Who Was Katherine Johnson
By (Author) Shelia P. Moses
By (author) Who HQ
Illustrated by Dede Putra
Penguin Putnam Inc
Penguin Workshop
18th November 2025
21st October 2025
United States
Children
Non Fiction
Childrens / Teenage general interest: Girls and women
Childrens / Teenage general interest: Science and technology
Paperback
112
Width 135mm, Height 194mm, Spine 6mm
134g
Read all about how a young Black girl who loved numbers grew into a brilliant mathematician who helped land the first person on the moon in this inspiring addition to the Who Was series.
From a very young age,Katherine Johnson counted everythingthe number of dirty dishes she'd washed, the steps she walked to church, and even the number of leaves on the trees. By 1928, she was so intelligent and skilled at math that she was able to skip several grades and start high school at age ten! And while Katherine had to deal with racism, segregation, and prejudice throughout her life, she did not let this hold her back from becoming a mathematician.
In 1953, she started working as a "human computer" at America's space agency, now known as NASA. Katherine calculated complex equations by hand, and these calculations helped astronauts travel safely into space. She was a part of many important missions, including the Apollo 11 mission that put the first person on the moon.
Katherine Johnson broke barriers and became a trailblazer for women and people of color in the fields of math and science, and her story in this illustrated biography shows young readers that with hard work and determination, anyone can reach for the stars!
Shelia P. Moses (she/her) is a poet, award-winning author, playwright, and producer. She has written severalbooks for young readers, including The Legend of Buddy Bush; I, Dred Scott: A Fictional Slave Narrative Based on the Life and Legal Precedent of Dred Scott; The Baptism; and Who Is Stacey Abrams She lives in Atlanta, Georgia.