ALMOST ASTRONAUTS: 13 WOMEN WHO DARED TO DREAM by Tanya Lee Stone

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Stone, Tanya Lee. 2009. Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream. Somerville: Candlewick Press. ISBN 9780763645021

In Almost Astronauts, award-winning author Tanya Lee Stone exposes the extraordinary never-been-told stories of the 13 women who were tested to see if women were as equally qualified to be astronauts as men. Using a combination of historical narrative, interspersed with first-person interviews, and archival photographs, Stone has created an incredible work of young adult nonfiction that almost defies categorization. Part photo essay and part social history, Almost Astronauts brings the age of the 1960’s space program to life for modern readers.

Stone provides evidence of extensive research in portraying the reality of gender discrimination rampant in society against women. Many documents including newspaper reports and White House correspondence reveal the prevailing attitudes of the time. For the most part, the text follows a clear chronological order. The passage of time can be clearly observed from the photographs which start out in black and white and progress to color. There is a lot of visual appeal to the book in the way the large borderless pictures bleed off the page to create a pictorial memory book. Stone’s writing style is dramatic, conversational, and poetic. The author’s notes at the end of the book reveal that her initial manuscript included poems she had written in honor of each of the 13 pioneers which were eventually featured as supplemental material on her website.

Almost Astronauts is the winner of the Sibert Medal.

This title would be an excellent choice for middle school aged students to explore women's history themes in conjuction with other works by the author such as Ella Fitzgerald, Amelia Earheart, or Laura Ingalls Wilder. 

Books in Print. 2013. TWU Library. Accessed October 29, 2013 http://ezproxy.twu.edu:2125