Author/Illustrator: Brian Floca
Publisher/Date: Atheneum Books for Young Readers/2009
Genre/Audience: nonfiction/Ages 4-10
Themes: space exploration, moon, Apollo 11
Opening: "High above there is the Moon, cold and quiet, no air, no life, but glowing in the sky."
Synopsis: (from School Library Journal)
"Large in trim size as well as topic, this stirring account
retraces Apollo 11's historic mission in brief but precise detail, and
also brilliantly captures the mighty scope and drama of the achievement.
Rendered in delicate lines and subtly modulated watercolors, the eye-filling
illustrations allow viewers to follow the three astronauts as they lumber
aboard their spacecraft for the blastoff and ensuing weeklong journey
("…there's no fresh air outside the window;/after a week this small home
will not smell so good./This is not why anyone/wants to be an astronaut").
They split up so that two can make their famous sortie, and then reunite for
the return to "the good and lonely Earth,/glowing in the sky." Floca
enhances his brief, poetic main text with an opening spread that illustrates
each component of Apollo 11, and a lucid closing summary of the entire
Apollo program that, among other enlightening facts, includes a comment from
Neil Armstrong about what he said versus what he meant to say when he stepped
onto the lunar surface."
Why I Love This Book:
After reading the Caldecott winning Locomotive, I had to get some of Floca's other books. Moonshot is enthralling. Floca combines lyrical storytelling with gorgeous illustrations. This book has a wide audience, appealing to those with an interest in space, astronomy, and U.S. history, but most importantly, to those who are not yet interested in those topics. I challenge you not be drawn in by this book.
After reading the Caldecott winning Locomotive, I had to get some of Floca's other books. Moonshot is enthralling. Floca combines lyrical storytelling with gorgeous illustrations. This book has a wide audience, appealing to those with an interest in space, astronomy, and U.S. history, but most importantly, to those who are not yet interested in those topics. I challenge you not be drawn in by this book.
Resources:
Field Trip: If you are local and looking for exhibits of spacecraft, the Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy Center, near Dulles International Airport, houses many models, prototypes, and gear, including the Space Shuttle Discovery.
NASA Missions Page on Apollo 11
"Field Trip to the Moon" Educators Guide - Grades 5-8
Virtual Field Trip to the Moon
Craving more Perfect Picture Books? Author Susanna Leonard Hill compiles weekly book reviews from bloggers at www.susannahill.blogspot.com. Visit Fridays or click the Perfect Picture Books tab at her website for a subject listing.
Field Trip: If you are local and looking for exhibits of spacecraft, the Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy Center, near Dulles International Airport, houses many models, prototypes, and gear, including the Space Shuttle Discovery.
NASA Missions Page on Apollo 11
"Field Trip to the Moon" Educators Guide - Grades 5-8
Virtual Field Trip to the Moon
Craving more Perfect Picture Books? Author Susanna Leonard Hill compiles weekly book reviews from bloggers at www.susannahill.blogspot.com. Visit Fridays or click the Perfect Picture Books tab at her website for a subject listing.
