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The Six -- Young Readers Edition: The Untold Story of America's First Women Astronauts
The extraordinary true story of America’s first female astronauts hailed as “suspenseful, meticulously observed, enlightening” by Margot Lee Shetterly, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Figures, now adapted for young readers.
Sally Ride may have been the first US woman in space, but did you know there were five other incredible American women who helped blaze the trail for female astronauts by her side?
When NASA sent astronauts to the moon in the 1960s and 1970s, the agency excluded women from the corps, arguing that only military test pilots—a group women were also aggressively barred from—had the right stuff. But as the 1980s dawned so did new thinking, and six elite women scientists—Sally Ride, Judith Resnik, Anna Lee Fisher, Kathy Sullivan, Shannon Lucid, and Rhea Seddon—set out to prove they had exactly the right stuff to become the first US women astronauts.
In The Six Young Readers Edition, acclaimed journalist Loren Grush shows how these brilliant and courageous women fought to enter STEM fields they were discouraged from pursuing, endured claustrophobic—and often deeply sexist—media attention, underwent rigorous survival training, and prepared for years to take multi-million-dollar equipment into orbit.
Told with contributions from nearly all the living participants and now adapted for young readers, this book is an inspiring testament to their struggles, accomplishments, and sacrifices and how they built the tools that made the space program run. It’s a legacy that lives on to inspire young people today.
Sally Ride may have been the first US woman in space, but did you know there were five other incredible American women who helped blaze the trail for female astronauts by her side?
When NASA sent astronauts to the moon in the 1960s and 1970s, the agency excluded women from the corps, arguing that only military test pilots—a group women were also aggressively barred from—had the right stuff. But as the 1980s dawned so did new thinking, and six elite women scientists—Sally Ride, Judith Resnik, Anna Lee Fisher, Kathy Sullivan, Shannon Lucid, and Rhea Seddon—set out to prove they had exactly the right stuff to become the first US women astronauts.
In The Six Young Readers Edition, acclaimed journalist Loren Grush shows how these brilliant and courageous women fought to enter STEM fields they were discouraged from pursuing, endured claustrophobic—and often deeply sexist—media attention, underwent rigorous survival training, and prepared for years to take multi-million-dollar equipment into orbit.
Told with contributions from nearly all the living participants and now adapted for young readers, this book is an inspiring testament to their struggles, accomplishments, and sacrifices and how they built the tools that made the space program run. It’s a legacy that lives on to inspire young people today.
320 pages, Hardcover
Published February 11, 2025
13 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
Loren Grush
3 books62 followersLoren Grush is a space reporter for Bloomberg, where she covers everything from NASA, human spaceflight, and the booming commercial space industry to distant stars and planets. The daughter of two NASA engineers, she grew up surrounded by space shuttles and rocket scientists—literally. Prior to joining Bloomberg, she was a senior science reporter for The Verge, where she covered space and hosted her own online video series called Space Craft, a show the examined what it takes to send people into the cosmos. Loren has also published stories in Popular Science, The New York Times, Nautilus Magazine, Digital Trends, Fox News, and ABC News.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
January 4, 2025
ARC provided by Young Adult Books Central
"If you can see it, you can be it." When I was growing up in the 1970s, I certainly was not aware that there were any women astronauts, and this book really lays out the historical reasons why I didn't see any of these pioneering women during my formative years. Even though I was allowed to stay up late in July of 1969 to see men walk on the moon, the journey of these six women (Sally Ride, Judy Resnik, Rhea Saddon, Kathy Sullivan, Shannon Lucid, and Anna Fisher) is really even more impressive than that first spectacular mission.
I liked how we get to see a lot of each women's growing up years; this is especially good for young readers who haven't experienced the difficulties that women had going into certain fields in the 1960s. That all of them were able to pursue science fields, thinking they would be good preparation for getting NASA programs, is remarkable in itself. I was especially interested to read about Saddon, Lucid, and Fisher, since I hadn't really heard of them. The fact that Saddon and Fisher were pregnant while pursuing careers in space was fascinating; my mother almost had to stop teaching when she was pregnant, so the pressure to keep this fact hidden must have been immense.
After learning about the women's early years, we get a good look at how their experience with NASA was. Having to compete against each other for key roles, such as being the US woman to go into space, must have been very difficult. The book does a great job at laying out relationships without the space program, challenges that were faced, and personal difficulties that played into each woman's career.
