Astronaut Annie

by Suzanne Slade, Nicole Tadgell (Illustrator)

Overview

Chosen for Read to Me Day by Appalachian Power Company

Brightly List: Best Children's Books of March 2018

Selected for the Red Tricycle Ultimate Summer Reading List!  http://redtri.com/summer-reading-list-amazon-kids-edition-tablet/slide/1

Annie’s joyful exuberance and her family’s whole-hearted support leave no doubt that her dream is within her grasp. 

Career Day is approaching, and Annie can’t wait to show her family what she’s planning to be when she grows up. But she must keep it a secret until Friday! Curious family members each ask Annie for a clue. Convinced that she’ll be a news reporter like he once was, Grandpop gives her his old camera and notebook to use for her presentation. Grandma is sure Annie wants to be a champion baker like her, so she offers a mixing bowl and oven mitts to Annie. Hopeful she'll become the mountain climber he aspired to be; Dad gives Annie an old backpack. Mom presents Annie with a pair of high-top sneakers to pursue Mom's favorite sport in high school - basketball.  

Grateful for each gift, Annie cleverly finds a way to use them all to create her Career Day costume. When the big day arrives, Annie finally reveals HER out-of-this-world dream to everyone.

This delightful story—with backmatter about women astronauts—encourages young readers to pursue their dreams and reach for the stars.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780884485742
Publisher:	Tilbury House Publishers
Publication date:	09/08/2020
Pages:	36
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 9.80(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Suzanne Slade is the author of 100 books for children, including many titles on science topics. Suzanne holds a Mechanical Engineering degree, and has worked on Delta IV rockets and car braking systems before beginning her writing career. She lives in a suburb of Chicago with her husband and two children.

Nicole Tadgell was born in Detroit, Michigan. A shy child whose family moved frequently, art was a fun escape for her. While studying studio art at Wheaton College, Nicole discovered children’s book illustration and knew it would be her path. Today she is the illustrator of over 30 books, many of them honored with awards. When she’s not drawing, Nicole visits schools and conducts lectures and workshops. She also practices tai chi and watches Doctor Who. Nicole lives in central Massachusetts.

Editorial Reviews

"the perfect book for any aspiring astro-lover of any age or gender"

Red Tricycle - Best Kids Books of 2018

04/01/2018
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

School Library Journal

2018-02-04
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 décor, 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)

Kirkus Reviews