Jr. Book Club: Almost Astronauts

Ages 7–11: When NASA was created in 1958, it expected potential astronauts to be expert pilots who were courageous, intelligent, resistant to stress, in top physical shape—and men. However, well-known astronauts like John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, and Buzz Aldrin were not the only pioneers of the early space age. In Tanya Lee Stone’s Almost Astronauts, meet the Mercury 13—Mary “Wally” Funk, Jerrie Cobb, Janey Hart, and the ten other women who dreamed of spaceflight and fought against prejudice, jealousy, and some of the most powerful men in Washington D.C. to ensure that future young women would be able to take their place in the sky.