T-Minus: The Race to the Moon [Paperback]

Jim Ottaviani (Author), Zander Cannon (Illustrator), Kevin Cannon (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: May 19, 2009 | Age Range: 8 and up

Graphic fictionalized retelling of the moon landing timed for the fortieth anniversary!

In T-Minus the exciting story of two world superpowers racing to land a man on the moon is depicted through compelling comics artwork, taking readers through the history of the race and turning the engineers and astronauts involved into vivid and real characters. The story unfolds through the eyes of the figures working behind the scenes to make this miracle happen, showing every triumph and catastrophe along the way, and culminating in the dramatic event itself.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up–Beginning 12 years before the lunar landing, this book chronicles the competition between the United States and the Soviet Union through a catalog of both countries' multiple attempts on the road to manned spaceflight. Organized as a countdown, making the outcome seem inevitable, the frequent, prominent sidebars list a type of rocket, the duration of its flight, and whether the mission was a success or a failure. There are more than 30 attempts chronicled, and the shift between Soviet and U.S. successes creates an interesting balance in the narrative. Ottaviani credits the early Russian successes to chief designer Korolev, and his influence and personal vision fill the first half of the book. The American portion of the narrative lacks a parallel central architect, with the text focusing less on process and more on the majesty, beauty, and peril of simply being in space. The story is necessarily condensed–the author notes that approximately 400,000 people worked on the U.S. projects overall–but plentiful information is provided in the numerous panels and explanatory captions per page. The copious detail will appeal to some, and certainly helps to underscore the meticulous research that went into this undertaking. Ottaviani is particular with facts and eager to inspire readers with regard to the scientific process.–Benjamin Russell, Belmont High School, NH END --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Jim Ottaviani, a former engineer who is now a librarian at the University of Michigan, has garnered numerous nominations and awards (including Eisner and ALA/YALSA nods) for his graphic novels about science. He speaks regularly on comics in venues ranging from local schools to Stockholm’s Nobel Museum. Jim lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Kevin Cannon and Zander Cannon (no relation) have worked together since 2004, illustrating such books as Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards and The Stuff of Life. Zander earned two Eisner awards for his work on the Top Ten series. Both Cannons reside in Minneapolis.

Product Details

• Age Range: 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Aladdin; Original edition (May 19, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416949607
• ISBN-13: 978-1416949602
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #292,737 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #76 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > Exploration & Discoveries

More About the Author

Jim Ottaviani has worked in news agencies and golf courses in the Chicago area, nuclear reactors in the U.S. and Japan, and libraries in Michigan. He still works as a librarian by day, but stays up late writing comics about scientists. When he's not doing these things, he's spraining his ankles and flattening his feet by running on trails. Or he's reading. He reads a lot. Elsewhere on the web you can find him at www.gt-labs.com .

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A remarkable look at the space race told comic book style June 19, 2009

By Mark McGinty

Format:Paperback

As we "deet deet deet" into the first panel like a capsule descending from outer space, we enter the remarkable world of a space race told comic book style. I've always been a fan of a storyteller who lights a fuse right away. Give us a ticking bomb, a deadline, a finite amount of time in which our hero must succeed or face annihilation: Run Lola Run and Back to the Future did it perfectly and we all remember the catastrophic Y2K computer bug that nearly wiped out the human race and unraveled the fabric of the space-time continuum. Thankfully Dick Clark was there to bring us home in the nick of time.

In the case of T-Minus, the countdown is the premise of the book and while the reader knows that the race will be won when the clock expires, the book's characters are racing against a different deadline: JFK's challenge to put a man on the moon and return him to earth by the end of the decade.

So brings T-Minus: The Race to the Moon, a compelling behind-the-scenes story of the space race filled with software glitches, landing bags that deploy prematurely, loose heat shields and a pair of cosmonauts forced to hide in their downed capsule while Siberian wolves threaten them outside. Told with parallel stories of the United States vs. the Soviet Union, with characters that come and go as the years pass, the artwork pulls you into the world of scientists and space travelers and makes you feel what they actually felt. The character introductions are subtle. Every few pages I say to myself "Oh, there's John Glenn..." or "Hey, that's Yuri Gagarin." They are woven in seamlessly and their allegiance is discernable by a clever variance in speech bubble font (the Russkies speak their words with a backwards N). And it's nice to see that the Soviets aren't portrayed as evil, mindless thugs (Indy 4?) but competent, brilliant scientists and explorers...that is, until they get desperate.

The crisp artwork is filled with first-rate detail, with tiny lifelike tools, soldiers marching to battle and endless knobs, buttons and switches. Most captivating is the iconic imagery of the space missions, especially the highlights drawn into the margins which are reminiscent of the one-shot Sergio Aragonés cartoons from Mad Magazine.

As I sit and write this on a day when six humans in space are awaiting the arrival of seven more, the most ever together in space at one time, I realize what a big deal it was to have two men in space at once, how far we've come and how far we have yet to go. Best part of the book: Yuri Gagarin's landing in the middle of a field and his greeting to the two startled spectators who happen to be nearby.

As a space buff I thought this was a terrific book that elaborated on a great story that we all know. Meant to educate children ages 9-12 it will provide certain enjoyment for adults (I finally learned what woomera means). This is best exemplified by an astronaut who defies his orders and absolutely refuses to go to bed while orbiting the moon because he is too busy taking pictures. Can you blame him? I'd fight to stay awake too!

Mark McGinty is the author of ELVIS AND THE BLUE MOON CONSPIRACY

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars B-minus August 26, 2011

By Jean E. Pouliot

Format:Paperback

Trying to tell the story of the US-Soviet space race is biting off quiet a large slice of history. Ottaviani and crew are only partly successful in this graphic novel approach to the tale.

There's a lot of good about this book. It tries to tell the story of the space race with as much of an eye to the Russian side as to the American. I had never heard of The Great Designer, Sergei Korolev, the sickly Soviet master engineer who was the Werner von Braun of the Soviet space program. The contrast between the stunning early Russian space "firsts" contrasted with string of the US rocket disasters was as eye-opening as the later American series of successes and Russians debacles.

That said, the book's missteps were irritating. Many launches are described with a single illustration on the sides of a page. Many critical missions of the Gemini program, which tested the ability of astronauts to rendezvous and dock in space, were "covered" in a few confusing throwaway side panels. And the attention paid to certain missions or events was out of balance to their importance. The routine orbit of Apollo 8 around the moon went on for page after page. Also, the arguments about which corporations should build the US space craft were hard to follow and borderline irrelevant. And Ottaviani more than occasionally got lost in depicting unintelligible NASA space-talk.

In the end, though, I came away a great deal of knowledge from this imperfect depiction of the space program, and the two-party race to the moon. Not a glowing endorsement, but a thumbs up, weakly, nonetheless.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic look at both sides of the Space Race! June 17, 2010

By M. Pollard

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought this for my son (who loved it!) and really enjoyed it myself. Tons of historical detail and personal stories. I learned much more about the Soviet side of the space race from this book than from anything else I've read or seen.

Every boy with an interest in space, rocketry, science or engineering should have a copy and so should every school library.