Mae Among The Stars

When Little Mae was a child, she dreamed of dancing in space. She imagined herself surrounded by billions of stars, floating, gliding, and discovering. Mae learns that if you can dream it and you work hard for it, anything is possible.

Mae Among The Stars was inspired by the story of Mae Jemison, the first African American in space. When Mae tells her parents about her dream, they tell her, “If you can dream it, if you believe it and work hard for it, anything is possible.” However, not everyone believes that Mae’s dream of being an astronaut is realistic. Her teacher tells her, “Mae, are you sure you don’t want to be a nurse? Nursing would be a good profession for someone like you.” Despite her teacher and classmate’s disbelief, Mae makes her dream come true.

Even though the story was inspired by Mae Jemison, the story doesn’t incorporate many facts about Mae’s life. The story repeats the refrain, “If you can dream it, if you believe it and work hard for it, anything is possible.” However, the story doesn’t explain what Mae did to make her dream come true. The end of the book only has one page about about Mae Jemison’s education, when she traveled to the moon, and some other information.

The picture book is comprised of bright, cartoon-like pictures that show Mae’s interest in space. Even though Mae Among The Stars is a picture book, the story is intended to be read aloud to a child, rather than for a child to read it for the first time independently. Each page has 2-4 sentences; however, some of the sentences are complex. Mae Among The Stars encourages readers to work hard to make their dreams come true. Parents may want to use the story to begin a conversation about working hard to achieve one’s dreams.

Younger readers who are interested in space will want to add Mousetronaut and Mousetronaut Goes to Mars by Mark Kelly to their reading list.

Sexual Content

• None

Violence

• None

Drugs and Alcohol

• None

Language

• None

Supernatural

• None

Spiritual Content

• None