Moon Mission

April 8, 2019
Writing from a compelling second-person perspective that places readers in the Apollo 11 spacecraft (“Rocket engines ignite beneath you”), Brouwer describes the journey from liftoff to moon landing and splashdown. As events unfold aboard the spacecraft, the text engages readers with problem solving: “The side of your capsule that faces the sun will get hot enough to boil your fuel tanks. On the other side, it will get cold enough to freeze the radiators solid.” Throughout, Brouwer discusses the scientific and technological advancements that made the moon landing possible, while photographs show key moments. The immediacy of Brouwer’s prose allows readers to step into Armstrong’s boots: “When your legs are used to a far higher gravity, it feels like no work at all to walk on the moon. And you discover it’s easier to use a bouncing gait, like a kangaroo hop.” Ages 10–14.

February 1, 2019
A vivid tribute to the scientific insights, technological ingenuity, and sheer brass that put men on the moon in 1969 and brought them back alive.Brouwer pitches his tale as a triumph over "life-or-death challenges that no humans had faced before" and writes in second person to crank up its immediacy. He puts readers right into the cramped spacecraft with Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins as he chronicles the heady mix of tricky bits and narrowly averted crises that were Apollo 11: "Yes, you are almost out of fuel. You know that the moon has nearly zero atmosphere. You can't glide. The Eagle is dropping like a piano." In between dramatic episodes he also trots in a large cast of early and contemporary scientists--from Tycho Brahe ("a true geek") and Alessandro Volta to Emmy Noether and Katherine Johnson--whose work made the mission possible. And, along with the customary nods to space conditions ("Eight days, three men, one small space, no showers and lots of body gas") and technological advances like Velcro, he covers several less-common sidelights, such as how the Apollo astronauts got around the problem of affordable life insurance and the canard that the moon landing was a hoax. Generous as it is, the array of small, often murky black-and-white photos and technical drawings doesn't measure up to the narrative's vim, but hefty sets of print, web, and video resources at the end will help bring the era and the achievement to life.Dud pix but a high-flying commemoration nonetheless. (index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)

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Starred review from July 1, 2019

Gr 4-8-An engaging second-person point of view narrative puts readers into the place of the astronauts in this detailed exploration of the triumphs and near-disasters of the Apollo 11 mission and the science and scientists who made it possible. Each of the 11 chapters, or "Episodes," begins with a four-page section ("Stage One") that explains what is going through a person's head as, for instance, they're sitting in "what is essentially a giant thermos" nine seconds before liftoff, or when a person in the moon lander approaches the moon's surface at 3,007 mph and the program alarm sounds indicating that the onboard computer has overloaded. Then there is a two-page "Stage Two" that introduces scientists like Wernher von Braun and Isaac Newton, or describes events like a CIA mission that secretly took apart and examined the Soviet Union's Luna spacecraft in 1959. Finally, the two-page "Stage Three" section reads more like a traditional nonfiction title, informing readers about topics such as gravity, trivia about the Apollo 11 astronauts, and theories about the formation of the moon. This repeating, predictable structure makes the book more accessible to less proficient readers, and the unique narrative structure is captivating. Another fun feature within each chapter is a repeating sidebar that positions an important figure and discovery in STEM history as a mystery to be solved at the conclusion of the chapter. VERDICT A standout title in the crowded field of Apollo 11 celebrations. Highly recommended.-Kacy Helwick, New Orleans Public Library

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