Astronaut Annie

February 15, 2018
What does Annie want to be?As career day approaches, Annie wants to keep her job choice secret until her family sees her presentation at school. Readers will figure it out, however, through the title and clues Tadgell incorporates into the illustrations. Family members make guesses about her ambitions that are tied to their own passions, although her brother watches as she completes her costume in a bedroom with a Mae Jemison poster, starry decor, and a telescope. There's a celebratory mood at the culminating presentation, where Annie says she wants to "soar high through the air" like her basketball-playing mother, "explore faraway places" like her hiker dad, and "be brave and bold" like her baker grandmother (this feels forced, but oven mitts are part of her astronaut costume) so "the whole world will hear my exciting stories" like her reporter grandfather. Annie jumps off a chair to "BLAST OFF" in a small illustration superimposed on a larger picture depicting her floating in space with a reddish ground below. It's unclear if Annie imagines this scene or if it's her future-self exploring Mars, but either scenario fits the aspirational story. Backmatter provides further reading suggestions and information about the moon and four women astronauts, one of whom is Jemison. Annie and her family are all black.A solid, small step for diversifying STEM stories. (Picture book. 4-7)

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April 1, 2018

K-Gr 2-Annie is preparing for Career Day at school, and is trying to follow her teacher's directive to keep her career choice a secret. Every evening she works on her costume while her family asks for hints. Grandpop gives her a camera in hopes she will aspire to be a journalist like him. Grandma tells her about her days winning awards for her desserts and lets Annie borrow her mixing bowl and oven mitts. Dad is convinced that she'll wants to be a mountain climber like him; and when Mom asks for a hint, she gives Annie some high-top sneakers hoping Annie will be a basketball player like she is. Annie does not commit to any of her family members' career choices, but in the end shows that she can blend something from everyone and make it her own. Readers will have no doubt that Annie is well equipped to follow her dream to travel into space. The illustration of her room shows planets hanging from the ceiling, stars and moons on her bedspread and tissue box, space posters on the walls, and a telescope for stargazing. Tadgell's watercolor illustrations are kid-friendly and complementary to Slade's concise storytelling. Back matter gives a short biography of four female astronauts, information about the phases of the moon, and a list of sources to learn more. VERDICT Strong, succinct text with complementary illustrations make this a great purchase for school and public library collections.-Jennifer Steib Simmons, Anderson County Library, SC

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