Customer Reviews

The Moon Over Star

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4 star:		(2)
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Further back than my memories go, there have ALWAYS been footprints on the moon. They were there more than a decade before I was born, so I always sorta took this for granted. There have ALWAYS, to my mind, been footprints on the moon (even though I know there haven't), and there have ALWAYS been space shuttles (even though I know there weren't) and there have ALWAYS been astronauts and so on.

For my young nieces, we have ALWAYS known about extra-solar planets (some of which are earth-like!), and we have ALWAYS had a camera on Mars, and Pluto has ALWAYS been something OTHER than a planet. We've always had cell phones and GPS and satellite TV, for that matter, as far as they're concerned.

It's hard enough for anybody born after the moon landings, I think, to really *feel* what a big thing that was. How quickly it became history, just another obvious fact that everybody knows!

This book does a good job of encapsulating the wonder and amazement that I imagine must have been all around for everybody (well, almost everybody) at the time. Space. It was different then, I guess.

This book is wonderful and a great addition to our library. i would definitely recommend. the book arrived in perfect condition.

The Moon Over the Stars

By: Diana Hutts Aston

Pictures by: Jerry Pinkney

Coretta Scott King Award Picture book

This book was about Apollo 11 landing on the moon this happened back in 1969. To us now that may not seem like such a big deal but back then it was. The book looks at this event in history through the eyes of the kids in the story. The excitement that comes with his part of history is made very apparent in the book. The story also allows us to know what the kids are thinking that they may be as they grow up. The art work in this book is very vivid and detailed, almost telling the story without knowing the words. This book makes the children want have bigger dreams.

The Moon Over Star

Written By: Dianna Hutts Aston

Illustrated By: Jerry Pinkney

Coretta Scott King Honor Award-picture book



This book really captures the emotions and feelings that people were feeling when the first man walked on the moon. When we think about space and the moon now, it does not seem like that big of a deal or something that we would fixate on. Back in the 60's the moon was a true fascination for a lot of people and someone actually going into space or walking on the moon was unfathomable. This story takes you through the life of an 8 year old named Mae and her dreaming of going to the moon someday. This book will leave you in wonderment.

Nineteen sixty nine was a very interesting year. All the children were exited because the astronauts were slated to land on the moon that day. A young boy, along with everyone else in church, prayed for Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, Jr. and Michael Collins. The boy was a dreamer and hoped that one day he too could go to the moon. His gramps wasn't as optimistic as he was and the old man thought "the space program was a waste of money." He had worked hard all his life and was tired, "lifetime-tired."

He and his cousins weren't tired and after their chores they "built their own spaceship," from a bunch of old wooden scraps. The five of them together would drift off in their imagination, listen to the "rumble, the roar, and the force of the Saturn rocket." Gram hollered to them to come in and watch the television. The astronauts were about to land. Gramps had different ideas. He was an old farmer, but perhaps he would watch the moon walk with them. Or would he?

This is a beautiful rendition of the story of young children who, in watching the Apollo 11 astronauts reach to the stars, desired a bit of that dream themselves when they grew up. The art work is stunningly nostalgic and it makes the older reader simply want to hop on a time machine and head back to those carefree exciting days of the Apollo missions. This is a book that the adult reader will enjoy just as much as its intended audience!

Jerry Pinkney is a wonderful and well known children's book illustrator. He showed us many pictures he drew, even new ones from two new books coming out soon! We learned that he loved to draw and read as a child, but reading was hard and slow for him. We saw a slide show of old photographs of his family and photographs of his illustrations. As a young boy, he sold newspapers. An artist, who had a studio down the block, noticed Jerry's sketches and invited him to his studio. Wow, a real studio and a real artist! He inspired Jerry to make drawing his career. Jerry soon had his own studio, it was small and messy. Now he has a new one! Jerry really didn't know he could have a career doing what he loved most until he met the real artist down the block! Jerry has illustrated over 100 books and he has even been invited to the White House! His visit was a real life biography! Jerry Pinkney inspired us to draw more! If you get the chance to meet you might like him and want to read the many books he has illustrated. -Mrs Shapiro's second grade class, Croton-on-Hudson, NY