An inspiring true story of perseverance, hard work, and reaching for the stars.

At just ten years old, José M. Hernández watched the Apollo 17 moonwalks on his family’s black-and-white TV and decided he wanted to be an astronaut. That night, his father shared a simple five-step recipe for success: decide what you want, know how far you are from your goal, map your path, get a good education, and work hard—always giving more than expected.

José followed that advice faithfully. He earned degrees in electrical engineering, faced rejection from NASA’s astronaut program eleven times, and kept going with one extra ingredient: perseverance. In 2004, he was finally selected, and in 2009 he achieved his dream, flying as a mission engineer aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery on its 14-day journey to the International Space Station.

In From Farmworker to Astronaut, Hernández intertwines memories of his childhood as the son of Mexican migrant farmworkers with the story of his journey to space. This uplifting memoir shows young readers how determination, education, and belief in your dreams can take you further than you ever imagined.