If you have read the book or seen the movie book HIDDEN FIGURES, you know who Katherine Johnson is and what she was able to achieve for NASA and history. With ONE STEP FURTHER we get not only her work but what it was like for her daughters to be a part of their mother’s passion and history-making path.
As Black History Month draws to a close, I am more than thrilled to be able to not only showcase this beautiful book and amazing woman but also be part of a blog tour and giveaway in her honor. Social Justice continues to be a relevant topic and the timing of Katherine’s story that highlights her demand for equality could not come at a better time. For parents, educators, and kids, the back of the book gives historical notes and context on the topic of racial segregation in the United States in addition to a lengthier recap of Katherine’s life.
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!
In Praise of One Step Further
“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
The Life of a Legend
This timeline was so informative to me! I was also very happy to see that Katherine briefly attended my HSBU Bennett College as well!
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| Katherine’s Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority pin |
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| (L to R) Unidentified man, Kathy, Katherine, Joylette, Katherine’s father Joshua, Connie, Unidentified man in 1961 |
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| Katherine’s Certificate of Recognition declaring June 19, 2019 as Katherine G. Johnson Day in Virginia |
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Blog Tour Schedule:
February 22nd – Multicultural Children’s Book Day Blog
February 23rd – Here Wee Read
February 24th – Make a Way Blog
February 25th – BookHounds
February 26th – Frantic Mommy
This inspirational picture book reveals what it 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 timeline put the story into a 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.
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| Joylette (L), Kathy (R), Katherine (F) |
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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, the 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.
GIVEAWAY: Win a SIGNED Copy!
- One (1) winner will receive a hardcover copy of One Step Further signed by Katherine Johnson’s daughters and co-authors Joylette Hylick and Katherine Moore!
- Check out the other tour stops for more chances to win
- US/Can only
- Ends 3/7 at 11:59 pm ET
a Rafflecopter giveaway
About Deedee Cummings
As a therapist, attorney, author, and CEO of Make A Way Media, Deedee Cummings has a passion for making the world a better place.
All 16 of Cummings’ diverse picture, poetry, and workbooks for kids reflect her professional knowledge and love of life. Colorful and vibrant, her children’s books are not only fun for kids and adults to read, they also work to teach coping skills, reinforce the universal message of love, encourage mindfulness, and facilitate inclusion for all.
Cummings has spent more than two decades working within the family therapy and support field and much of her writing shares her experiences of working with kids in therapeutic foster care. As a result, her catalogs of published books for kids are filled with positive, hopeful messages. Using therapeutic techniques in her stories to teach coping skills, Cummings also strives to lessen the stigma that some people feel when it comes to receiving mental health assistance.
