Amanda Haley (1)

Just a quick review on this one! I honestly wish this book had been around when I was teaching children. It's a fun, adorably illustrated look at the moon and beyond. Each page is jam packed with a surprising amount of information and fun facts. Do you have a reader at home who loves Non-Fiction? A scientist, or astronaut in training? Put this into their hands. It'll be sure to delight!

I really liked the swirly blue endpapers. Ok, now that is out of the way...

The book opens with an introduction, featuring "Hey Diddle Diddle" and a discussion of how people have seen the moon through history. It talks a little about different facts - "What's the moon made of?" and "How old is the moon?" and ends with a funny poem, "Biking to the Moon". Chapter one talks about the space race and various firsts, including the first women (both Russian and American) to go to space. It ends with show more a poem by J. Patrick Lewis, "First Men on the Moon" and a brief section on the Apollo 13 mission. Chapter 2 talks about how spaceships are built. Chapter 3 discusses how astronauts live in space, with lots of quotes from and references to Sally Ride. The last chapter discusses the future of space tourism and then has a list of questions for kids to think about space and inventions.

The illustrations are quirky cartoons, a little in the style of Roz Chast, although kids are more likely to associate them with the art of the Magic School Bus. It's a picture book in format and length, but the pages are packed with text, illustrations, poems, and cartoons.

Verdict: This would be a fun introduction to space for younger kids, kindergarten through third grade. It does not address any of the darker aspects of space travel (the death of the animals sent to space, or the deaths of any astronauts) although it does talk about the issues of space trash several times. It could work in story time as a selective read-aloud, picking sections to talk about as well.

ISBN: 9781609054199; Published 2014 by Blue Apple; Borrowed from another library in my consortium; Added to the library wishlist show less

I think this book is fun because while there is no plotline, it kind of "bust some myths" about space. For example, the moon is not made out of cheese its made out of _____ and students get to read about the following. Most of the writing is no longer than a paragraph which is helpful for those struggling readers. It's broken up into chapters which means its sectioned out to help with grouping of ideas and concepts which can be helpful for students. This book could be a great read-aloud BUT show more I think it could make a better individual read for students to grow and THEN share what they learned. Lots of fun facts about the moon and space and astronauts! I liked it! show less

A three and a half stars for us: Great rhymes, good story and cute pictures. The story is a bit modern, as opposed to the timelessness of most picture books. Neighbors are suing each others, but the children text and blog to save the giant snowman. Thankfully the kids were not on Facebook yet. It's a good read although rather forgettable.