My
Daddy Works at NASA
by Alli Westover
Illustrated by Brenton Packer
A
NASA scientist herself, Alli Westover has written a simple little
book, My Daddy Works at NASA, that tells what daddies--and
mommies--do at NASA. It shows doctors, engineers, seamstresses, fitness
trainers, scientists, computer scientists, and many of the technicians
and workers who are involved in training, preparing, and launching
a space mission from any of the NASA locations. Westover uses simple
language, placing only one sentence on a page.
Each NASA department mentioned is followed by an
appropriate illustration. Brenton Packer's computer-generated drawings
are cartoon-like, rendered in solid, bold colors. Some of them are
outright funny, like the one of the astronaut eating his meal in
space and the peas and carrots floating off his tray, or the picture
of the astronauts floating weightless in an airplane! Some are serious
but show the excitement of a mission launch or the grueling fitness
training in the gym. All of them are whimsical. The picture of the
doctor checking out an astronaut's heart has all of the things that
you would expect in a doctor's office: a sink, a picture of the
four food groups, a skeletal chart, canisters of cotton balls and
cotton swabs. Packer adds a canister with lollipops, too. The last
illustration in the book is heart-warming. It shows a tired astronaut
father and his child asleep after Daddy has read a book about space.
My Daddy Works at NASA spreads the jobs at
NASA among both genders, alternating what a daddy does with what
a mommy does. Scientists and mission control personnel are both
men and women. The physician and the fitness trainer, though, are
women. Some jobs, however, are still stereotypical. For example,
the seamstress and the food worker are female, while the person
who builds the computers and the pilot of the weightless-inducing
airplane are male. This may be less Westover's bias than it is an
accurate portrayal of the gender distribution currently at most
major companies, including NASA. Accuracy here helps children with
parents who already work at NASA to appropriately pick out their
parents' jobs. On the other hand, this also tells me women have
both come a long way and have a long way yet to go.
My Daddy Works at NASA is a good read for
young children. Boys and girls can realistically dream about one
day working at NASA, too, just like Alli Westover did.
|
The Book |
Baxter Press |
November 2005 |
Picture book |
1-888237-59-7 |
Children, non-fiction [Age Group: 3-8] |
Amazon |
Excerpt |
NOTE: |
The Reviewer |
Janie Franz |
Reviewed 2005 |
NOTE: Reviewer Janie
Franz is the author of Freelance Writing: It’s a Business, Stupid!, Relaxation
Techniques for Children, Relaxation Techniques for Adults; Co-author of The
Ultimate Wedding Reception Book and The Ultimate Wedding Ceremony Book. Coming
Soon: The Ultimate Wedding Workbook, Get Rich on Love, and Sacred Breath
(a sound recording of relaxation meditations). |
|