The Spacesuit

June 7, 2019

K-Gr 3-Eleanor "Ellie" Foraker loved to design and sew, so she followed her passion and became a notably creative and adept seamstress. One day, an engineer mentioned that the company she worked for wanted to enter a competition to design a spacesuit. He invited Ellie and some other seamstresses to team up with engineers to submit a design. Together, they developed a soft spacesuit with 21 layers of cloth intended to protect astronauts and give them freedom of movement. After correcting a small glitch in the form of a broken zipper, Ellie's company won the competition. This book features a simple, annotated narrative and bright, realistic pictures. The narrative tension is very mild and the team's success is never in doubt, so the story is less than thrilling. On the other hand, the book does fill one gap in the history of women's contributions to the professional workforce and the space program in particular. Though it overstates Ellie's impact (she did not personally "change the world"), the book lends dignity to the idea that everyone's work matters. Some could argue that the book's chosen subtitle, "How One Seamstress Helped Put Man on the Moon," is frustratingly sexist, encouraging readers to believe that a woman's proper place in the space program is, well, in the sewing room. VERDICT A sweet but somewhat flawed effort to bring a few more women into the light of history.-Sheri Reda, Wilmette Public Library, IL

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Starred review from May 15, 2019
Who would have guessed from standard-issue histories of the space race that the spacesuits worn on the moon were largely the work of women employed by the manufacturer of Playtex bras and lines of baby wear? Here, in a profile that laudably focuses on her subject's unusual skills, dedicated work ethic, and uncommon attention to detail rather than her gender or family life, Donald takes Eleanor "Ellie" Foraker from childhood fascination with needle and thread to work at ILC Dover, then on to the team that created the safe, flexible A7L spacesuit--beating out firms of military designers and engineers to win a NASA competition. Though the author clearly attempts to steer clear of sexist language, she still leaves Foraker and her co-workers dubbed "seamstresses" throughout and "engineer" rather unfairly (all so designated presenting male here) defined in the glossary as "someone who designs and makes things." Still, her descriptions of the suit's concepts and construction are clear and specific enough to give readers a real appreciation for the technical challenges that were faced and solved. Landy gives the figures in her cleanly drawn illustrations individual features along with period hair and clothing, varying skin tones so that though most are white, at least two are women of color. An outstanding contribution to the recent spate of reminders that women too helped send men to the moon. (Informational picture book. 7-9)

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