This is a terrific book that will spark the curiosity of any student interested in space or spaceflight. The sidebar facts tell history.
Curricular Connections:
*Retell events/Writing piece
*Compare/Contrast to human spaceflight
*Write as another animal going into space

This is the story of a chimpanzee born in Africa and raised to travel into space. He first named Chang, but was renamed Ham in honor of Hollman Air Medical Center where he was trained to go into space. Ham took his first flight into space on January 31, 1961. Ham became a celebrity, but more importantly, proved that living creatures could fly into outer space. Ham was taken to the National Zoo in Washington DC, but was alone and unhappy. He was finally moved to the North Carolina Zoological Park in Asheboro to live out his life with a large colony of chimpanzees. Ham was buried at the International Space Hall of Fame in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Although Ham lived a short life, he paved the way for man to explore space.

I was attracted to this book because I wanted to learn more about Ham and the mission he was sent on. I have wondered about him in the past and was saddened but not surprised to find out that he died a long time ago when I googled him. It's just sad to think that no other animals have gone to space recently. Besides that he is dead I didn't know anything about Ham before reading the book (not even his name, which made me smile) so it was very interesting for me. I was also happy to learn that he lived nearly twenty years after being the first earth creature in space and is buried in Washington D.C. I want to visit his grave the next time I'm in capitol city! This would be a great book to share with a class of any age learning about space exploration. ( )

Summary: “Ham the Astrochimp” is the story of a chimpanzee born in Africa and raised to travel into space. He first named Chang, but was renamed Ham in honor of Hollman Air Medical Center where he was trained to go into space. Ham took his first flight into space on January 31, 1961. Ham became a celebrity, but more importantly, proved that living creatures could fly into outer space. Ham was taken to the National Zoo in Washington DC, but was alone and unhappy. He was finally moved to the North Carolina Zoological Park in Asheboro to live out his life with a large colony of chimpanzees. Ham was buried at the International Space Hall of Fame in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Although Ham lived a short life, he paved the way for man to explore space.

Personal reaction: The story is like a biography of Ham, but is also had side bars that told more details about space exploration. The sidebars told about the history of space exploration, what happen during certain phases of a flight, and about the returning and landing of the flights. The sidebars also told about the zoos that Ham lived at and about the International Space hall of Fame. I really like the story and think children of all ages will enjoy the book as well.

Classroom extension: 1. I would use this book with a lesson about chimpanzees. 2. I would also use this book with a lesson about space exploration. ( )

This is the story of Ham, the first living creature to travel into space successfully. We learn about Ham's training, his mission to space, and his years after he left NASA. Ham was a pioneer in space travel because he proved that it was possible to survive and return safely. Painted illustrations add to the charm of Ham's story; we fall for this plucky fellow who helped us learn so much.