The First Men Who Went to the Moon

by Rhonda Gowler Greene, Scott Brundage (Illustrator)

Overview

2020 New York State Reading Association Charlotte Award Master List

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy issued a challenge to the nation: land astronauts on the moon by the end of the decade. The Apollo program was designed by NASA to meet that challenge, and on July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 lifted off from Kennedy Space Center carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin Aldrin. Apollo 11's prime mission objective: "Perform a manned lunar landing and return." Four days after take-off, the Lunar Module "Eagle," carrying Armstrong and Aldrin, separated from the Command Module "Columbia," and descended to the moon. Armstrong reported back to Houston's Command Center, "The Eagle has landed." America and the world watched in wonder and awe as a new chapter in space exploration opened. Through verse and informational text, author Rhonda Gowler Greene celebrates Apollo 11's historic moon landing.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781585364121
Publisher:	Sleeping Bear Press
Publication date:	03/15/2019
Series:	Discover America State By State. Alphabet Series
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	970L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 8 Years

Editorial Reviews

04/08/2019

Writing in quiet verse reminiscent of “This Is the House that Jack Built,” Greene tells the story of Apollo 11, which “lifted off and soared through the heavens/ and carried the first men who went to the Moon.” Each spread also includes factual and historical details: “While on the Moon, Armstrong and Aldrin set up scientific equipment, took photographs, gathered rock and soil samples, and planted an American flag.” Brundage’s striking illustrations depict the craft’s ascension and views through the vessel’s window of Earth and of the moon, “a desolate land in the darkness of space.” Greene and Brundage provide social and historical context for the mission, while the naturalistic images capture the awe-inspiring magnitude of the moon landing. Ages 7–8. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

04/01/2019

K-Gr 2-In this title, author Greene explores a poetic journey to the moon and back with the men of Apollo 11. This book has a distinct first part and second part, with a narrative and artistic structure that changes halfway through. Greene's narrative text is reminiscent of cumulative tale, repeating a phrase from the previous spread as it builds from introducing Aldrin, Collins, and Armstrong, to landing on the moon, to the parade celebrating their successful return. Then she slightly re-words the rhyming couplets as they unfold in backwards order throughout the second half. The first half of the book also features nonfiction side notes, giving a small amount of context to the words and images, with no asides in the second portion. Brundage's illustrations in the first half portray active, dynamic scenes: the rocket blasting off, and Aldrin and Armstrong walking on the moon. The second half contains contemplative spreads like the bright moon surrounded by black space, and a close-up of the footprints the astronauts left behind. Two pages of endnotes include six photographs (five taken on the moon, one official portrait of the Apollo 11 astronauts), "Where are Eagle and Columbia Now?," further facts, sources, and books for young readers. VERDICT A good addition for the growing shelf of Apollo 11 titles.-Kacy Helwick, New Orleans Public Library

School Library Journal

2019-01-15

A 50th-anniversary commemoration of the epochal Apollo 11 mission.

Modeling her account on "The House That Jack Built" (an unspoken, appropriate nod to President John F. Kennedy's foundational role in the enterprise), Greene takes Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins from liftoff to post-splashdown ticker-tape parade. Side notes on some spreads and two pages of further facts with photographs at the end, all in smaller type, fill in select details about the mission and its historical context. The rhymed lines are fully cumulated only once, so there is some repetition but never enough to grow monotonous: "This is the Moon, a mysterious place, / a desolate land in the darkness of space, / far from Earth with oceans blue." Also, the presentation of the text in just three or fewer lines per spread stretches out the narrative and gives Brundage latitude for both formal and informal group portraits of Apollo 11's all-white crew, multiple glimpses of our planet and the moon at various heights, and, near the end, atmospheric (so to speak) views of the abandoned lander and boot prints in the lunar dust.

It's not the most dramatic version, but it's a visually effective and serviceable addition to the rapidly growing shelf of tributes to our space program's high-water mark. (Informational picture book. 6-8)

Kirkus Reviews