What do you think?
Rate this book
The Astronaut With a Song for the Stars: The Story of Dr. Ellen Ochoa
If you have a mission, a dream to explore, but no one like you has achieved it before... Meet Dr. Ellen Ochoa-a determined space pioneer with a stellar symphony of talents. Growing up in a family of immigrants, Ellen dreamed of becoming a professional flutist, but all of that changed when she discovered engineering in college. Though she was told that field of study wasn't for girls, the bright young scientist refused to give up-ultimately becoming a NASA astronaut who shattered barriers and rocketed to success! The Astronaut With a Song for the The Story of Dr. Ellen Ochoa is the fourth book in a riveting educational series about the inspiring lives of amazing scientists. In addition to the illustrated rhyming tale, you'll find a complete biography, fun facts, a colorful timeline of events, and even a note from Dr. Ochoa herself!
40 pages, Hardcover
Published September 24, 2019
About the author
Julia Finley Mosca
7 books28 followersJulia Finley Mosca is a copywriter and former journalist who spent more than a decade in Hollywood crafting messages for money. After working with such recognizable brands as Entertainment Tonight, Yahoo!, American Greetings, and JibJab, she landed her most rewarding job yet―mom to one ferociously curious and spunky little girl. The Amazing Scientists series marks Mosca’s debut into the magical world of children’s books.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
October 3, 2019
The Astronaut with a Song for the Stars: The Story of Dr. Ellen Ochoa is a children's picture book written by Julia Finley Mosca and illustrated by Daniel Rieley. It is a biographical picture book of Ellen Ochoa – an astronaut.
Mid-September to Mid-October, at least in my part of the world is Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month, which I plan to read one children's book, particularly a biography, which pertains to the subject everyday this month. Therefore, I thought that this book would be apropos for today.
Ellen O. Ochoa is a Hispanic-American engineer, former astronaut and former Director of the Johnson Space Center. Ochoa became director of the center upon the retirement of the previous director, Michael Coats, on December 31, 2012. In 1993 Ochoa became the first Hispanic woman to go to space when she served on a nine-day mission aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery.
Mosca's text is rather simplistic, straightforward, informative, and lyrical. With simple rhymes, Mosca tells the story about Ochoa as she meanders through racism, sexism, and other hardships for her dream of being an astronaut. Additional pages of facts and tidbits, biographical information, and timeline of major events could be found in the backmatter. Rieley's illustrations have a cartoon feel to them, giving them a lighthearted quality, which complements the lyrical narrative rather well.
The premise of the book is rather straightforward. It is a delightful, albeit cursory, biography of Ochoa’s life as she overcame many struggles to become the first Latina in space. It is a wonderful book about hard work, perseverance, and to follow one's dreams.
All in all, The Astronaut with a Song for the Stars: The Story of Dr. Ellen Ochoa is a wonderful biographical picture book about Ellen Ochoa – the first Latina in space.
Mid-September to Mid-October, at least in my part of the world is Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month, which I plan to read one children's book, particularly a biography, which pertains to the subject everyday this month. Therefore, I thought that this book would be apropos for today.
Ellen O. Ochoa is a Hispanic-American engineer, former astronaut and former Director of the Johnson Space Center. Ochoa became director of the center upon the retirement of the previous director, Michael Coats, on December 31, 2012. In 1993 Ochoa became the first Hispanic woman to go to space when she served on a nine-day mission aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery.
Mosca's text is rather simplistic, straightforward, informative, and lyrical. With simple rhymes, Mosca tells the story about Ochoa as she meanders through racism, sexism, and other hardships for her dream of being an astronaut. Additional pages of facts and tidbits, biographical information, and timeline of major events could be found in the backmatter. Rieley's illustrations have a cartoon feel to them, giving them a lighthearted quality, which complements the lyrical narrative rather well.
The premise of the book is rather straightforward. It is a delightful, albeit cursory, biography of Ochoa’s life as she overcame many struggles to become the first Latina in space. It is a wonderful book about hard work, perseverance, and to follow one's dreams.
All in all, The Astronaut with a Song for the Stars: The Story of Dr. Ellen Ochoa is a wonderful biographical picture book about Ellen Ochoa – the first Latina in space.
October 12, 2021
Fantastic read aloud detailing the struggle Ellen Ochoa faced in pursuit of becoming the first Latina American in Space. Focus on STEAM can be utilized in the classroom setting.
December 27, 2021
Excellent picture book with extra end matter about finding your future and succeeding in many different areas.
September 30, 2019
My daughter absolutely loves this book. The rhyming helps to keep her interested and helps kids learn in a fun way. Julia Finley Mosca never fails to tell these stories in an engaging and age appropriate way. Well done!
