From School Library Journal
Grade 3-5–Despite the title's implied promise of an up-close-and-personal slant on the Apollo 11 mission, Hilliard goes where many have gone before, delivering a standard account of the early space program's achievements. Not only is that account too skimpy to include Armstrong's "One small step" comment or to note that the infamous "Vomit Comet" has been retired, but it also contains such awkwardly phrased lines as, "Nearly running out of fuel, Neil and Buzz found a safe place to land," and is matched to painted art that features lumpy, ineptly modeled faces, along with a schmaltzy scene of a worker weeping over the burnt-out shell of Apollo 1. Next to the likes of Mary Ann Fraser's One Giant Leap (Holt, 1999) or Alexandra Siy's Footprints on the Moon (Charlesbridge, 2001), this one isn't likely to leave the launch pad.–John Peters, New York Public Library
From Booklist
Gr. 2-4, younger for reading aloud. This large-format book tells the story of the first lunar landing. Double-page acrylic paintings illustrate the narrative text, while narrow vertical panels on most spreads carry background information in smaller type. After briefly noting the early aspirations of astronauts Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins and then introducing the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs, the story focuses on the Apollo 11 mission, from liftoff to moon landing to Pacific splashdown. The paintings offer many excellent, dramatic representations of the spacecraft. While the often-passive narrative style generates little energy, the relatively short main text and highly accessible illustrations make this a possible choice for reading aloud. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
