Monday, April 27, 2009

Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11

Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11
by Brian Floca
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
unpaged

4 comments:

Kris said...

I like how this book explains the "sections" of Apollo 11; I've always had a hard time understanding how and why the unit that landed on the moon was different from the rocket that blasted off, which was different from the capsule that splashed into the ocean.

Now my next observation may just be my own quirkiness, but it seems as though illustration opposite the opening lines "High above there is the Moon..." is reminiscent (or should I say a foreshadowing?) of the view of the earth that the astronauts had from the moon. Does anyone else see that? Now that I look at it again, the text on the two pages is very similar....hmmmmm....

Rachel said...

The illustrations were amazing, and it read like a picture book. However, there is a very detailed timeline with a diagram of Apollo 11 at the front of the book and a detailed article at the end. The book is riddled with information about Apollo 11 that is not generally discussed. For instance, one page that talked about bathroom habits and the smelly ship really struck me for the first time. I also enjoyed seeing the pictures of the family watching at home.

Jen said...

The illustrations definitely added context and depth to the story, and the text was downright lyrical. The author made sure to mention the topics that interested me as a kid-- using the bathroom, sleeping, and SPACE FOOD!

Mandy said...

What a wonderful example of non-fiction for kids that is readable and appealing without sacrificing detail! Among this year's nonfiction picture books, this one really stands out.