Dee O'Hara : Astronauts' Nurse (1965)

Strangely enough this is a very unusual book. How many do you know of for children that were about women in the U.S. Space program? I only know of one or two others so I was very excited to find this.

Dee O'Hara : Astronauts' Nurse. Virginia B. McDonnell. New York : Thomas Nelson & Sons. (126 p.) 1965.

Dee O'Hara

The text tells a simple but compelling story of a Space Hero that I had never heard of. She broke barriers, and like Hidden Figures, her history has not been brought forward.

O'Hara participated in every launch in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs. After Skylab, she was also invited to participate in the Apollo-Soyuz Test Program (ASTP) and the first shuttle flight in 1983.

I hope you enjoyed learning something new.

Is There Water in the Sea of Rains? (1982)

 Is There Water in the Sea of Rains? A. Tomlin. Malysh, Moscow. 26 p. 1982. Softcover

A very nice painted space book from Russia.  It seem to be about a fantasy trip to the Moon to explore what it is actually like.  The painting are amazing and since we are experiencing a lot of rain this time of year I liked posting a book about the Sea of Rains.

 The multicolored Moon surface reminds me of Alan Bean's painting of the Moon surface. He said when he was there that it is really much more than pure black and white.

Alan Bean's Gallery

 I am also struck by the size of their imaginary lander, a sort of Cadillac moon vehicle.

Space Puzzles: Curious Questions and Answers About the Solar System (1971)

A rather different space book today,  It is mostly text outlining (and teaching about) spaceflight and the solar system. Martin Gardner was famous for his puzzle column in Scientific American but I was unaware of his children's books.

Space Puzzles: Curious Questions and Answers About the Solar System, Martin Gardner. Illustrated by Ted Schroeder. New York : Simon and Schuster. (95 pp.) 1971 24 cm. 

So I will share a few of the 41 questions posed in the book.

 For this last question I will share the answer but I am also astonished by the violent illustration in a children's book. How many possible space careers did it end?

Science Leads The Way! (1959)

Not much "space" content in here but a wonderful piece of nostalgia and a record of the space race drive to educate children. A.C. Gilbert made "scientific" toys, which meant chemistry sets, telescopes, erector sets, etc.  This was a promotional comic book advertising their products.

Science Leads The Way. New Haven, CT: A.C. Gilbert Co. 26 p. softcover, 18 cm. 1959
Production seems to have been handled by the ACG Comics company. The artist is ACG stalwart John Rosenberger.

 All of a sudden, I'm awake!

 A rare advertisement for women in science

You've helped to demonstrate the importance of science as a strong, living force in today's world.