Astronaut Annie

By (author) Slade, Suzanne; By (author) Slade Suzanne; Illustrated by Tadgell Nicole
Short description/annotation
Annie’s joyful exuberance and her family’s whole-hearted support leave no doubt that her dream is within her grasp. This delightful story—with backmatter about women astronauts—encourages young readers to pursue their dreams and reach for the stars.
Description
Annie is preparing for Career Day at school and is trying to follow her teacher''s directive to keep her career choice a secret. Every evening she works on her costume while her family asks for hints. Grandpop gives her a camera in the hope that she will aspire to be a journalist like him. Grandma tells her about her days winning awards for her desserts and lets Annie borrow her mixing bowl and oven mitts. Dad is convinced that she''ll wants to be a mountain climber like him; and when Mum asks for a hint, she gives Annie some high-top trainers hoping Annie will be a basketball player like she is. Annie does not commit to any of her family members'' career choices, but in the end shows that she can blend something from everyone and make it her own. Readers will have no doubt that Annie is well equipped to follow her dream to travel into space. The illustration of her room shows planets hanging from the ceiling, stars and moons on her bedspread and tissue box, space posters on the walls and a telescope for stargazing. Tadgell''s watercolour illustrations are child-friendly and complementary to Slade''s concise storytelling. Background information gives a short biography of four female astronauts, information about the phases of the moon and a list of sources to learn more.
Biographical note
Suzanne Slade is the author of 100 books for children, including many titles on science topics. Suzanne holds a Mechanical Engineering degree, and has worked on Delta IV rockets and car braking systems before beginning her writing career. She lives in a suburb of Chicago with her husband and two children. NICOLE TADGELL''S illustrations have been featured in The Encyclopedia of Writing and Illustrating Children''s Books and in numerous exhibitions. She has taught workshops and classes at the Worcester Art Museum, the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, and at Society of Children''s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) conferences. Nicole also lectures at New England schools and colleges and demonstrates the picture book process in classrooms, libraries, and bookstores. Her award-winning children''s books include Real Sisters Pretend, First Peas to the Table, In the Garden with Dr. Carver, Lucky Beans, and Fatuma''s New Cloth.