Astronauts, by Jim Ottaviani and Maris Wicks

Title: Astronauts: women on the final frontier
Author: Jim Ottaviani and Maris Wicks

Genre/ issues: Graphic novel, middle grade, science, history, space.

I’ve always been interested in space, and I’m sure my childhood fantasies of being an astronaut led to my strong sci-fi leanings as a teen and adult. This book is a fab graphic novel which looks at the history of women’s involvement in the space program. It tells the compelling narrative story of Mary Cleave, one of the first women to complete NASA space training and then go on to complete 2 space missions and eventually lead the NASA Science Mission Directorate. Her personal story serves as a frame for the political and feminist history of women in space, and we see the story of the Russian space program and how it got there first.  I particularly love how they employ a different font on the panels which depict the experiences of the Soviet space program. It’s a great visual cue to help differentiate these opposite yet parallel narratives.

The illustrations are charming, the science is fascinating, and the message is powerful – women can do anything, despite the men who try to tell them no. There’s some serious historical research that went into this book, and the librarian in me loves the source list at the end. The insight into the committee hearings which almost saw the Women in Space Program sidelined permanently was fascinating too – “of course we’ll need women eventually if we are planning on colonising another planet!” I loved this book, and will be on the lookout for their other graphic novel, Primates, to read soon!

#TamaraReads #2020readingchallenge 12/52

Happy reading,