March 24, 2022
"The Astronaut with a Song for the Stars" by Julia Finley uses poetry to describe the life of Dr. Ellen Ochoa, the first Latina to go to space. This is a picture book that serves as a great read aloud for any grade level in elementary school. Students could also read it individually, and in that case, I think it is most fitting for (upper) 1st to 3rd grade. This book has several wonderful messages to share with children. One of the major themes of the book is that getting an education is important and can help you succeed in reaching your dreams. It is essential that we help students realize this from a young age so that they are motivated to put their best efforts into their schooling and so that they have more opportunities in the future. This book is also great for children because it teaches resilience. Dr. Ellen Ochoa faced many challenges in the book, especially related to her gender and ethnicity, however she kept trying to achieve her dreams. She was even rejected by NASA the first time she applied for space school, but instead of giving up, Dr. Ochoa worked harder and applied again. Lastly, this book would be good to build student interest in science as well as the arts. Dr. Ochoa played the flute and at one point dreamed of becoming a professional musician. Even though her dream career changed as she got older, she didn’t stop playing the flute, and as a result, was able to play the instrument in outer space. Dr. Ochoa lived two dreams at once and it is good for students to realize that they can pursue more than one passion.
I would use this book in the classroom to teach students how to read poetry with rhythm as well as teach them how to chunk word phrases while reading. I could do this using Reader’s Theater to help students practice rhythm and chunking multiple times. This book could also be used to introduce a unit about space in order to build interest in the topic and help students picture themselves as astronauts or scientists. Lastly, I could use this book to teach students about influential women and/or latinos in history. It could be used as a read aloud and discussion during a morning meeting, or it could even serve as a resource in a Social Studies unit relating to history or culture.
This story resonates with me because I was able to relate to a particular experience that Dr. Ellen Ochoa’s family had. One line from the book says, “Her father would tell her, ‘When I was in school, people thought that Latinos would dirty the pool.’” This reminds of a time my family went swimming and we were discriminated against by a group of teenagers. They avoided us, made racial comments about Mexicans when they thought we couldn’t hear, and approached my parents to make a racist comment. That was the first time I witnessed/experienced such blatant discrimination, and it has stuck with me ever since. Those types of experiences live as vivid memories in peoples’ minds, and I am sure that many of the students in the classroom have, unfortunately, had encounters such as these. I like that this is addressed in the book because Dr. Ellen Ochoa can serve as a role model who has successfully overcome these experiences or feelings about herself. Her reaction was to not let comments or behaviors like these stop her from reaching her dreams, but to ignore them instead and even let them motivate her to achieve higher at times.
I would use this book in the classroom to teach students how to read poetry with rhythm as well as teach them how to chunk word phrases while reading. I could do this using Reader’s Theater to help students practice rhythm and chunking multiple times. This book could also be used to introduce a unit about space in order to build interest in the topic and help students picture themselves as astronauts or scientists. Lastly, I could use this book to teach students about influential women and/or latinos in history. It could be used as a read aloud and discussion during a morning meeting, or it could even serve as a resource in a Social Studies unit relating to history or culture.
This story resonates with me because I was able to relate to a particular experience that Dr. Ellen Ochoa’s family had. One line from the book says, “Her father would tell her, ‘When I was in school, people thought that Latinos would dirty the pool.’” This reminds of a time my family went swimming and we were discriminated against by a group of teenagers. They avoided us, made racial comments about Mexicans when they thought we couldn’t hear, and approached my parents to make a racist comment. That was the first time I witnessed/experienced such blatant discrimination, and it has stuck with me ever since. Those types of experiences live as vivid memories in peoples’ minds, and I am sure that many of the students in the classroom have, unfortunately, had encounters such as these. I like that this is addressed in the book because Dr. Ellen Ochoa can serve as a role model who has successfully overcome these experiences or feelings about herself. Her reaction was to not let comments or behaviors like these stop her from reaching her dreams, but to ignore them instead and even let them motivate her to achieve higher at times.
September 15, 2021
Julia Finely Mosca’s The Astronaut with a Song for the Stars shares the story of Dr. Ellen Ochoa’s journey to becoming a female astronaut of color. This book can serve as a multifaceted mentor text that exemplifies ABAB rhyme, unique text features (including artistic use of capitalization and punctuation), and a biographical style of writing. Additionally, it serves as an inspirational story for children about women of color in science and the power of perseverance and dedication.
October 2, 2019
Our family loves the other three earlier Julia Finley Mosca books so I expected to love this one as well. I was NOT disappointed. This book introduces readers to Dr Ellen Ochoa, the first female Hispanic astronaut (also the first Latina director of the Johnson Space Center). One thing I especially love about Mosca's books is the rhyme. It makes it fun to read to my not-yet-a-reader daughter but my older daughters love reading it as well. Raising three daughters, books like this one are important because they show my girls that they can be engineers, they can be musicians, they can be anything.
Read
May 24, 2019Another one I'm not sure on. The not like other girls opening really put me off, wondering how other people feel about if the rhyming works or trivializes the racism and sexism. Awesome lady, but just don't feel like this book does her justice.
December 7, 2019
I was sent an advance copy of this book for review. It has cute illustrations and provides a great message about the importance of persistence in overcoming challenges. The book is cleverly written in a rhyming scheme, and I think this would make an excellent read-aloud for bedtime or in classrooms. The extra information at the back of the book includes notes from an interview between the author and Dr. Ochoa, a timeline of Dr. Ochoa's life, and real photos and a short biography in the About section. Overall a really nice piece of children's literature!
