Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon
Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that there is nothing to concern parents, and much to inspire children, in this book.
Families who read this book could discuss the space program. How was it possible to coordinate all of these people? What would it be like to have been a part of it? Children may be interested in hearing parent or grandparent memories of the first moon landing. They may also be interested in learning more: See the extensive appendices in the book for places to start.
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Matt Berman
What a terrific idea for a children's book: using the built-in fascination of one of the greatest and most dramatic events of human history to explore the less glamorous but absolutely essential people and jobs that underlie any great achievement. The book is beautifully done in large format, with lots of photos and quotations. The only problem is that 80 pages is far too few to provide more than a taste of the topic. This book could easily have been two or three times as long and still have held young readers' interests.
At times text superimposed on pictures is difficult to read, and the author's penchant for hyperbolic prose seems unnecessary in the face of such a hyperbolic event. But these are quibbles that won't bother most kids -- they will be too busy being enthralled by the adventure, the drama, and the fascination of the bit players who made the whole thing possible. Thimmesh has taken a grand idea and fleshed it out beautifully. It's not hard to imagine that this is the kind of book that could inspire a child's direction in life.
From The Book
It was mind-boggling. The television itself had been a flat-out miracle when it began to dominate the scene a mere twenty years previous. And now, that technological wonder of wonders was going to trump itself. Because very soon, if all went according to plan, it would transmit pictures of an actual man, on the actual moon. In 1969, on July 20 (in one part of the world) and July 21 (in the other part), half a billion people on the blue-marbled globe clicked on their TV sets -- flush with anticipation -- eager to watch as Apollo 11 would attempt to put man on the moon for the first time in all of history. The moon!
Plot Summary:
The story of the first Moon landing is a familiar one, but Catherine Thimmesh delves beneath that story to tell about a few of the people and organizations that made the project possible. From the seamstresses who sewed together the 22 layers of the spacesuits to the team that designed the parachute system that lowered the capsule into the ocean, TEAM MOON chronicles their efforts, special considerations, setbacks, and triumphs.
Illustrated primarily with archival photographs, the book includes extensive back matter, as befits an event as thoroughly chronicled as this one: an author's note, pictures and quotes from an assortment of team members, bibliography, chapter notes, additional sources (including many Web sites and other media), starting points for further exploration, info on other missions, an index, and a glossary.
Related Books:
Other Books by Catherine Thimmesh:
Madame President
The Sky's the Limit
Girls Think of Everything
More Books about the Space Program:
Moonwalk: The First Trip to the Moon by Judy Donnelly
If You Decide to Go to the Moon by Faith Mcnulty and Steven Kellogg
More Info on Apollo:
Apollo 11 Site
30th Anniversary Site
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