Customer Reviews

Godspeed, John Glenn

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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"

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.