Go for the Moon

Starred review from April 8, 2019
In the hours leading up to the Apollo 11 mission, a child imaginatively follows the astronauts’ movements: “The astronauts are ready for the mission, and so am I.” As the boy (dressed in a NASA shirt) is pictured pulling the small rocket he built in a red wagon, the Saturn V is transported to its launch pad. Gall provides technical details relating to the stages of the voyage, with cutaways offering a view into command and service modules; readers next see the events through the boy’s eyes (he replicates the Eagle from cardboard). Finally, the family gathers around the television for the landing: “Everyone is so nervous that no one speaks.” Gall uses approachable analogies to illuminate STEAM concepts, and an author’s note recalls Gall’s experience watching the moon landing as a child, further personalizing this edifying and heartfelt story. Ages 5–8.

April 15, 2019
The Apollo 11 mission ignites a young boy's lifelong passion for rockets and astronomy. A stately Saturn V rocket stands ready, illuminated by beams of light against a night sky. Turn the page, and a stunning white moon with a hazy halo shares that night sky, the words "The moon is out tonight" superimposed invitingly on its surface. Next, a young white boy (assumed to be a young version of the author) stares at the moon through his open bedroom window, thinking, "I'm so excited that I can't sleep!" Effectively set up by these first images, the narrative proceeds to weave the three threads--the rocket, the moon, and the boy--into a volume that celebrates the 50th anniversary of the first manned moon landing. The boy's first-person narrative and supporting illustrations are set within the larger moon-mission illustrations like family photographs. The science behind the Saturn V rocket is related simply, large-format illustrations emphasizing the grandeur of the Apollo endeavor. The moon itself, ever present and awaiting, gets short shrift once the astronauts set foot on the surface; they spend two and a half hours and off they go, blasting off and heading home. The final double-page spread is a stunning, vertiginous view of the boy's next generation of homemade rockets lifting off. A solid addition to the growing collection of fine volumes about Apollo 11. (author's note, fun facts, glossary, sources, places to visit) (Informational picture book. 6-10)

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June 1, 2019

Gr 2-5-As the Apollo 11 astronauts make their way to the moon, a young boy follows along with his own version of the mission activities at home. The unnamed, young narrator spends the majority of the book explaining concepts behind space travel such as thrust, telemetry, and orbit, and annotating the realistic illustrations and diagrams of the inner workings of the Saturn V rocket, service module Columbia, moon lander Eagle, and spacesuits. He also launches a water rocket (or air pressure rocket) with his younger brother, drinks Tang in his cardboard Columbia, lands a model moon lander by sliding it down a string, and jumps around his yard while practicing his "giant leaps." According to the author's note, this semi-autobiographical work is based on Gall's childhood fascination with the moon landing. His passion for the subject matter comes through in this detailed work. The imaginary celestial adventures of the narrator work as an effective mirror to the journey of the astronauts. As a resource for educators, its only downside is that no instructions are included for the plethora of tie-in activities. Back matter includes an author's note, fun facts, glossary, sources, and places to visit. VERDICT Recommended for science classes and school and public library collections.-Kacy Helwick, New Orleans Public Library

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2019
Grades 1-4 As the astronauts of the Apollo 11 mission prepare for their history-making flight, a young boy stands at his window, staring out at the moon. In the morning, his family watches the news closely while he sets up the designs for his own rocket ship. From there, the rockets take over: double spreads and single pages zoom in, diagramming the five engines needed to get to the moon, or out, comparing the size to the Statue of Liberty. The boy narrates as the astronauts begin their famous journey, while small panels at the foreground document his own day: he pumps his model rocket full of air, uses a wagon as a launchpad, and packs Tang for the journey. The large trim size places the focus on the richly colored illustrations, which chart and diagram each phase of the journey and return. This will appeal, predominately, to the space and tech obsessed, but as the fiftieth anniversary of the moon landing arrives, anyone looking to experience the excitement of that time will have an interest.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)