The First African-American
Woman in Space

by Rachel Marie Picone, age 11, from US

On a warm humid summer night, a little girl lay in the cold, damp grass, gazing at the stars. Other children's voices sounded around her. They were shouting to each other about how many fireflies they had caught. Looking at the stars made her want to be up among them. She wondered what it would be like to be out there, in the stars. They looked like shining, transparent diamonds, twinkling at her, beckoning for her to come to them.

Ding! Ding! Ding! The music of the ice cream truck shattered her dreams. She jumped up, eager to get some ice cream on that warm, heavy night.