Nina Crews

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Millbrook Press (Lerner Publishing Group) for this DRC in exchange for a fair and honest review. The thoughts and opinions expressed below are my own.

I like it when books show the juxtaposition of science and the visual arts, and the creative works that comes from such. In this book, Nina Crews spotlights the renowned artist and polymath Alma Thomas and her paintings inspired by the famed Apollo 11 mission in 1969. Crews shows Thomas' background as show more a visual artist and educator, including her approach to teaching art and her creative process. Thomas' space-influenced paintings are contrasted with the events of the moon mission itself and the astronauts' journeys, including the images that they captured from space.

This book was a fun read that shows Thomas' exuberance and desire to translate what she saw and felt onto a canvas; she's often depicted as smiling as she works on her vision. There are additional biographical notes on Thomas in the back, as well as an extensive resource list and background on the history of the Apollo missions. The text is also a great opportunity for children to explore more connections between STEM subjects and the arts, as well as to talk about the ways that other female artists have represented scientific themes in their works. Thomas created a whole series of paintings about space, which could be used for lesson plans and further research.

Nina Crews has long been a favorite of mine. She has a recognizable tone and art style, and all of her books celebrate the creative tendencies of those who see the world in a different way, and are awed by it. The illustrations here are beautiful, with come great examples of technical drawing. Her renderings of the Apollo 11 spacecraft, satellites and the atmosphere are detailed and true to form. I loved her designs of period television set styles, and the recurring motifs of transmission waves both in space and on Earth; the latter of which underscores the sense of connection between the astronauts' mission and those watching them at home. I also loved the images of Thomas herself and her paint drips symbolically floating in the Earth's atmosphere,

I enjoyed the perspective switch between the spacecraft's travels and Thomas' studio, as they underscore the way in which artists (and others) are affected and inspired by the world around us, including what takes place outside our atmosphere. There were times that the story felt a bit disjointed, as if I were reading two separate books. I would liked to have seen more examples of Thomas' process in creating "Snoopy Sees a Sunrise." As it stands now, the reader only sees a few pages of her working on the painting before its completion. Viewing additional steps in between the discussion of the Apollo missions, along with Thomas' thoughts about how she arranged the painting, might have helped with the transitions. But this wasn't a major issue for me and doesn't interfere with the story's flow overall, and I believe that the target audience won't have any issues, either. show less

Tana Hoban and Nina Crews make some of my favorite children's books using photography. Just something about them perfectly captures Brooklyn (NYC) life from a child's point of view. I always feel like I'm 6 years-old when I gaze at the pictures in their books. I love seeing myself reflected back in a familiar scenairo.

Nina Crews puts a new twist on original Mother Goose poetry. The poems themselves are not altered but what makes it unique is that the illustrations are set in modern-day Brooklyn. The fanciful photographic collages of energetic children outside parks, shoe stores, and markets provide a backdrop to the verses, and it works: the pulse of urban life and the movement of the children accentuates the rhythmic qualities of the rhymes and breathes new life into them.

I LOVED this book. This is a great wordless pictures book, especially for English Learners. One of the reasons i loved this book is because it lets kids use their imagination and imagine climbing to the moon on a latter or jumping on it in space. Another reason I love this book is because it bring it other topics and new words, especially for English Learners. For instance the astronaut on the moon, the cow jumping over the moon, and the silver shining quarter looks just like the moon. I show more think the message of the story is for kids to use their imagination and think about something that you can see but not touch or be near. show less