Blast Off!

May 9, 2022
Slade introduces a little-known hero of the space race in this dynamically illustrated portrayal of rocket fuel scientist Mary Sherman Morgan (1921–2004), a key figure in developing the propellant that powered America’s first satellite into space in 1958. A chronological narrative details Morgan’s late start to school, at age eight, before tracing her early career and diving into the excitement of the top-secret task that required the lab’s “best man”—Morgan. Wern Comport’s vivid multimedia illustrations depict Morgan and other engineers at work in images that teem with equations, data tables, formulas, and slide rules. While the book presents as a biography, an author’s note clarifies that a need “to creatively fill in a few gaps” renders the book, instead, historical fiction. Regardless, Mary’s example of perseverance and glass ceiling–shattering delivers a motivating message for would-be scientists. Back matter concludes. Ages 7–10.