Dancing Through Space: Dr. Mae Jemison Soars to New Heights

The sky proves no limit in Lukidis’s encouraging biography of Black female astronaut Mae Jemison (b. 1956). Facing pages use mirroring prose to showcase the figure’s twin loves—science and dance—as she pursues each, first with youthful passion and then with adult discipline. Through the study of science, Jemison develops “courage” and her mind becomes “strong and sharp.” Meanwhile, dance offers lessons in “determination,” and shapes her body so that it’s “strong and muscular.” Undergraduate studies in chemical engineering (where Jemison is one of only a few women and there are “none who looked like her”) lead her to medical school. Early interest in space inspires her to apply to NASA’s highly competitive astronaut training program, and despite an initial setback, she soon “danced through space.” Mapped closely to text, Cloud’s unlined renderings picture the subject studying and dancing with satisfying emotion as an uncomplicated portrait of Jemison emerges. An author’s note and timeline conclude. Ages 4–8. (Apr.)