Jada Jones is back for the fifth book of this popular, celebrated series perfect for STEM fans! "Readers who love Ivy and Bean or Katie Woo will want to meet Jada Jones." -- School Library Journal Jada is excited to do a school project about her hero Dr. Mae Jemison, a former NASA astronaut and the first Black woman to travel to outer space. She even gets to pretend to be her for the presentation in front of her teacher, parents, and friends! But when Jada's research reminds her how accomplished her hero truly is, she suddenly feels like she's made a mistake. How can she portray someone who seems to have everything together when she feels like she's falling apart? Praise for Jada Jones: Rock Star "Fast-paced, with supersimple vocabulary and a smattering of earth science to spark interest in young rock collectors everywhere." -- Kirkus Reviews Kelly Starling Lyons is the author of Sing a Song: How Lift Every Voice & Sing Inspired Generations and She Persisted; Coretta Scott King . She lives in North Carolina. Nneka Myers has been known to paint worlds filled with color, texture, life, and diversity. Based in Toronto as a character designer and illustrator, her artwork can be found in TV animation, children's books, comics, and social media illustrations. When she is not a busy bee, she can often be found looking for inspiration in vintage fashion, drinking tea with friends, or playing video games. Chapter One: STAR LIGHT, STAR BRIGHT Once the stars started to shimmer in the ebony sky, we headed outside. Mom set up the telescope in our backyard. We huddled around it, waiting for our chance to gaze into the dark blanket of night. My little brother, Jackson, went first. He squeezed one eye shut and pressed the other against the glass. “It’s not working right,” he said, like he was ready to give up. “It takes practice,” Mom replied. “You can do it. Keep going.” Mom said when she was little like Jax, she tried to use her dad’s telescope over and over. Then, one day, the lessons he gave her clicked. She could see planets, constellations, nebulas. Baby steps: That’s what she always says gets you to a goal. One foot in front of the other. “Here, Jax,” I said, giving him binoculars. “Remember how to use these?” “Wow,” he responded. “Everything looks so close!” “You’re up, Jada,” Dad said. I peered through the lens at sparkling diamonds of light and thought about my hero Dr. Mae C. Jemison, the first Black woman astronaut. How did she feel flying on a space shuttle? What did Earth look like from way up there? Was she nervous to be so far from home, or thrilled by the adventure? I think I’d be a mix of both—full of excitement at exploring, and maybe missing my family, too. I’d love to ask her what it was like one day. “Spot anything cool?” Dad asked. I got a chill when I saw what looked like a lemonade-colored star. It didn’t twinkle and had rings around it. I gasped. Was that what I thought it was? “Mom! I think I see Saturn.” Mom took a peek. “Exactly right,” she said, smiling. “Can I see it again?” I stared and stared and never wanted it to end. Mom calls me a sky-watcher-in-training. She’s teaching me to see the wonders of space. After everyone got a turn, it was time for bed. I headed upstairs and pulled out my Dream Big journal, where I keep a list of my goals. Near the top were “go to space camp” and “visit the Grand Canyon.” I pulled out my four-in-one pen, clicked to purple, and added a new goal: “meet Mae Jemison.” I looked at my poster of her in a space suit, head held high. I smiled, made a wish, turned off the light, and snuggled in my daybed. Glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling turned my room into a galaxy. I drifted to sleep imagining I was on a rocket to the sky. # At school, my teacher, Miss Taylor, introduced a new project. “Has anyone ever been to a wax museum that’s filled with statues of famous people?” A couple of hands shot up. “What if the statues could talk?” “Now that’s the museum for me,” said my friend Simone. We laughed. Each morning, Simone appears on our classroom TV screen for BE News , the morning announcement show for our school, Brookside Elementary. I could just see her interviewing the statues and getting the scoop. She knew how to work it. “We’re going to create a living museum,” Miss Taylor said. “Each of you will pick someone who has made a difference, do research on their life, and make a display. In a couple weeks, you’ll pretend you’re statues that have come to life and talk about the important things you’ve done. Your families can even attend.” The beads on my braids sung as I bounced in my seat. I already knew who I wanted to be. I’d hoped to play Mae Jemison in last year’s Black History Month play, but I froze at the audition. I could see the lines in my mind, but it was like someone zipped my lips shut. Nothing came out but a squeak. Now, I was gett