November 17, 2021
I've read all the other books in this series and this one is my favorite. I think it's the flute.
I still REALLY wish these books didn't feel the need to rhyme. Rhyming is a mistake rookie picture book authors make too often and it doesn't add anything here. At least the rhymes aren't awful and in this case it doesn't take too much away, but the sing songey rhymes are unnecessary and get old fast.
Once you get past that, the content is good and interesting and I'm glad this is a story being shared.
I still REALLY wish these books didn't feel the need to rhyme. Rhyming is a mistake rookie picture book authors make too often and it doesn't add anything here. At least the rhymes aren't awful and in this case it doesn't take too much away, but the sing songey rhymes are unnecessary and get old fast.
Once you get past that, the content is good and interesting and I'm glad this is a story being shared.
March 20, 2021
I had high hopes for this book but was ultimately disappointed. The sing-song rhyming text didn't match the content very well and reduced its effectiveness as a picture book for older readers. At the same time, the vocabulary put it out of reach for many younger readers. The back matter did a much better job of honoring and highlighting the accomplishments of Dr. Ellen Ochoa than the story itself.
May 1, 2020
This is a great book! I think books about lesser known famous people and things in history are great! We all know about Neil Armstrong, but not much about other famous astronauts. This story is about Dr. Ellen Ochoa. She was a strong latina woman who also enjoyed playing the flute. This book has great illustrations and fun inviting text. This book also has a ryhming flowing tone.
October 5, 2023
A short biography covering the life and accomplishments of Dr. Ellen Ochoa, the first Latina astronaut in space. Dr. Ochoa was also the first Latina appointed as director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston. These are two of her many achievements in her amazing career as an astronaut. An informative read.
June 6, 2020
The first Latina in space and the first Latin-American director at NASA.
Ellen Ochoa excelled in arts AND science and pursued her interests even when discouraged because "engineering is for boys".
Rhyming text.
Ellen Ochoa excelled in arts AND science and pursued her interests even when discouraged because "engineering is for boys".
Rhyming text.
August 19, 2020
3.5 stars. A great biography for all ages, told in rhyme and with beautiful illustrations. I'm glad I added this book to my library collection, I think my patrons will enjoy learning about Dr. Ellen Ochoa.
September 20, 2020
This is an encouraging book about the life of Ellen Ochoa. It shows her chasing after dreams even if she had setbacks. The rhyming can help keep the kids interested and this story can teach kids to never give up on their dreams.
December 19, 2020
I love this series of books. I will say that I think this one felt less rhyming and sing-songy when I read it to myself, but I guess we'll see when I read it out loud to my students. I hope Mosca continues to write these books about amazing female scientists that the world should know about.
December 29, 2020
The actual text is simple rhyme, and some of it is a little forced, but the end matter is extremely informative with tremendous detail and pictures. I learned a lot about Dr. Ochoa, as well as about discriminatory treatment of Latinx people. Overall, this is a good treatment of an admirable scientist which works on many levels from simple to complex.
April 13, 2024
Dr. Ellen Ochoa: “Always persevere and take things one step at a time. Sometimes it can be daunting to think about going after a big goal, but if you break it down step by step, you’ll often find it’s a lot more doable.”
Rhyming text (not my style preference for this text).
Rhyming text (not my style preference for this text).
February 2, 2021
Another great addition to the author’s series! Can’t wait to share with my younger students!
April 24, 2023
A picture book biography told in a rhyming format. Contains back matter. Highly recommended.
June 18, 2023
Always shocks me when I find an astronaut 👩🚀 that lives in Idaho.
September 14, 2023
Using rhymes for a nonfiction book doesn't really work, but it was still a good story and I learned a lot about Ellen Ochoa.
Read
October 2, 2023I love picture book biographies. I really dislike when they are written in completely unnecessary rhyme. This story could have been beautifully told in prose.
Read
December 2, 2019This book is about Ellen Ochoa who dreamed of becoming a professional flutist. This all changed when she went to college and discovered engineering. She was told that this field of study was not for girls, but Ochoa refused to give up. Ultimately following her dreams, she became a NASA astronaut who shattered barriers and changed the world. I really enjoyed this book because it told the story of a family of immigrant and a young girl who was told she could not be a scientist because of her gender. She did not give up and she broke these barriers that once held her back, now shot her forward. I also like that this book is part of a riveting educational series about the lives of other amazing scientists. I would pair this book with "The Girl Who Thought in Pictures: The Story of Dr. Temple Grandin." This is written by the same author. I would use this book to show another example of a woman scientist who broke barriers and is now recognized as an amazing scientist. I would connect this book to the social justice issue, gender. I would use this text to show students how gender stood as a blockage in Ellen Ochoa's future, but she did not let it stop her and insisted to pursuing her dreams and becoming an astronaut.
August 10, 2021
The text is told in rhyme, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. The strength of the book is the back matter, although children may not persist in reading it.
Want to read
March 31, 2021Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews