“He signed, ‘My name’s Buddy,’ ” explained Mr. Malone, handing him a piece of gummy worm. Nova felt a surge of jealousy. If she could talk with her hands like Buddy, she could tell Mallory the first woman in space was Valentina Tereshkova. Nova sighed. She hugged NASA Bear and imagined him saying, “Don’t feel bad, Nova. No one can hear me talk or read my ‘scribbles’ either.”

After the rest of the class had been introduced, Stephanie unfolded a huge piece of black cardboard split into three parts. Mr. Malone helped her prop it up on the Morning Circle easel. Nova tried her hardest not to squeak and bounce, but it was beautiful. As beautiful as the solar system poster.

In the middle of the center panel, there was a huge glossy cutout of the space shuttle. Beneath it, a color photograph of the seven astronauts. They were wearing their powder-blue uniforms, holding their helmets. Other pictures included the famous photo of the American flag from the moon landing TV broadcast, a shadowed image of Earth as seen from the moon during the Apollo 8 mission, in which the top of the planet was bright blue and green while the bottom was in the dark, and the exact same image of smiling Sally Ride that Bridget used to have saved inside her Trapper Keeper.

On the left panel, in white writing surrounded by dotted stars, Stephanie had listed SPACE TRAVEL FACTS. On the right panel, she’d pasted newspaper clippings, including many of the ones Nova had saved at home, under the heading CHALLENGER LAUNCH FACTS. All words Nova recognized.

“Let’s start with some space travel facts!” said Stephanie, grinning. “Does anyone know who was the first human in space and where he was from?”

Nova whimpered. Not this again!

“Yuri Gagarin!” shouted Mallory. “Cosmonaut! Russia! We learned that in Mr. O’Reilly’s room.”

“Very good!” Stephanie handed her a small square of something pink that looked like hard cotton candy. “Anyone who gets a question right gets some astronaut ice cream. It’s freeze-dried, which means all water has been removed by a vacuuming process that lowers the air pressure, turning it from liquid to solid! Don’t worry, there’s enough for everyone.”

Nova shot Mallory a sharp look. It wasn’t fair. She wanted the most astronaut ice cream because she knew the most about space!

“Next question! Does anyone know who the first woman in space was?” asked Stephanie.

“Valentina!” shouted Mallory.

Not Cornucopia, thought Nova.

“Cornucopia!” added Mallory.

“Mm,” grumbled Nova. She folded her arms across her chest, nearly knocking NASA Bear from her lap.

“So close! It was Valentina Tereshkova, another Russian cosmonaut.”

That was not close, thought Nova.

“Let’s remember to raise hands,” said Mrs. Pierce gently. “And give our friends a turn.”

“Can anyone tell me who was the first American in space?” Stephanie gestured toward Alex, whose face had just lit up. “Do you know?”