Perhaps my favorite scene in the book is the portrayal of Nichelle Nichols, of Star Trek fame, filming a recruitment ad for NASA aimed especially at women and people of color. Had I seen THAT when I was preparing for college, I might have been much more interested in space.
Massimino's Spaceman (Adapted for Young Readers): The True Story of a Young Boy's Journey to Becoming an Astronaut (2020), Buckley's Michael Collins: Forgotten Astronaut (2019), Bolden's Star Sailor (2024), but it's much harder to find books specifically about women in the space program. This is a long book (at 342 pages, only 100 pages shorter than the adult version), and the ARC didn't have any pictures in it, so it's a better choice for more mature middle grade readers who have a decided interest in women's history or NASA. More casual readers will want to pick up the fantastic book by O'Shaughnessy, Sally Ride: A Photobiography of America's Pioneering Woman in Space, which does a great job of telling one of the stories of The Six, beautifully illustrated with a wealth of Ride's personal photos, which is still one of my favorite biographies.
"If you can see it, you can be it." When I was growing up in the 1970s, I certainly was not aware that there were any women astronauts, and this book really lays out the historical reasons why I didn't see any of these pioneering women during my formative years. Even though I was allowed to stay up late in July of 1969 to see men walk on the moon, the journey of these six women (Sally Ride, Judy Resnik, Rhea Saddon, Kathy Sullivan, Shannon Lucid, and Anna Fisher) is really even more impressive than that first spectacular mission.
I liked how we get to see a lot of each women's growing up years; this is especially good for young readers who haven't experienced the difficulties that women had going into certain fields in the 1960s. That all of them were able to pursue science fields, thinking they would be good preparation for getting NASA programs, is remarkable in itself. I was especially interested to read about Saddon, Lucid, and Fisher, since I hadn't really heard of them. The fact that Saddon and Fisher were pregnant while pursuing careers in space was fascinating; my mother almost had to stop teaching when she was pregnant, so the pressure to keep this fact hidden must have been immense.
After learning about the women's early years, we get a good look at how their experience with NASA was. Having to compete against each other for key roles, such as being the US woman to go into space, must have been very difficult. The book does a great job at laying out relationships without the space program, challenges that were faced, and personal difficulties that played into each woman's career.
Perhaps my favorite scene in the book is the portrayal of Nichelle Nichols, of Star Trek fame, filming a recruitment ad for NASA aimed especially at women and people of color. Had I seen THAT when I was preparing for college, I might have been much more interested in space.
Massimino's Spaceman (Adapted for Young Readers): The True Story of a Young Boy's Journey to Becoming an Astronaut (2020), Buckley's Michael Collins: Forgotten Astronaut (2019), Bolden's Star Sailor (2024), but it's much harder to find books specifically about women in the space program. This is a long book (at 342 pages, only 100 pages shorter than the adult version), and the ARC didn't have any pictures in it, so it's a better choice for more mature middle grade readers who have a decided interest in women's history or NASA. More casual readers will want to pick up the fantastic book by O'Shaughnessy, Sally Ride: A Photobiography of America's Pioneering Woman in Space, which does a great job of telling one of the stories of The Six, beautifully illustrated with a wealth of Ride's personal photos, which is still one of my favorite biographies.
June 24, 2025
Very well written for children. resents the social and cultural issues in a way that kids can understand the injustice of it all.
July 17, 2025
I loved this book! I had never heard of any of the six except Sally Ride and I loved learning about the first female astronauts!
April 23, 2025
I was actually really disappointed with this book. I so wanted to like it, and thought I would. Space and astronomy have recently become hyperfixations of mine, usually that can get me through even the most boring of texts, but this was a slog to get through. It read like a news article, with way too much telling and maybe two instances I can remember of showing. There is no clear character arc for any of the people, and the narrative is inconsistent. There was absolutely a way that the author could have had character arcs at least three if not all of it's main characters, even with the wide cast, but anytime a worry or fear of a character was brought up, it was instantly resolved in paragraph or less. There was no real emotion to any of the characters and without that it makes the characters difficult to connect to especially for kids. The male characters (E.g. Mike Mullane) who the book acknowledges held sexist beliefs initially, it instantly metaphorically washes them of their sins, or adversely implies that it was up to the women to prove to them that them being sexist was wrong rather than showing them changing throughout the course of the story. There is perhaps a single paragraph saying something along the lines of "they thought (insert sexist thing here), but they don't anymore". You don't have to make the entire book about them, but at least show the growth in the background. There were many things that this book didn't even touch that I wish it had. It lists what astronaut training entailed, but it never really felt like you were there. For example with the Neutral buoyancy simulation, the water training that is meant to mimic the weightlessness of space. It's mentioned a handful of times, but they never go into detail on what it actually entails, how it feels, how the characters felt, how it compared to the real thing. I had to find alternative resources to find that out, for a kid (the target demographic) without those skills I would have found that incredibly frustrating. The book also mentions that the media at the time was always focusing on their love lives and children, and how that is sexist, but then goes on to do the exact same thing. I can understand going into some depth on how mothers being away from their children for extended periods of time can hurt both the mother and child emotionally, or when Christa McAuliffe dies how that affected her children, but the author doesn't do that. She focuses on the same things that the media at the time focused on; how do they coordinate childcare, how do their husbands feel about them being astronauts, etc. It was very irritating. I don't think this book would be able to grab a child's attention for very long, one thing that could have helped that was the pictures that were included, but they were all in the center of the book, rather than spread throughout, which to a kid who knows nothing about what happens for instance with the Challenger explosion, it spoils that at the halfway point, removing the small amount of tension that the story might have had, if the author thought to foreshadow things any further than haphazardly mentioning the O-rings a couple times leading up to it. There were also so many images I found while looking things up that would have worked perfectly at certain parts throughout the book, maybe they just couldn't get the rights to them. This book felt a bit like a cash grab, not well thought out, especially not in regards to what would interest the target demographic. I do think that this could work for an elementary class unit on space, but it would have to be spread out over at least 30 days, with maybe one chapter per day, as well as other more engaging books fiction and nonfiction, and a handful of space related science experiments. Maybe listen to it as an audiobook while kids do space themed arts and crafts for younger kids, but on it's own it's not a great resource to learn about space.
January 6, 2025
In The Six, Rebecca Stefoff has teamed up to adapt Bloomberg space reporter Loren Grush's 2023 adult book for younger readers. The story opens with an overview of the space race between America and the Soviet Union, leading up to the early 1980s, when NASA accepted its first women. Grush does a great job of showing readers that Sally Ride, Judy Resnik, Anna Fisher, Kathy Sullivan, Shannon Lucid, and Rhea Seddon were more than just NASA’s first female astronauts. In fact, The Six opens with the stories of how each woman first became interested in space before going into how their chosen academic fields set them up for success with NASA. Readers quickly see that America’s first women astronauts were tasked with overcoming not only the rigors of training, but all of the obstacles to being the first women to work a male-dominated job. From ill-fitting space suits to less than accurate medical understandings of the female body, these women bravely faced the next frontier and the boys club that was waiting for them to fail. Spoiler alert, they didn’t and each of the six successfully made it into space. While not a focal point for this book, Grush does address the additional decisions these women had to make in order to achieve their dreams, which typically don’t impact the career trajectory of a man. Marriage, starting a family, and what to wear to press interviews all came with the question of “will this keep me from going to space?”
While the text can get a bit dense at times, overall this is such an important piece of American history that deserves to be remembered by current and future generations. A note from the publisher says that the finished book will include an 8-page full-color photo insert, which I think will benefit younger readers. As mentioned in the author’s note, hopefully this young reader edition will encourage t(w)een readers (especially young women) interested in STEM to go after their dreams. Link to complete review: https://ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2...
While the text can get a bit dense at times, overall this is such an important piece of American history that deserves to be remembered by current and future generations. A note from the publisher says that the finished book will include an 8-page full-color photo insert, which I think will benefit younger readers. As mentioned in the author’s note, hopefully this young reader edition will encourage t(w)een readers (especially young women) interested in STEM to go after their dreams. Link to complete review: https://ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2...
February 4, 2025
Women in Space! Stories of the women who traveled into the beyond and all they achieved. Perfect for students who are learning about our history of women's astronauts. The added bonus of pictures adds to the overall sense of camaraderie and excitement of the missions they took. teachers, add it to your classroom libraries!
~T
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March 25, 2025
Many people know the name Sally Ride as the first US woman astronaut to go to space but hardly anyone realizes that there were 5 other women in the same as her who also made amazing contributions to the American space program. This book tells the fascinating stories of all 6 women. It includes what got them interested in becoming an astronaut, the challenges they faced along the way, and the accomplishments they achieved. It does not hide the discrimination, like how they were often asked questions that their male counterparts were not: what about dating, what about marriage, what about children, etc. It also includes the sad realities and danger of space exploration including what happened to Christa McAuliffe - but we don't often hear that one of The Six was also on that same flight. These stories need to be shared!
While a bit dense at times, this is also a very engaging read. The full color photos in the middle are an excellent addition. Each of the six is brought clearly to life as an individual through the details given.
Back matter includes an author's note, time line, quick reference to The Six, a note about sources, acknowledgments. Photo credits are given by each individual photo.
While a bit dense at times, this is also a very engaging read. The full color photos in the middle are an excellent addition. Each of the six is brought clearly to life as an individual through the details given.
Back matter includes an author's note, time line, quick reference to The Six, a note about sources, acknowledgments. Photo credits are given by each individual photo.
February 26, 2025
The Six – Young Readers Edition tells the incredible and inspiring stories of the first American women in space. It does a fantastic job of highlighting the challenges they faced, the barriers they broke, and the dreams they pursued. The book gives a detailed and engaging account of their journey, showing young readers that perseverance and ambition can lead to extraordinary achievements.
One of the strongest aspects of this book is how it makes history accessible to younger audiences. These are the readers who need these stories the most—to see that if you can dream it, you can become it. While the writing can feel a bit formal at times, the content more than makes up for it with its powerful message and well-researched details.
Overall, this is a great read for young people interested in space, history, or trailblazing women who changed the world. Highly recommended for classrooms, libraries, and any young reader looking for a dose of inspiration!
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
One of the strongest aspects of this book is how it makes history accessible to younger audiences. These are the readers who need these stories the most—to see that if you can dream it, you can become it. While the writing can feel a bit formal at times, the content more than makes up for it with its powerful message and well-researched details.
Overall, this is a great read for young people interested in space, history, or trailblazing women who changed the world. Highly recommended for classrooms, libraries, and any young reader looking for a dose of inspiration!
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
February 26, 2025
The Six – Young Readers Edition tells the incredible and inspiring stories of the first American women in space. It does a fantastic job of highlighting the challenges they faced, the barriers they broke, and the dreams they pursued. The book gives a detailed and engaging account of their journey, showing young readers that perseverance and ambition can lead to extraordinary achievements.
One of the strongest aspects of this book is how it makes history accessible to younger audiences. These are the readers who need these stories the most—to see that if you can dream it, you can become it. While the writing can feel a bit formal at times, the content more than makes up for it with its powerful message and well-researched details.
Overall, this is a great read for young people interested in space, history, or trailblazing women who changed the world. Highly recommended for classrooms, libraries, and any young reader looking for a dose of inspiration!
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
One of the strongest aspects of this book is how it makes history accessible to younger audiences. These are the readers who need these stories the most—to see that if you can dream it, you can become it. While the writing can feel a bit formal at times, the content more than makes up for it with its powerful message and well-researched details.
Overall, this is a great read for young people interested in space, history, or trailblazing women who changed the world. Highly recommended for classrooms, libraries, and any young reader looking for a dose of inspiration!
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
February 14, 2025
Untold is exactly right. Growing up I never learned about the women involved with space travel. I'm so happy to be able to say things like that are changing.
Young readers will get the chance to learn all about Sally Ride, Judith Resnik, Anna Lee Fisher, Kathy Sullivan, Shannon Lucid, and Rhea Seddon. There's a great photo section included towards the middle of the book. You learn about more than just their adult careers. You get a glimpse into their early years & how their love of space came to be. These were some amazing, strong, brave, & courageous women. There's triumph & there's tragedy too. I'd encourage all young readers to pick up this book especially if they're interested in STEM. Thank you to Simon & Schuster or the advance copy.
Young readers will get the chance to learn all about Sally Ride, Judith Resnik, Anna Lee Fisher, Kathy Sullivan, Shannon Lucid, and Rhea Seddon. There's a great photo section included towards the middle of the book. You learn about more than just their adult careers. You get a glimpse into their early years & how their love of space came to be. These were some amazing, strong, brave, & courageous women. There's triumph & there's tragedy too. I'd encourage all young readers to pick up this book especially if they're interested in STEM. Thank you to Simon & Schuster or the advance copy.
January 1, 2025
While a bit dense at times, I’m glad that t(w)een readers are getting a young readers edition of Grush’s The Six. While many Americans can name Sally Ride and Christa McAuliffe (even if she wasn’t an astronaut), Sally’s five female counterparts should not be forgotten for their own impact on NASA and space exploration in general.
While the ARC doesn’t come with photos (the finished book will), I spent a chunk of my time reading either with my phone or a computer at the ready so I could pull up the space images that Grush mentions in the text.
Advanced readers copy provided by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review.
While the ARC doesn’t come with photos (the finished book will), I spent a chunk of my time reading either with my phone or a computer at the ready so I could pull up the space images that Grush mentions in the text.
Advanced readers copy provided by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review.
October 5, 2025
A riveting adaptation of six women who impacted the world of NASA by living out their dreams by becoming astronauts at a time that finally opened up the door to them and others but were still met with derogatory comments and sexist attitudes. They would not be deterred.
I did not read the original, but this is an adaptation that seems like it did its job suitably to adapt it for a different audience introducing the readers first to each six women, then connecting their shared goals, and talking about NASA as a program. It balances the personal and professional sides of their lives and what made them famous in the world of STEM.
I did not read the original, but this is an adaptation that seems like it did its job suitably to adapt it for a different audience introducing the readers first to each six women, then connecting their shared goals, and talking about NASA as a program. It balances the personal and professional sides of their lives and what made them famous in the world of STEM.
February 13, 2025
📖 Book Review 📖 We spent a lot of time talking about the race for space when I homeschooled and my kids were probably more interested in Laika, the first dog in space in 1957, than the men who made it into space. I wish this book had been around for this unit but I am eternally grateful it is here now because Loren Grush along with Rebecca Stefoff have gifted us a piece of middle grade historical fiction that deserves to be told (and retold)! The Six is a beautifully inspiring novel that really is for all ages, filled with amazing facts told in a captivating manner!
February 9, 2025
👧🏻 reviewed: This is such an inspiring, emotional and powerful book. What I love the most are the pictures and images inserted in the book. While reading it and putting the names to the faces of the amazing astronauts made the book profoundly clear and compelling. I hope more young girls and boys have the opportunity to read this and feel it. Simply amazing and inspiring. Thank you @simonkids!
February 6, 2025
Thank you to Netgalley for the free arc!
Fascinating read about the first six women astronauts in United States. It was interesting to learn about their stories and the role that they played in NASA. What brave and confident pioneers!
Fascinating read about the first six women astronauts in United States. It was interesting to learn about their stories and the role that they played in NASA. What brave and confident pioneers!
June 11, 2025
Group biographies are tough, but I really felt like I got to know the six inspiring women who were the first female astronauts. Excellent NF for middle school aged kids.
May 25, 2025
The Six -- Young Readers Edition: The Untold Story of America's First Women Astronauts by Loren Grush is about the accomplishments of the first female astronauts. When NASA first sent astronauts to the moon in the 1960s and 1970s, the agency didn’t allow women to participate. NASA claimed that only military test pilots had the skill set necessary. Women were not allowed to become test pilots either.
In the 1980s, there was a new push for women to travel into the space frontier as Russia sent the first female into space. NASA decided to make space travel more inclusive and opened its application process to women and people of color. During the application and selection process, six women scientists were picked - Sally Ride, Judith Resnik, Anna Lee Fisher, Kathy Sullivan, Shannon Lucid, and Rhea Seddon. They wanted to prove that they belonged in space and had all the necessary skills to become astronauts.
The book is written by journalist Loren Grush who depicts the struggles and journey the women went through to become the first female astronauts. The book was an interesting read, and it had a lot of information and tidbits about the astronauts that I never knew before. I knew that Sally Ride was the first female, but I knew very little about the other talented women. I also like that it included interviews from people who knew them. I liked that the book contained additional resources if readers wanted to read more about the astronauts.
In the 1980s, there was a new push for women to travel into the space frontier as Russia sent the first female into space. NASA decided to make space travel more inclusive and opened its application process to women and people of color. During the application and selection process, six women scientists were picked - Sally Ride, Judith Resnik, Anna Lee Fisher, Kathy Sullivan, Shannon Lucid, and Rhea Seddon. They wanted to prove that they belonged in space and had all the necessary skills to become astronauts.
The book is written by journalist Loren Grush who depicts the struggles and journey the women went through to become the first female astronauts. The book was an interesting read, and it had a lot of information and tidbits about the astronauts that I never knew before. I knew that Sally Ride was the first female, but I knew very little about the other talented women. I also like that it included interviews from people who knew them. I liked that the book contained additional resources if readers wanted to read more about the astronauts.
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