Godspeed, John Glenn [Hardcover]

Richard Hilliard (Author)

Book Description

On February 20, 1962, John Glenn sat strapped into Friendship 7, a small capsule on top of a giant rocket. People from all over the world waited for Mission Control's countdown to lift-off. When the rocket jblasted off at Cape Canaveral, Florida, fellow astronaut Scott Carpenter radioed the message "Godspeed, John Glenn." John Glenn had been sent into outer space to become the first American astronaut to orbit the earth. Bold illustrations and informative sidebars tell the story of this remarkable adventure.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-4–Hilliard follows up his Neil, Buzz, and Mike Go to the Moon (Boyds Mills, 2005) with another sketchy but heartfelt tribute to a space-program milestone. Combining brief, general overviews with details presented in smaller type on side panels, he traces Glenn's fascination with flight from childhood through World War II and the Korean conflict, and then describes NASA's fledgling missions, including that of the chimpanzee Ham, America's first space celebrity. He climaxes his account with Glenn's journey aboard Friendship 7 and closes with a quick look at the astronaut and politician's later career, including a mention of his 1998 return to space. The Earth visible through the capsule's view port is far too small, but the close-up scenes, rendered in thickly applied acrylics, capture a sense of the mission's drama and triumph. There are no leads to further resources, but readers who want to know more can consult Don Mitchell's Liftoff (National Geographic, 2006), another recent addition to an overflowing shelf of Glenn profiles.–John Peters, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

This picture-book biography focuses on astronaut John Glenn's remarkable descent to Earth in his Project Mercury capsule, Friendship 7. Glenn and his fellow NASA scientists suspected that the capsule's heat shield may have been damaged, and for several dramatic minutes, while communications were impossible, no one knew if Glenn was alive or dead. Then radio contact was reestablished, and the world learned that an American's first manned orbit of Earth was successful. Readers may need help putting some of the history and science into context, and Hilliard's acrylic illustrations are somewhat stiff in their rendering of people. Even so, the striking images of the powerful rocket's liftoff will capture kids, and sidebars on each page support the narrative with basic facts about Glenn and aeronautics. Overall, this is a competent account of a dramatic moment in the early days of the space program. Todd Morning
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Boyds Mills Press (October 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590783840
• ISBN-13: 978-1590783849
• Product Dimensions: 12.4 x 9.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #637,677 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars nice biography for younger readers, September 23, 2007

By 

Michele (Pennsylvania, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Godspeed, John Glenn (Hardcover)

When John Glenn, Jr. boarded Friendship 7 on February 20, 1962, he became the first American astronaut to orbit the earth. This book gives a biography of his life and describes how he came to be an astronaut. It also describes some of the technical information of how the shuttles are safely able to enter space and return astronauts to earth.

This book is a great biography of a very important man. This is the first biography book geared towards younger readers that I have encountered and I was very impressed by it. The beautiful illustrations draw the reader's interest and the story of John Glenn's life is written in a way that younger readers can understand it and will be interested in it. The sidebars include more technical information about how the shuttles work and the space program, which will appeal to older readers who are interested in space.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, November 9, 2006

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Godspeed, John Glenn (Hardcover)

For John Glenn, becoming an astronaut seemed natural. After taking an airplane ride as a small boy, he became a Marine Corps fighter pilot during both World War II and the Korean War. Besides the numerous medals that he won during these wars, including being awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on six different occasions, Mr. Glenn grew to love flying even more than he had as a boy. This led to a job as a test pilot for experimental aircraft.

It seemed only natural that in 1959 John Glenn was chosen, along with six other men, to form the Mercury Seven--men who would train with NASA to become astronauts. As they withstood the difficult training that they'd need before they could ever enter into space, NASA was busy sending animals, including Ham the chimpanzee, into orbit to test the body's ability to deal with weightlessness and other issues.

John Glenn's day finally came on February 20, 1962, when he boarded the Friendship 7 and was shot into space. After orbiting the Earth three times, he was forced to return due to a malfunction aboard his capsule. However, that first man-made orbit into space gave President John F. Kennedy the facts he needed to make a push for a man eventually landing on the Moon.

GODSPEED, JOHN GLENN is an excellent illustrated biography, perfect for a middle school library or classroom. For those students interested in space or history, this is a great book from which to gain knowledge of both.

Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"

5.0 out of 5 stars My Son loved it!, March 8, 2011

By 

mama of two - See all my reviews

This review is from: Godspeed, John Glenn (Hardcover)

My three year old is obsessed with Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story so in an effort to steer him towards books, and real heros I checked this book out of the library. He loves it. The information is a little bit over his head but he loves the illustrations. I would totally recommend this book to any child interested in space. The pictures make it interesting for a preschooler, but the story would be perfect for any elementary school child.