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Hispanic Star: Ellen Ochoa
Read about the first Latina in space, Ellen Ochoa, one of the most groundbreaking, iconic Hispanic and Latinx heroes that have shaped our culture and the world, in this gripping biography written by Claudia Romo Edelman and Nathalie Alonso, with black-and-white illustrations by Manuel Gutierrez, perfect for fans of the Who Was and She Persisted series.
Meet Ellen Ochoa, once just a girl from Los Angeles, California. The granddaughter of Mexican immigrants, Ellen would pursue a career in physics at a young age, and go on to earn master’s and doctorate degrees in electrical engineering from Stanford University. In 1993, Ellen became the first Latina in space. As a retired astronaut, she’s served as director of the Johnson Space Center, become an advocate for women and minorities in STEM fields, and was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame.
Hispanic Star proudly celebrates Hispanic and Latinx heroes who have made remarkable contributions to American culture and have been an undeniable force in shaping its future. If you can see it, you can be it.
Meet Ellen Ochoa, once just a girl from Los Angeles, California. The granddaughter of Mexican immigrants, Ellen would pursue a career in physics at a young age, and go on to earn master’s and doctorate degrees in electrical engineering from Stanford University. In 1993, Ellen became the first Latina in space. As a retired astronaut, she’s served as director of the Johnson Space Center, become an advocate for women and minorities in STEM fields, and was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame.
Hispanic Star proudly celebrates Hispanic and Latinx heroes who have made remarkable contributions to American culture and have been an undeniable force in shaping its future. If you can see it, you can be it.
107 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 5, 2023
10 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 12, 2023
The Hispanic Star series for middle grade is a great inspiration for children, especially minority where the focus of this series is.
Ellen Ochoa is a wonderful inspiration, and addition to this series. During her career, she realized that minority children were asking for her appearance at school. Thus, proving the need for such biography series.
However, with this particular biography, the story of Ellen Ochoa feels a bit lost within the whole story which heavily focuses on the story of NASA.
In the first part of the book, there is very little about Ellen. It starts with the setting the time period of the Space Race between Russia and US in the second half of the 20th century. With Ellen’s Mexican heritage, it then talks about Mexican American War and how that resulted in changing the borders between the two countries. Then, comes the NASA story and how they started opening doors for women. Ellen goes to one university, then another, and graduates with PhD. It doesn’t bring any struggles to show children what it takes to achieve such degree.
In the second half of the book, there is a better balance between her story and NASA as it becomes her goal to join them. It includes her training to become an astronaut, her missions to space, and her being the director of Johnson Space Center.
The children who are into science can learn a lot from this book. I’m just not sure about Ellen’s story. Her struggles, even if mentioned in some way, don’t come through in this story. In order to inspire one with another’s story you need to feel what it took to achieve great things.
The storytelling is more of listing facts and explaining terms, rather than being a story of an incredibly inspiring woman. I wished we learned a bit about her childhood. Her story introduces her parents, but then it jumps to Ellen’s time at university, which is very brief. Then, her first work at laboratory in New Mexico, following work for NASA. It feels more of a technical storytelling.
Source: ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Ellen Ochoa is a wonderful inspiration, and addition to this series. During her career, she realized that minority children were asking for her appearance at school. Thus, proving the need for such biography series.
However, with this particular biography, the story of Ellen Ochoa feels a bit lost within the whole story which heavily focuses on the story of NASA.
In the first part of the book, there is very little about Ellen. It starts with the setting the time period of the Space Race between Russia and US in the second half of the 20th century. With Ellen’s Mexican heritage, it then talks about Mexican American War and how that resulted in changing the borders between the two countries. Then, comes the NASA story and how they started opening doors for women. Ellen goes to one university, then another, and graduates with PhD. It doesn’t bring any struggles to show children what it takes to achieve such degree.
In the second half of the book, there is a better balance between her story and NASA as it becomes her goal to join them. It includes her training to become an astronaut, her missions to space, and her being the director of Johnson Space Center.
The children who are into science can learn a lot from this book. I’m just not sure about Ellen’s story. Her struggles, even if mentioned in some way, don’t come through in this story. In order to inspire one with another’s story you need to feel what it took to achieve great things.
The storytelling is more of listing facts and explaining terms, rather than being a story of an incredibly inspiring woman. I wished we learned a bit about her childhood. Her story introduces her parents, but then it jumps to Ellen’s time at university, which is very brief. Then, her first work at laboratory in New Mexico, following work for NASA. It feels more of a technical storytelling.
Source: ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
January 8, 2025
I read both the English and Spanish version of this biography of Ellen Ochoa's life. Ochoa grew up in Los Angeles. her grandparents were from Mexico. She earned degrees in physics, and electrical engineering. She is best known as the first Latina who went into space (in 1993). She continued her amazing career by becoming the first Latina and second woman to direct the Johnson Space Center. This 100+ page book is a good overall introduction to Ochoa's life and accomplishments in an easy to read and engaging format. Back matter includes "Did You Know?", an author's note, and a note from Hispanic Star.
What this book is missing is source notes and a bibliography, knocking it's rating and credibility down.
What this book is missing is source notes and a bibliography, knocking it's rating and credibility down.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews