This review is based on the published book. This informative title is a wonderful combination of text and vivid illustrations. I was unfamiliar with Ross's story and finished the book with appreciation and wanting to learn more. Her story of math and learning could be seen as a narrative of a woman who made a difference in her field and with mentorship. A must-read for children to celebrate STEAM and BIPOC professionals of history,

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-galley.
My ratings and reviews are my own.

So glad to see Mary Golda Ross's story, one we don't see in most history books, on the page through Traci Sorell's masterful writing.

Mary Golda Ross was Lockheed Aircraft's first female engineer. Interested in and very good at math, Mary was the only girl in her math class. She excelled in the sciences all through school, eventually teaching and then becoming an engineer. She used the Cherokee values of cooperative work, education, humility and equal opportunity to guide her decisions and work.

Oh. my. goodness! I continue to be amazed by these great, short picture book biographies of amazing women. I had no idea there were more hidden women in the space program! Although much of her work is still classified, I'm so glad that my patrons can read about Mary Golda Ross and be inspired. Natasha Donovans illustrations are great - many of the pictures have complicated math problems in the back ground, and Traci Sorell has told a concise story, and included a great timeline as well.

This book was the very first I'd heard of Mary Golda Ross and I'm always game to learn about trailblazing women. Classified does not disappoint. We are introduced to Mary as a youth, a girl with a passion for the sciences in an era when girls were not encouraged to pursue STEM careers and where higher education for non-whites was far from the norm. But Mary doesn't seem to have been at all bothered by those facts or by social pressures. She simply wanted to learn and followed her education to logical conclusions. This is a very brief biography and we learn very little about her contributions but this is largely due to the nature of that work. It is, as the title suggests, still classified. A cool addition to a collection of short biographies.

This is a short and nice biography of Mary Golda Ross, written for children. It will spark some inspiration in adults too, so don't put it down just because you might not be the target audience.

While I did like it a lot, I have to say that it was hard to focus on the story - hence why it took me two days to read a kids short biography. I feel like the illustrations were also a bit outdated and may not spark interest, but it's definitely worth reading.

The story of a remarkable woman who showed brilliant tenacity in her field as someone who helped the US get to the moon. Informative AND engaging!

In Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aeorspace Engineer by Traci Sorell, Mary Golda Ross ignores expectations and plunges right into a mathematical world. Beginning when boys refused to sit next to her as the only girl in math class, she created a pattern of determination by getting better grades than they did. Natasha Donovan enhances the text with an appropriate mathematical arrangement of her illustrations and graphic designs.

Mary follows her excellence as a student in the classroom through her college career and on into teaching for several years. When she becomes a mathematician for Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, they send her for more training, and she becomes the company’s first female engineer. A team player with her male colleagues and an encourager and mentor to other women who join the group, she worked on space projects that often still remain classified.

Mary held to four important beliefs instilled into her in her Cherokee heritage: (1) gaining skills in all areas of life, (2) working cooperatively with others, (3) remaining humble when others recognize your talents, and (4) helping ensure equal education and opportunity for all. Traci Sorell shows each of these as she navigates Mary’s life journey. There are hints of the difficulties Mary deals with as a woman and a Cherokee, but her accomplishments are the primary focus of the account.

Back matter includes a timeline; photographs; an author’s note; the four Cherokee values with a syllabary, transliteration, pronunciation, and English translation; source notes; and a bibliography. This is a great book for dispelling the notion that girls and math are incompatible and for those with interest in space exploration. Written for middle grade, it enlightens both boys and girls to the fact that your sexual identity has no connection to the ability to learn and practice math and science.

This is the perfect story to tell young girls nowadays. It’s brief but that’s exactly what’s needed, there isn’t unnecessary info. The illustrations complement the story in a perfect way.

This is a great picture book for any diverse collection. The book is written by a member of the Cherokee Nation and tells the true story of a female innovator who was also from the Cherokee Nation. Mary Gold Ross was born in the early 20th century and excelled at math at an early age. She was often the only girl in her class. She went on to study math at college. Eventually she was hired as the first female engineer at Lockheed Martin. She was later selected to be part of a team working on a top secret project. Through it all Mary continued to advocate for indigenous people and females to pursue interests in math & science.

This is a story sure to inspire elementary aged children. It is a classic story of pushing against the status quo to open up new paths and possibilities.

Loved the story of not only the pioneer and first-female engineer of Lockheed but all the Cherokee values that she followed in learning skills, humility, sharing the credit with the team.

This is a brief biography of Mary Golda Ross, who had a lifelong passion for math and science and went on to become an accomplished engineer. Packed into only 32 pages, it is a good book to inspire and influence curious young minds of today!

This is a middle grey/ kids book about Mary Golda Ross and her story, if you like me doesn’t know her and What she did, this books is perfect and if you do know, this story reminds you that stories about women in STEM areas are so hard to find, and way more hard histories of BIPOC women, once you find one, we need to give it more publicity and make them know so we can inspire every single person want to join the field, and see that there is nothing impossible

A wonderful and informative look at the full life of a fierce American Indian mathmatician and engineer. A bounty of backmatter awaits to curious young readers.

Important topic but underwhelming execution. Read on a Kindle, but the art seems to be competent and pleasing to look at, but will have to see a final, print version. Text doesn't keep up though, as it really lacks impact. Why this story? Why right now?

One thing that I love about kids’ non-fiction titles is that I often learn about something or someone previously unknown to me. That was certainly true with this book. I had not heard of Mary Golda Rose who was a twentieth century aerospace engineer. This Native American’s story is told here and it is intriguing.

Young reader’s learn that Mary’s Cherokee values shaped the person that she was. Her love of Math and Science led her to a successful career. From teacher to becoming an engineer at Lockheed, Mary worked hard and accomplished much.

This title includes helpful sections including a time line, a list of Cherokee values, source notes and a bibliography. Interested readers can thus look deeper into the life and times of this remarkable woman.

STEM education is a focus now. This book will encourage students, especially girls, to reach for the careers that they want. They will be impressed by what Mary achieved and, hopefully, will learn that they, too, can be successful.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. All opinions are my own.

This is a little book about Mary Golda Ross, which I found inspiring and empowering! The illustrations are very cute, and would appeal to the younger, target audience. I felt like the story was a little shallow, and could have a bit more information.

2.5//5 stars

Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer
Written by Traci Sorell and illustrated by Natasha Donovan
Published by Lerner Publishing Group/Millbrook Press
Available on March 2, 2021
Ages 6-10

Author Traci Sorell and illustrator Natasha Donovan team up to tell the story of Mary Golda Ross, an aerospace engineer who infused her Cherokee values into her work. Sorell and Donovan begin Ross’s journey in the 1920s when she was the lone girl in her math class in northeastern Oklahoma. When boys refused to sit next to her, she was even more determined to do well. As she continued on to college, she majored in mathematics and became a math and science teacher. Ross was later hired to be an adviser at the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ coed boarding school in Santa Fe, New Mexico; Ross infused her teaching with “the Cherokee value of instructing in a gentle, thoughtful way” as she taught Pueblo and Navajo girls at the school. (10) Following the United States entrance into World War II, Ross began work as a mathematician for Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, working on design problems affecting fighter planes. Ross found acceptance and career growth at Lockheed, becoming their first female engineer, and she helped other women join her in the field. After World War II ended and the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union began, Ross accepted an invitation to join the Skunk Works division, a top-secret group at Lockheed. Ross designed initiatives for space travel, and her work helped send astronauts to the moon. Despite her tremendous achievement, Ross did not seek the spotlight, and instead focused on recruiting women and American Indians to study math and science. Sorell’s straightforward prose illuminates how Ross’ technical work and Cherokee heritage combined for a powerful force. Donovan blends Ross’ imaginative and conceptual work through graph paper mockups and designs; these images populate the picture book and reference specific projects Ross worked on. Ross’ proximity to others within each page gauges how accepted Ross is in her field: near the beginning of the book, she is alone; at the end she is surrounded by colleagues and future leaders. This picture book biography starts with “A Note on Cherokee Values,” contextualizing the values and ideals that shaped Mary Golda Ross’ life. The back matter includes a detailed timeline of Ross’ life, and an author’s note and a section on Cherokee Values, a resource list and bibliography. Traci Sorell’s note explains her connection to Mary Golda Ross as a member of the Cherokee Nation; the “Four Cherokee Values” section offers readers a guide to the direct syllabary, transliteration, pronunciation of each value, as well as an English definition.

A brief illustrated biography of Mary Golda Ross, who was the first known Native American female engineer and in 1950 became the first female engineer in the history of Lockheed.

The book shows the Cherokee values with which Mary was brought up and how she stayed true to them throughout her amazing career. At Lockheed she not only worked on aircraft but later was also selected as one of forty engineers for the Skunk Works division.

"It meant Mary worked on projects that people had only imagined and some no one had ever thought of before. No vessel had ever flown nonstop around Earth—with or without a pilot. Flying *beyond* Earth? That seemed impossible."

Lots of what Mary and her fellow engineers did there is still classified, but it is known that she helped put men into space and on the moon. She's one of those hidden figures that are not talked about enough.

Therefore, this book is very much appreciated. Unfortunately, though, it stays too much on the surface and reads like a simple listing of Mary Golda Ross' achievements rather than something that can and will inspire children to reach for the stars. It *is* an inspiring story and I like how it always comes back to the Cherokee values that it stated at the beginning. But that's the problem really, it states things rather than infusing them with something more. Something that will draw children in.

Alas.

2.5 stars

I expected this to be superb, and now I'm sad to say that it was less than okay.

The illustrations are cute, all right, but the story is so shallow and lacking information.
I felt that all the information I got out of this book was that Mary liked mathematics at school. And that she had Cherokee values. That's all!

I understand that this is a children's book, but still, I wish there was more to learn from it.

This picture book biography of Mary Golda Ross is absolutely amazing. I love learning about women who did great things, and it is especially good to hear about women in STEM who managed to get as far as they did, despite being born when most women were not encouraged to pursue a career at all.

I was very impressed that the author, who is also Cherokee, brought up the four values to explain why Mary did the things she did.

1 Gaining skills in all areas of life.
2. Working cooperatively with others
3. Remaining humble when others recognize your talents
4. Helping ensure equal education and opportunity for all.

Because she followed these values, she also made it a point to life up others so they too could follow in her footsteps. Because she followed these teachings she gained the math skills that she did, and was able to work with others.

Mary Gold Ross was an amzasing woman, and I'm glad that this informative book is in picture book form so that young women can learn from her.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.