archie_author's review
4.0
The author did a great job in providing the history of women in space. Well worth the read to learn about the background of humans in space and especially the women involved. The book did read somewhat like an encyclopedia, lots of great facts and a few personal items about each woman.
compass_rose's review
4.0
Read selections from this (out loud) while doing space unit with 12yo. She loved the chapters we read. It was the perfect level for her to get a lot out of it (great for upper middle to high schoolers).
thomcat's review
2.0
Started reading this aloud with my daughter during Women's History Month, and it started off well. However, most of the 23 entries read like encyclopedia entries, or perhaps a middle school report. My middle schooler complained that she got lost in the words at times. Editing was a problem also, with several errors spotted over the course of the book. On the plus side, now she really wants to learn more about Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space.
Disclaimer - I haven't read any other "Women of Action" series books. Recommended as a reference, or source material for school reports. I can't think of any young adults that would enjoy reading this cover to cover.
Disclaimer - I haven't read any other "Women of Action" series books. Recommended as a reference, or source material for school reports. I can't think of any young adults that would enjoy reading this cover to cover.
whatjennyreadsinmontana's review against another edition
4.0
I found a handful of typos in this book, but I really enjoyed learning about women astronauts, many of whom I'd never heard of. I also enjoyed getting some background on the Mercury 13 and the space race.
abookishaffair's review
4.0
"Women in Space" is another book in the fantastic Women in Action series. This is a non-fiction series geared for young adult readers and it is really fantastic. "Women in Space" is a collection of stories of the women who dared to go to the final frontier: space. I was drawn to this book by my own fascination with space and those people that were brave enough to explore it. I was not disappointed with this book at all.
When I was little, I wanted to be an astronaut and I grew up looking up to so many of these women. This was a great collection and although I knew about some of these women, there were many that I did not know about. I love learning something new when I'm reading.
This book was well written and would be a great introduction for young adult readers who want an overview of these truly amazing women. Each story is a short overview of a certain person or even group of people (did you know that there were women who trained for the Mercury flights??? I had no idea). The book covers both American women and women from other countries who traveled to space. This book definitely whetted my appetite to learn more about some of these women!
Overall, this is another great addition to this series!
When I was little, I wanted to be an astronaut and I grew up looking up to so many of these women. This was a great collection and although I knew about some of these women, there were many that I did not know about. I love learning something new when I'm reading.
This book was well written and would be a great introduction for young adult readers who want an overview of these truly amazing women. Each story is a short overview of a certain person or even group of people (did you know that there were women who trained for the Mercury flights??? I had no idea). The book covers both American women and women from other countries who traveled to space. This book definitely whetted my appetite to learn more about some of these women!
Overall, this is another great addition to this series!
cenags's review
4.0
3.5/5 stars. Like other reviewers, I'm disappointed with all the typos in this book. I will say, they did fix the "25 times the speed of light" typo in my edition. This book was fine. I'd recommend it for anyone looking for an introduction to women in space.
inlibrisveritas's review
3.0
Women in Space is a nonfiction novel about the women who have become astronauts and is geared towards young adults.
I picked this up for two reasons, one I fully believe in another life I would have been an astronaut (if math didn’t make me cry and I didn’t get stick with anxiety & depression) and two because I really want to read more about Kalpana who despite being India’s first female astronaut doesn’t have a lot written about her. Even in this book she doesn’t get a lot of pages. Overall I liked it. It’s simplistic in format and covers a wide range of astronauts, and even if some of the women didn’t get full bios they usually popped up in another person’s bio as well.
There were some small editing issues that were a tad annoying to read in a finished book, and the way it’s written makes the work seem a lot of denser than it actually is. I really hated that a lot of bios were structured as: interesting mid career explanation, jump unannounced back to her past, and then move back through her whole career. It would have worked if the first paragraph had explained her importance to the mission or country, and then moved back to her past…but some of these mid career stories lasted several paragraphs and then without warning I’d be reading about something that happened 15 years in the past. It was very discombobulating. It’s not a book that should have taken me longer than a few days, but I had to keep taking breaks due to the writing style and it lasted me over a week.
I do think it has a lot of value as far as educational purposes go for younger readers and there is a lot of great info in it, and not just on the women themselves but also about the space stations and life up there. There are a lot of teachable moments and plenty of extra sources and reading material that can lead to independent study as well.
I picked this up for two reasons, one I fully believe in another life I would have been an astronaut (if math didn’t make me cry and I didn’t get stick with anxiety & depression) and two because I really want to read more about Kalpana who despite being India’s first female astronaut doesn’t have a lot written about her. Even in this book she doesn’t get a lot of pages. Overall I liked it. It’s simplistic in format and covers a wide range of astronauts, and even if some of the women didn’t get full bios they usually popped up in another person’s bio as well.
There were some small editing issues that were a tad annoying to read in a finished book, and the way it’s written makes the work seem a lot of denser than it actually is. I really hated that a lot of bios were structured as: interesting mid career explanation, jump unannounced back to her past, and then move back through her whole career. It would have worked if the first paragraph had explained her importance to the mission or country, and then moved back to her past…but some of these mid career stories lasted several paragraphs and then without warning I’d be reading about something that happened 15 years in the past. It was very discombobulating. It’s not a book that should have taken me longer than a few days, but I had to keep taking breaks due to the writing style and it lasted me over a week.
I do think it has a lot of value as far as educational purposes go for younger readers and there is a lot of great info in it, and not just on the women themselves but also about the space stations and life up there. There are a lot of teachable moments and plenty of extra sources and reading material that can lead to independent study as well.
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