For Homer H. Hickam Jr., growing up in a small West Virginia coal town, the early days of the space race inspired him and his friends to build rockets. Rocket Boys: A Memoir is the boyhood story of a NASA engineer that did more than read about the future, he set out to achieve it. ... To everyone else in Coalwood and their high school, often with some derision, they become "the rocket boys." ... Suddenly, the rocket boys find themselves the center of attention. ...

• Word Count: 522
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

In this case the young man, whose name is Homer Hickam, has a dream to build rockets instead of going to work in the coal mine with his father. ... This is shown as Homer and his friends attempt to have a successful launch of their rocket. ... As the rockets fly higher and further the boys where all the while learning more about themselves and what they wanted to do with their lives. ... John Hickam is firm and set in his was just as the coalmine has always been there. ... In contrast to the rocket is a good example of how homer acted. ...

• Word Count: 1079
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

In the town of Coalwood, Homer Hickam is the husband of Elsie Hickam and father of Jim and Sonny Hickam. ... When one of his test rockets landed near the mine, a very angry Homer yelled at his son about how he had told him to stop launching (Hickam 110). Overall, Homer wishes for Sonny and his rocket boys friends to stop trying to launch his homemade rockets and initially embarrassing him with his failures. ... Apparently, one night Elsie Hickam had requested that Homer find a way for Sonny to test his rockets while not breaking Mr. ... At the next church congregation, Reverend Lanier delivere...

• Word Count: 976
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The movie October Sky, directed by Joe Johnston, tells a story about a high school boy, Homer Hickam, who has a dream of making rockets and realizes his dream by cooperating with his friends. Homer chooses to make the rocket with the "Rocket Boys" instead of working by himself, in order to achieve success. ... When the host says to the boys, "the first prize goes to the boys.... Miss Riley also gives Homer a science book and he learns how to calculate the trajectory of a rocket. ... During the process of making the rocket, the "Rocky Boys" become much closer to each o...

• Word Count: 1193
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

But Homer Hickam decided to do things a little differently. Homer Hickam was an average boy. ... Homer's father, Jake Hickam, was the Superintendent of the coalmine. ... The "Rocket Boys" were arrested after being blamed for a fire, which was supposedly started by one of their rockets, a few miles away from their launch site. ... Later, Homer fulfills his dream of becoming a rocket engineer for NASA. ...

• Word Count: 324
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

tells the story of four boys in a poverty-stricken corner of Appalachia who are determined to build their own rocket, and help get America back in thespace race.'' ... Homer is a good student, but math and science are his weak points. ... With his friends and the local nerd, Homer sets to do just that by trial and a lot of error. ... But none of this was all that easy, especially for Homer, as problems much more dire than flying rockets seemed to push the young man toward his eventual destiny... as an instructor of our shuttle mission astronauts. ... Homer Hickam is a real person, an...

• Word Count: 456
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School