A DOUBLE REVIEW!

MAE AMONG THE STARS by Roda Ahmed.  Illus by Stasia Burrington. New York:  Harper, 2018. 38p. ISBBN: 978-006265173-0 hc. $17.99    PreS-Gr. 3    E PIC

This historical fiction relates Mae's dream, as a young child, to become an astronaut.  She wants to see Earth from outer space.  With her parents; encouragement, she learns all she can about space and astronauts.  Mae shares her dream with everyone she meets.  However, her teacher devastates Mae by telling her she would be a good nurse instead of an astronaut.  Only in the end notes does the reader learn that Nae is Dr. Mae Jemison, the first Afican American female astronaut.  A wonderful read about big dreams and pursuing them.
Jolene Hetherington, Advisory Board Member, Munising School Public Library

N MERRIAM SMITH'S RACE TO COMPLETE AMELIA EARHART'S QUEST by Aimee Bissonette.  Illus. by Doris Ettlinger.  Ann Arbor, MI:  Sleeping Bear Press, 2018.  32p.  ISBN: 978-158536381-0 hc. $16.99  Gr. 1-4    J 629.13

Jerrie Mock decided to become a pilot after her first airplane ride at the age of 7.  Joan Merriam Smith was 15 years old when she made the same decision, receiving her pilot's license before she could drive a car.  In later years, both ladies independently made the decision to fly around the world to complete Amelia Earhart's quest.  Neither of them knew about the other's plans.  Just a few weeks before they took off, the news broke.  They both decided to take off at the same time, and the news media turned it into a race.  This is a great story about the trials and tribulations they experienced as the first two women to fly around the world.
Jolene Hetherington, Advisory Board Member, Munising School Public Library