GUEST BLOGGER SUZANNE SLADE
Moon or bust!
Our moon is amazing. For centuries, curious earthlings longed to visit the gorgeous moon. We finally reached that dusty, mysterious land in 1969. But it wasn’t easy!
Your students will discover 12 women who helped accomplish the first moon landing in the picture book, WOMEN ON A MISSION: THE REMARKABLE HEROES WHO PUT MEN ON THE MOON (Booklist Starred review).
Activity 1 – Engage and read
Ask students if they know how many astronauts have walked on the moon. [Answer: 12. (For additional enrichment, check out the picture book DARING DOZEN: THE TWELVE WHO WALKED ON THE MOON)]
Discuss why it took many people, or teamwork, to accomplish that goal.
Watch the WOMEN ON A MISSION Book Trailer to see an overview of several women who worked on the moon landing missions.
Read WOMEN ON A MISSION to learn more about twelve women in various STEM fields who helped put astronauts on the moon.
Activity 2 – Reflect and write
Thousands of women worked on the Apollo moon missions. The author decided to write about twelve women in her book. As part of the author’s research, she interviewed three of the women (most of the women were no longer living.)
Discuss as a class:
From Women on a Mission: The Remarkable Heroes Who Put Men on the Moon by Suzanne Slade, illustrated by Molly Magnell (Charlesbridge, 2025)
- Why do you think the author chose to write about twelve women? [Hint: How many astronauts visited the moon?]
- What kinds of challenges did these women face in their work?
- How did they overcome some of these problems?
Ask students to write their thoughts on the following questions:
- Which woman in the book would you most like to meet?
- Why would you like to meet her?
- What questions would you ask her?
Activity 3 – Digging deeper with personal reflection
Ask students to write their thoughts on the following questions (you may discuss aloud before the writing exercise):
- If you worked on a future mission to the moon, what job would you like to do?
- Why?
- How could you start preparing for that job now?
For more enriching activities, check out the WOMEN ON A MISSION ACTIVITY GUIDE.
Watch the author discuss the creation of WOMEN ON A MISSION.
Featured image credit: Image provided by Suzanne Slade
Suzanne Slade is the Sibert Honor author of over 200 children’s books. As a mechanical engineer who worked on rockets, she often writes about space and women in STEM. Her newest book, WOMEN ON A MISSION; THE REMARKABLE HEROES WHO PUT MEN ON THE MOON released fall 2025.
Other recent titles include: SHINING STAR: VERA RUBIN DISCOVERS DARK MATTER, UNLOCKING THE UNIVERSE, A COMPUTER CALLED KATHERINE: HOW KATHERINE JOHNSON HELPED PUT AMERICA ON THE MOON (NSTA Best STEM Book), THE UNIVERSE AND YOU, DARING DOZEN, BLASTOFF!: HOW MARY SHERMAN MORGAN FUELED AMERICA INTO SPACE, COUNTDOWN: 2979 DAYS TO THE MOON, and ASTRONAUT ANNIE (Watch an astronaut Read on the Space Station).
Find more fun, free space resources on Suzanne’s website.
- Website: suzanneslade.com
- Twitter/X: @AuthorSSlade
- Instagram: @authorsslade
- Facebook: Suzanne Buckingham Slade
- Publisher Twitter: @Charlesbridge
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