Hidden Figures: Young Readers' Edition of Hidden Figures—Celebrating African American Women Pioneers at NASA

This young readers' edition tells the true story of African American female mathematicians at NASA whose calculations contributed to major American space achievements. Before John Glenn orbited Earth or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, female mathematicians known as "human computers" used pencils, slide rules, and adding machines to calculate the numbers needed to launch rockets and astronauts into space. Originally teaching math in the segregated South, these women were recruited during World War II when America's aeronautics industry faced labor shortages. They moved to Hampton, Virginia, to work at Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory. Despite Virginia's Jim Crow laws requiring segregation, the women of Langley's all-black "West Computing" group helped America achieve Cold War victories and space exploration dominance. The book follows the careers of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden across nearly three decades, from World War II through the Cold War, Civil Rights Movement, and Space Race. It documents how these four women faced challenges, formed alliances, and used their intellect to transform their own lives and their country's future.