Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13

The bold story of Katherine Johnson, an African-American mathematician who worked for NASA during the space race and was depicted in the film Hidden Figures.

As a child, Katherine Johnson loved to count. She counted the steps on the road, the number of stars in the sky, the number of dishes and spoons she washed in the kitchen sink. Boundless, curious, and excited by calculations, young Katherine longed to know as much as she could about math, about the universe. From Katherine’s early beginnings as a gifted student to her heroic accomplishments as a prominent mathematician at NASA, this is the story of a ground-breaking American icon who not only calculated the course of moon landings but, in turn, saved lives.

Helaine Becker is the author of many books for children and young readers, including A Porcupine in a Pine Tree, Dashing Through the Snow, Worms for Breakfast, and How to Survive Absolutely Anything

Dow Phumiruk is the illustrator of Maya Lin: Artist-Architect of Light and Lines. She is general pediatrician with a passion for art. She lives in Colorado with her husband and three girls. When she is not teaching medical students or drawing, she can be found hiking on the trails near her home.