which thirteen female pilots not only completed the tests but also surpassed the results of male astronauts. Their aspirations, courage, and successes were ignored by NASA and other government figures, including Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, who all had an unspoken rule that only white men could be astronauts. Despite these rules, many of the Mercury 13 continued to push for female pilots to be admitted to the space program.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The author of Almost Astronauts is a former editor of children's nonfiction, as well as an award-winning author of nonfiction about strong women, such as Ella Fitzgerald and Amelia Earhart. Experts clearly weighed in on the book, as it has a foreword by Margaret A. Weitekamp, curator at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum and author of Right Stuff, Wrong Sex: America’s First Women in Space Program.

Stone provides plenty of historical context for readers about the cultural expectations of women before, after, and during World War II, without being overwhelming. This helps explain why it was so difficult for women to be pilots and astronauts, which may be confusing to younger readers who only understand modern day experiences for women. Stone passion and enthusiasm comes across in her writing, which is made even more apparent by her author's note, in which she mentions meeting the living members of the Mercury 13, who encouraged her to get her private pilot's license (Stone, 2009, pp. 121).

The book follows a clear sequence; except for the first chapter, which takes place in July 1999 for the launch of the first space shuttle piloted by a female commander, Lieutenant Colonel Eileen Collins, the book is organized chronologically from 1960 to 2007. While there is a table of contents, it does not clearly describe what is included in each chapter, with titles like "T Minus Thirty-Eight Years" (Stone, 2009, pp. 1) and "I Jumped at the Offer" (Stone, 2009, pp. 7). This does not aid in helping a reader pick and choose what to read. The subheadings, however, are helpful, since they describe the year that the following section takes place in, as well as pivotal moments. For example, "July 1999" is the first subheading in chapter one (Stone, 2009, pp. 1). Another example is the subheading "Enter Randy Lovelace" (Stone, 2009, pp. 11), which describes a section that introduces Dr. Randolph Lovelace.

There is an extensive bibliography that lists books, articles, documents, correspondence, videos, and videos. Stone also included a list of recommended books, articles, websites, and databases for further reading about women in aviation. There is a small appendix at the back of the book that is handy to refer to, as it lists the women who completed and passed the Lovelace tests, those who completed but did not pass the tests, and those who planned to takes the tests but for reasons, which are also included, they did not take them. It adds context to the Women in Space program because it brings the number of women involved up from thirteen to twenty-five, which illustrates how large the program was. An index also follows at the end of the book, listing various topics and people that were mentioned.

The exterior of the book is inviting, as it is large and square like a coffee table book. Full-page black-and-white photographs of space shuttles, astronauts, and pilots accompany the text, as well as smaller photos of major figures mentioned throughout the book. Other images provide historical context, such as magazine covers, posters, political cartoons, and even the letter Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson wrote his opinion of the Women in Space program, which was hidden in his files for forty years. The most striking images used were those of Jerrie Cobb conducting the tests at the Lovelace Clinic, the multiple-axis space test inertia facility (MASTIF), and the Dilbert Dunker sequence, in which she sat in a capsule that sped into a pool and turned upside down at the bottom.

The last chapter of the book includes color photographs from 1997 through 2008 of various female astronauts and air force pilots and a spectacular photograph of the 1999 space shuttle Columbia launch that was piloted by Eileen Collins. The book ends with a double-page spread color photograph of ten of the Mercury 13 gathered at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in 1999.
AWARDS
2010 Robert F. Sibert Medal
2010 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Honor
2010 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor
2009 Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor

REVIEW EXCERPTS
"The author offers great insight into how deeply ingrained sexism was in American society and its institutions. Handsomely illustrated with photographs, this empowering story will leave readers inspired." - Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Illustrated with sheaves of photos, and based on published sources, recently discovered documents, and original interviews with surviving members of the "Mercury 13," this passionately written account of a classic but little-known challenge to established gender prejudices also introduces readers to a select group of courageous, independent women." - School Library Journal

"A gripping narrative surfaces in Stone's text, as the women are repeatedly thwarted by NASA, discriminated against and patronized by society... Readers with an interest in history and in women's struggle for equality will undoubtedly be moved." - Publishers Weekly

CONNECTIONS
Enrichment activities: In the author's note, Stone mentions that she originally wrote poems in tribute to each of the thirteen women that were to be included in the book. The poems were cut from the final publication, but Stone hosts them on her website (https://tanyastone.com/almost-astronauts.html). Not only can these poems be shared with children, but there is also a reading guide with discussion questions and project ideas for science, language arts, social studies, and visual arts classes and topics.

Related books:

Ackmann, M. (2003). The Mercury 13: The Untold Story of Thirteen American Women and the Dream of Space Flight. Random House.
ISBN: 978-0375507441

Gibson, K. B. (2020). Women in Space: 23 Stories of First Flights, Scientific Missions, and Gravity-Breaking Adventures. Women of Action.
ISBN: 978-1641603133

Jackson, L. (2018). Galaxy Girls: 50 Amazing Stories of Women in Space. Harper Design.
ISBN: 978-0062850218

Ottaviani, J., & Wicks, M. (2020). Astronauts: Women on the Final Frontier. First Second.
ISBN: 978-1250760036

Ride, S., & Okie, S. (1989). To Space and Back. HarperCollins.
ISBN: 978-0688061593

Shetterly, M. L. (2016). Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race. William Morrow.
ISBN: 978-0062363596

Shetterly, M. L., & Freeman, L. (2018). Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race. HarperCollins.
ISBN: 978-0062742469

REFERENCES
Stone, T. L. (2009). Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream. Candlewick Press.

Stone, T. L. (n.d.). Almost Astronauts. Tanya Lee Stone. https://tanyastone.com/almost-astronauts.html