Reaching for the Moon

Narrator Heather Simms gives a captivating performance of Katherine Johnson's inspiring life story. At age 4, Katherine was helping her older brother with his schoolwork, and by age 18, she had graduated from college with degrees in mathematics and French. In describing her parents' struggles and sacrifices to educate all their children, Johnson describes the impact that racism, school segregation, and poverty had on her life. But she persevered, achieving her goal of being a research mathematician. Simms gives an upbeat voice to Johnson's triumphs as she proves herself to NASA engineers and becomes instrumental in the success of the first U.S. space flights. Johnson's passion for learning, her love for her family, and her pride in her remarkable professional accomplishments come through loud and clear in Simms's voice. S.C. � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine