You Choose Space: Space Race

Description

You are living in a time of change and progress. World War II is over but the Cold War between the United States and its former ally the Soviet Union is on. Each country begins pouring resources into a battle for the most advanced space exploration technology. You are about to become a part of this exciting competition. Will you Help the United States get into space by working as an engineer Be among the first women to be tested for the US space program Be a cosmonaut with a chance to travel into space for the Soviet Union Everything in this book happened to real people. And YOU CHOOSE what you do next. The choices you make either lead you and the project to success - or to failure.

Rebecca Stefoff has published many books for young readers about science, technology, and engineering. For Marshall Cavendish/Benchmark's Great Inventions series (2006-2003), she wrote six titles, including The Telephone, Microscopes and Telescopes, and Robots. She introduced fifth-grade readers to the scientific method in the six-volume series Is It Science? (Cavendish Square, 2014), which includes, Astrology and Astronomy, Alchemy and Chemistry, and Magic and Medicine. Her six volume series Great Engineering, for second- and third-grade readers, is forthcoming from Cavendish Square and has books on building bridges, dams, skyscrapers, and more. Stefoffis especially happy to be writing about the building of the Panama Canal for the Engineering Wonders series because she has seen the canal firsthand. While celebrating her parents' fiftieth wedding anniversary on a cruise ship, she passed through the canal and witnessed the extraordinary engineering marvels that are its locks. She has been interested in the Panama Canal (and other canals) ever since.

These titles aren't adventures per se but rather an engaging way to reach students hesitant about space science. Some of the "paths" simply end when that part of a mission concludes or the particular engineering problem is solved, while others continue to a final goal. Negative endings are possible, including being fired or getting space motion sickness. Some choices introduce moral dilemmas, while others simply involve choosing among relatively equal possibilities. . . .The first-person perspective is an effective means of getting readers passionate about space. No doubt these will inspire a few future engineers and astronauts.-- "School Library Journal"