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#Giveaway Illustrating History with Katherine Johnson #win One Step Further Signed Copy! Ends 3.5

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Welcome to the One Step Further Blog Tour!

To celebrate the release of One Step Further by Katherine Johnson and her daughters Joylette Hylick and Katherine Moore, and illustrated by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow on January 5th, blogs across the web are featuring exclusive photos and stories from the life of NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson, plus 5 chances to win a hardcover copy and one Signed by Katherine Johnson’s daughters and co-authors Joylette Hylick and Katherine Moore!

 

 

 

Illustrating History
by illustrator Charnelle Pinkney Barlow
 
Charnelle as a child. Credit Jerry Pinkney. 

As a child, I remember staring up at the night sky as we drove home from a holiday family get-together. The air was crisp (as was the norm for a New York winter) and the stars were bright. I looked up at the brightest star in the sky and wondered what its name was. I even made up some elaborate story in my head about the star’s origin. I never imagined the time, dedication, and work that women like Katherine Johnson put into answering all the questions that could arise when NASA prepared to venture into this same night sky.

Katherine’s 20 and 30 year NASA pins
When I began creating the illustrations for this book, I wanted to acknowledge and celebrate the role that Katherine had in inspiring and leading her daughters to go one step further. Throughout the book, we get to see how each move Katherine made was a stepping-stone for them. One major task I had as the illustrator was to show Katherine, Joylette, Connie, and Kathy at different parts of their life while being able to distinguish them from each other and recognize them as the same characters. One way this was accomplished was through clothing patterns (particularly for Katherine’s daughters).
The design of the book inspired me, too. I love seeing how the illustrations interact with the photographs on each page. Being able to trace the family’s journey through photography as well as illustration helped me put everything into context.
Katherine’s copy of the Inspiring Women series Barbie that was modeled after her
Even though Katherine Johnson wasn’t a name mentioned in my history classes growing up, her story is one that should be told in every household. It was her love of questions and numbers that helped a human travel safely to space and back. I am honored to have a hand in sharing another side of her story that shows her influence on the generations of future mathematicians that came after her.

 

*****

Blog Tour Schedule:

 

Buy: Amazon | Indiebound | Bookshop

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This inspirational picture book reveals what is was like for a young black mother of three to navigate the difficult world of the 1950s and 60s and to succeed in an unwelcoming industry to become one of the now legendary “hidden figures” of NASA computing and space research.
Johnson’s own empowering narrative is complemented by the recollections of her two daughters about their mother’s work and insights about how she illuminated their paths, including one daughter’s fight for civil rights and another’s journey to become a NASA mathematician herself. The narrative gracefully weaves together Johnson’s personal story, her influence on her daughters’ formative years, her and her daughters’ fight for civil rights, and her lasting impact on NASA and space exploration. Filled with personal reflections, exclusive family archival photos, and striking illustrations, readers will be immersed in this deeply personal portrayal of female empowerment, women in STEM, and the breaking down of race barriers across generations. Historical notes, photo/illustration notes, and a time line put the story into historical and modern-day context.
The inspirational tale of Johnson’s perseverance is both intimate and global, showcasing the drive of each generation to push one step further than the last. With its evocative family album-style format and novel approach to storytelling, One Step Further is sure to inspire the next generation of rising stars.
“Engaging, collage-style art augments the text, with speech bubbles, archival family photographs, and Barlow’s child-friendly illustrations. Concurrently accessible and intimate, this book will both inform readers and inspire them to reach for the stars.” 
―Publishers Weekly
 
“A concise, engaging story of a Black family in the South during the Civil Rights era.” 
―Booklist
 
“The blend of Johnson’s and her daughters’ voices is intimate and inspiring.” 
―Horn Book 

 

Joylette (L), Kathy (R), Katherine (F) 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Katherine Johnson was an American mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights. She calculated and analyzed the flight paths of many spacecraft during her more than three decades with the U.S. space program, and her work helped send astronauts to the moon. She died on February 24, 2020.

ABOUT THE CO-AUTHORS: Joylette Goble Hylick and Katherine “Kathy” Goble Moore grew up during the space race of the 1960s but never fully grasped their mother’s role in it until years later. Hylick graduated from Hampton University and received a Master’s at Drexel University. She followed in her mother’s footsteps, working at NASA as a mathematician before taking a job with Lockheed Martin as a Senior Requirements Engineer. She lives today in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. After attending Bennett College and Hampton University, and receiving a Masters of Science in Information Systems from Montclair State University (formerly Montclair State College), Moore spent 33 years working in public education as an educator and guidance counselor in New Jersey. She currently resides in Greensboro, North Carolina.

 

 

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR: Charnelle Pinkney Barlow, granddaughter of Caldecott-winning illustrator Jerry Pinkney, was surrounded by art as a child. Her passion for illustration grew after being introduced to the world of watercolors. She received her BFA in Illustration from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and her MFA in Illustration as Visual Essay from the School of Visual Arts in New York City.
Follow Charnelle: Facebook | Instagram
 
GIVEAWAY
  • One (1) winner will receive a hardcover copy of One Step Further (SIGNED) 
  • Check out the other four stops for more chances to win
  • US/Can only
  • Ends 3/7 at 11:59pm ET

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Comments

  1. I learned that Katherine Johnson worked as a mathematician for more than three decades with the U.S. space program. Amazing!

  2. I find it interesting that not only was she a brilliant mathematician, but she was a mom of three.

  4. I learned that she was a mathematician. My daughter is fascinated with anything space related, she would love this book!

  5. It’s fascinating that she was analyzing & calculating flight plans through her entire 30 year career.

You'd have to have, like, a lentil for a soul to hate wiener dogs. ~Zuzana from The Daughter of Smoke & Bones by Laini Taylor