Tee Time on the Moon: How Astronaut Alan Shepard Played Lunar Golf

by David A. Kelly, Edwin Fotheringham (Illustrator)

Overview

Astronaut Alan Shepard's mission: Fly to the moon. Study it in more detail than ever before. Hit a golf ball in low gravity. But how far? Find out in this engaging STEM/STEAM picture book.

In 1971, Alan Shepard and his fellow astronauts made their way to the Moon in the cramped Apollo 14 capsule. Their mission: Study the moon in more detail than ever before. While the world watched on TV, Shepard and Edgar Mitchell gathered rock and soil samples wearing stiff, heavy spacesuits. But Alan Shepard had a secret hidden in his sock: two tiny golf balls. Golf was Shepard’s favorite sport. And since the moon has virtually no atmosphere and gravity that is only a fraction of the Earth’s, a golf ball should have been able to go far. But did it?

Here's the little-known but true story of an experiment that may have started as a stunt, but ended up making people think differently about the moon, ask questions, and look for answers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781662680175
Publisher:	Astra Publishing House
Publication date:	07/25/2023
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	1,019,970
Product dimensions:	9.38(w) x 11.25(h) x 0.42(d)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

David A. Kelly is a children’s author best known for his book series Ballpark Mysteries and Most Valuable Player. He lives in West Newton, MA. Visit davidakellybooks.com.

Edwin Fotheringham is the award-winning illustrator of many picture-book biographies, including Blue Grass Boy, Eleanor Makes Her Mark, and Dazzlin’ Dolly. He has also produced art for magazines, including The New Yorker and Ladies’ Home Journal. Visit edfotheringham.com.

Editorial Reviews

A Bank Street Best Children's Book

"The author adds plenty of carefully researched detail to a story that is usually barely mentioned in histories, if at all, and, at the end, a very helpful overview of every Apollo mission and what it accomplished." —Kirkus Reviews

"The extensive back matter briefly summarizes each Apollo moon mission as well as Shepard’s career as an astronaut. A fresh approach to the history of space exploration." —Booklist

"Kelly’s well-researched retelling of this unusual story...does a little fact-checking on Shepard, who...became the 'first human to play a sport on the Moon.' ­Fotheringham’s digital art uses a limited color palette that gives the story a vintage feel." —The Horn Book

“Tee Time on the Moon introduces readers to the thrill of the Apollo missions while inspiring them to see connections between our life on Earth and the exploration of the Moon and space. The book is engaging, informative, and an excellent distillation of the magic and innovation of the Apollo era.”—Dr. Waleed Abdalati, former NASA Chief Scientist

“People have always been fascinated by the Moon. The Apollo missions only increased that fascination. When you add in a great astronaut who decides to play golf on the Moon, you have Tee Time on the Moon, a thriller that will keep young readers mesmerized. It is great to find a writer and artist who have created a book that engages students in science and technology.”—Farouk El-Baz, secretary, Lunar Landing Site Selection Committee for the Apollo program

“David Kelly captures the adventure and playful spirit of Apollo 14 in this delightful retelling of Alan Shephard’s journey to the Moon.” —Teasel Muir-Harmony,Curator of the Apollo Collection, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

From the Publisher

2023-04-12
A historical anecdote that tees off on readers who think that scientists are invariably serious people.

The 1971 Apollo 14 mission, the third to land on the moon, had tasks and experiments aplenty lined up, but, as they say, all work and no play…. So along the way, Alan Shepard Jr. pulled two golf balls out of one of his spacesuit pockets, attached a golf club head (a 6-iron, for the curious) to the rock scoop used to collect samples, and let fly. As moon suits of the day didn’t allow him to look down at his feet, it didn’t go well, but he did get one solid whack…which, according to a measurement made 50 years later by Andy Saunders, a photographer on Earth, went all of 120 feet. As Kelly drolly notes, “Saunders calculated that a goodgolfer could hit a ball over three miles” on a lunar course. Sure, but (as he doesn’t mention) all these years later, it’s still a record distance. The author adds plenty of carefully researched detail to a story that is usually barely mentioned in histories, if at all, and, at the end, a very helpful overview of every Apollo mission and what it accomplished. Being as the balls were hit in a vacuum, the sound effects (“POW!”) that Fotheringham adds to his painted scenes of figures in heavy suits lumbering over rocky moonscapes are a misleading but minor shank. Everyone in view is White until a final glimpse of a dark-skinned earthly golfer.(This book was reviewed digitally.)

More stunt than highlight, but this “eagle” does land. (photos, bibliography, picture credits) (Informational picture book. 7-9)

Kirkus Reviews