Blast off into space and get to know Mae Jemison--the first African-American woman to ever go to space--with this fascinating, nonfiction Level 3 Ready-to-Read, part of a new series of biographies about people "you should meet."

Meet Mae Jemison, the first African-American female astronaut Did you know before Mae was an astronaut, she went to medical school and joined the Peace Corps? But she never forgot her childhood dream to travel to outer space. So in 1985 she applied to NASA's astronaut training program. On September 12, 1992, Mae flew into space with six other astronauts aboard...

Pirouette across the stage and get to know Misty Copeland--the first African-American woman to become a principal ballerina with the American Ballet Theater--in this fascinating, nonfiction Level 3 Ready-to-Read, part of a new series of biographies about people "you should meet."

Misty Copeland had always dreamed of becoming a dancer, but she had many obstacles to overcome before she could reach her dream. Although she was always challenged by the things that set her apart from other dancers, with a lot of hard work, dedication, and exceptional talent, Misty has become one of the most...

Sprint around the track and get to know Jesse Owens in this fascinating, nonfiction Level 3 Ready-to-Read, part of a new series of biographies about people "you should meet."

Meet Jesse Owens, an African American runner who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin What made his achievement even more memorable was that Adolph Hitler expected the Olympic Games to be a German showcase. In fact, he criticized the United States for even including black athletes on its Olympic roster. According to many reports, after Owens won his fourth gold medal, Hitler stormed out of the...

Get to know the father of modern surfing in this fascinating, nonfiction Level 3 Ready-to-Read, part of a new series of biographies about people "you should meet."

Meet Duke Kahanamoku, three-time Olympic gold medalist and the father of modern surfing. Duke gained international fame for participating in four Olympics and won five medals in total. Fans began calling Duke "the human fish." Wherever he went, Duke would demonstrate his surfing skills and in 1915, Duke introduced board surfing to Australia. Ten years later, he found another use for a surfboard--as a lifesaving device--using it...

Get to know the woman who made many of NASA's early missions possible in this fascinating, nonfiction Level 3 Ready-to-Read, part of a series of biographies about people "you should meet "

Meet Katherine Johnson, a brilliant mathematician who worked at NASA in the early 1950s until retiring in 1986. Katherine's unparalleled calculations (done by hand) helped plan the trajectories for NASA's Mercury and Apollo missions (including the Apollo 11 moon landing). She is said to be one of the greatest American minds of all time.

A special section at the back of the book includes extras on...