Reviews
Blast Off!: How Mary Sherman Morgan Fueled America Into Space by Sally W Comport, Suzanne Slade
missprint_'s review
4.0
This could be a good Rise title. The artwork is muddy and dark for no purpose that I can discern and I like that the author is an engineer. Back matter includes timeline, sources, author's note, and details on some of the relevant rockets.
ljrinaldi's review
5.0
Like Hidden Figures, this is another story of a woman that is forgotten about by the space community because, well, she was a woman.
In fact, the author had so much trouble finding out this *very* important woman, that she almost gave up, but then she thought she would just keep going, and see what she could find.
Before Mary Sherman Morgan designed the fuel for the rockets that took satellites into space, they kept blowing up on launch. She had to finally figure out just the right mix of fuels to get it to work, and work well.
Amazing woman, she started school when she was eight, because her parents wanted her to work on the farm. It wasn’t until a sheriff came and forced the family to send her to school that she went.
She financed her time in college, until she ran out of money and had to take a job to survive, but fortunately it was in science, and from there she was able to work her way up to working for North American Aviation.
Even though this is just a picture book, I would highly recommend checking it out, and reading her story. Her son, Gorget D. Morgan, also wrote a book about her, which is mentioned in the bibliography called “Rocket Girl: The Story of Mary Sherman Morgan, America’s First Female Rocket Scientist”.
But, as the author points out, even Wernher von Braun didn’t know her name, and sent her a letter of gratitude which began “Dear Unknown Lady”.
Highly recommend this one.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
In fact, the author had so much trouble finding out this *very* important woman, that she almost gave up, but then she thought she would just keep going, and see what she could find.
Before Mary Sherman Morgan designed the fuel for the rockets that took satellites into space, they kept blowing up on launch. She had to finally figure out just the right mix of fuels to get it to work, and work well.
Amazing woman, she started school when she was eight, because her parents wanted her to work on the farm. It wasn’t until a sheriff came and forced the family to send her to school that she went.
She financed her time in college, until she ran out of money and had to take a job to survive, but fortunately it was in science, and from there she was able to work her way up to working for North American Aviation.
Even though this is just a picture book, I would highly recommend checking it out, and reading her story. Her son, Gorget D. Morgan, also wrote a book about her, which is mentioned in the bibliography called “Rocket Girl: The Story of Mary Sherman Morgan, America’s First Female Rocket Scientist”.
But, as the author points out, even Wernher von Braun didn’t know her name, and sent her a letter of gratitude which began “Dear Unknown Lady”.
Highly recommend this one.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
panda_incognito's review
4.0
I absolutely love the vivid, vibrant illustrations in this picture book biography. The style is very unique, and the artist's work conveys Sherman's emotion well. The text is also very strong, and this little-known story of a woman's contribution to the Space Race will appeal to all ages.
The author's note mentions that because it is very difficult to uncover information about this woman's life, she had to fictionalize some details and considers this to be historical fiction. At my library, this is shelved as a nonfiction biography. I wish that this had ben clearer sooner, and that she had indicated which parts she made up.
The author's note mentions that because it is very difficult to uncover information about this woman's life, she had to fictionalize some details and considers this to be historical fiction. At my library, this is shelved as a nonfiction biography. I wish that this had ben clearer sooner, and that she had indicated which parts she made up.
maidmarianlib's review
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
3.0
Love learning about this wonderful self-made scientist.
tattedlibrarian's review
5.0
What a great non fiction picture book! I love seeing women in STEAM, it encourages more girls that science and science careers are for everyone. My favorite thing is that it showed her failing, and not giving up. Failure is a part of discovery and learning. Mary didn't give up and because of that, a rocket took a satellite up into space.
librarianryan's review
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
5.0
What an amazingly wonderful biography. This book is about Mary Sherman Morgan and how she helped get America’s first satellite into space. She was just a country girl who loved chemistry and loved fuels. Without her hard work we could be very behind right now and maybe Neil Armstrong would not have been the first person to walk on the moon. One of my favorite things about this story is it is 100% about her. Within the story component it never mentions her marriage or her kids because they are secondary to what she accomplished for science. There is a tad bit about Mary‘s husband and her son in the info bits in the back and it was just the right amount. Overall this is an excellent book and another great read from Suzanne Slade.
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