Christa McAuliffe A Space Biography

Children's Literature - Carolyn Mott Ford

The shocking moment when onlookers and television viewers watched as the space shuttle Challenger exploded seventy-three seconds after launch is described in the first chapter of this book, and additional details of the disaster and investigation are included in a subsequent chapter. The body of the book, part of the "Countdown to Space" series, is devoted to the life story of schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe who was chosen as the first citizen passenger in the space program. Sharon Christa Corrigan was born in 1948 and as a young child and teenager was active in her school and community. In 1970, after graduating from college, she married Steve McAuliffe and began teaching. She continued to teach after the birth of their two children and in 1982 started working at Concord High School in Concord, New Hampshire. A popular and admired teacher, she created a course focusing on ordinary people in American history. At that time she had no idea that she would be chosen, as an ordinary American, to do the extraordinary. Photos of McAuliffe training for the launch are included along with childhood and family pictures.

School Library Journal

Gr 4-6-An accurate, well-researched, but somewhat dry biography. While Jeffrey covers all of the pertinent details of McAuliffe's life, the writing is bland and unengaging. The author fails to point out any negative aspects of her subject's character, making her seem almost superhuman. Despite these flaws, the book emphasizes the importance of teaching and the impact teachers can have on their students' lives and presents a good deal of information on the space program. Many quotes, all of which are cited, appear throughout the text along with adequate black-and-white and full-color photographs. For a more developed and interesting biography, try Charlene Billings's Christa McAuliffe (Enslow, 1986; o.p.).-Esther C. Ball, Carver Elementary School, Newport News, VA