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Dorothy is fighting for a long overdue promotion, while the arrival of an IBM machine threatens to put her team of computers out of work. Mary must navigate layers of racist bureaucratic hurdles in her quest to become an engineer. Katherine is closest to the excitement, but Hidden Figures widens its scope beyond her. She arrives at her new job to find she’s the sole brown face in the room. is so desperate to beat the Soviet Union into space that NASA becomes a reluctant meritocracy: Because of her expertise in analytic geometry, Katherine is assigned to a special task group trying to get Glenn into orbit. Due to Virginia’s segregation laws, African American female computers have to work in a separate “colored” building at the Langley Research Center. Katherine, Mary, and Dorothy are part of NASA’s pool of human “computers”-employees, usually women, charged with doing calculations before the use of digital computers. Hidden Figures begins in earnest in 1961. (It’s worth noting that, as a dramatization, the film makes tweaks to the timeline, characters, and events of the books.) But her story is woven tightly with those of Mary (Janelle Monáe) and Dorothy (Octavia Spencer) the former became NASA’s first black female engineer, the latter was a mathematician who became NASA’s first African American manager. Henson) is the film’s ostensible protagonist and gets the most screen time. By refracting the overlooked lives and accomplishments of Johnson, Vaughan, and Jackson through this lens, Hidden Figures manages to be more than an inspiring history lesson with wonderful performances.įrom the start, Hidden Figures makes clear that it is about a trio, not a lone heroine. They’re phenomenal at what they do, but they’re also generous with their time, their energy, and their patience in a way that feels humane, not saintly. Vincent) and based on the nonfiction book of the same title by Margot Lee Shetterly, the film celebrates individual mettle, but also the way its characters consistently try to lift others up. Wishtree, by Katherine Applegate: filled with hope.And yet Hidden Figures pays tribute to its subjects by doing the opposite of what many biopics have done in the past-it looks closely at the remarkable person in the context of a community.Love, by Matt de la Peña and Loren Long: learning.Let the Children March, by Monica Clark-Robinson a.

Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women.If you make a purchase using the Amazon links on this site, a small portion goes to Great Kid Books.

The review copy was kindly sent by the publisher, HarperCollins. Illustrations copyright ©2018 Laura Freeman, shared by permission of the publisher. Seek it out to share with young children who are interested in inspiring figures, but not ready for the whole movie.

This picture book goes beyond just being a tie-in with the movie. A "Meet the Computers" provides more information on each of the four women featured, allowing students a way into learning more. The illustrated timeline in the back is especially engaging and helpful for young readers. Laura Freeman's illustrations draw readers into the scene using bold colors and focusing on the women's experiences. "Katherine wanted to help the group prepare its research reports, so she asked if she could go to meetings with the other experts on her team. They bring young readers through the main achievements of these women, focusing on how they used their mathematical skills to solve important problems. Margot Lee Shetterly, the author who wrote the original book Hidden Figures, collaborated with Winifred Conkling to write an accessible, focused text. "Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden were good at math…really good." And they did so during a time when there were great prejudices against women and African Americans. Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Raceīy Margot Lee Shetterly, illustrated by‎ Laura Freemanīased on the popular book and movie, this picture book recounts the true story of four black women who helped NASA launch men into space using their mathematical analysis, persistence and hard work.ĭorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden used their mathematical skills to help NASA send astronauts into space.