Marty's Mission

May 13, 2019
In this addition to the Tales of Young Americans series of informational picture books, Young tells the story of the Apollo 11 mission from the perspective of 10-year-old Marty, whose father works at the NASA tracking station in Guam, relaying signals to Houston. Marty eagerly follows the mission’s progress with a friend, until Marty’s father urgently requests his help. An antenna at the tracking station has gotten stuck, and the adults need smaller arms than their own to perform emergency surgery: “Do you think you can do it?” Young’s storytelling captures the breathless excitement that surrounded the Apollo 11 voyage, which Miles conveys through cheerful artwork. Readers will wonder how much of the events depicted are true: while the author’s note explains that the story is based on a real boy who greased a malfunctioning bearing, further background material is lacking. Ages 7–8.