Almost Astronauts (gnv64)

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream
by Tanya Lee Stone and Margaret A. Weitekamp
Candlewick | February 2009 | 144 Pages | ISBN-10: 0763645028 | PDF | 27 mb
http://www.amazon.com/Almost-Astronauts-Women-Dared-Dream/dp/0763645028

They had the right stuff. They defied the prejudices of the time. And they blazed a trail for generations of women to follow.
What does it take to be an astronaut? Excellence at flying, courage, intelligence, resistance to stress, top physical shape — any checklist would include these. But when America created NASA in 1958, there was another unspoken rule: you had to be a man. Here is the tale of thirteen women who proved that they were not only as tough as the toughest man but also brave enough to challenge the government. They were blocked by prejudice, jealousy, and the scrawled note of one of the most powerful men in Washington. But even though the Mercury 13 women did not make it into space, they did not lose, for their example empowered young women to take their place in the sky, piloting jets and commanding space capsules. ALMOST ASTRONAUTS is the story of thirteen true pioneers of the space age.

About the Author
Tanya Lee Stone is an award-winning author of books for kids and teens. Stone went to performing arts high school in New Haven, CT and went on to major in English at Oberlin College (and study Voice at Oberlin Conservatory). After graduation she moved to New York and became an editor. Stone was an editor for more than a dozen years and has a Masters Degree in Science Education. She teaches Writing for Children at Champlain College.
After moving to Vermont, Stone became a full-time writer and has published more than 90 books for young readers. She writes picture books, nonfiction, and Young Adult fiction. Her newest nonfiction books have garnered some major awards. Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream (Candlewick 09), received a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor, Jane Addams Honor, YALSA Nonfiction Finalist, Orbis Pictus Honor, and was awarded ALA's Sibert Medal for the best nonfiction book for young readers of 2010. The Good the Bad, and the Barbie won SCBWI's Golden Kite Award for the best nonfiction book of the year for 2011. Her Young Adult novel, A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl (Wendy Lamb/Random House) was an IRA Young Adult Choice, an ALA Quick Picks, an NYPL Book for the Teen Age, and SLJ Book of the Month.