Chasing Space: Young Reader's Edition

Reviewed by: Amy McInerney - Falmouth Elementary School, Falmouth, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: January 9, 2018

Review

This young reader's edition of NASA astronaut’s Leland Melvin's memoir is an outstanding story of working determination, perseverance, and success. As a young boy growing up with teachers as parents in Virginia, Leland dreamt of growing up to be a tennis player. Later proving to be a stellar athlete on the football field, Melvin went on to play football in college and was eventually drafted by the Detroit Lions and then the Dallas Cowboys. When he was cut from the team, Leland returned to his studies and eventually went to work for NASA. After training extremely hard in the astronaut preparation program, Leland was sent to space numerous times. His experience in space, as well as his other life experiences, led him to play an integral role in NASA and in the NASA Education program. An inspiring memoir about a rare career, this will appeal to a variety of readers and will be extremely popular. This novel will be a perfect choice for book clubs and may even lend itself as a read-aloud. At its core, this is a story of resilience, hard work, and determination, yet it will also spark some readers' interest in STEM. Highly recommended for all libraries. Recommended as a Cream of the Crop choice.

Overall Book Score: excellent