by Anderw Chaikin/paintings by Alan Bean
ages: 8-12
First sentence: “Until 1961, space travel was something that only dreamers and science fiction writers thought about seriously.”

This is an absolutely gorgeous book. Oversized, glossy pages, beautiful paintings by former astronaut Alan Bean — it’s a book that I want to own just so I can page through over and over again, looking at it all.

And the text supports the beauty of the book. Chronicling the Apollo moon missions (Apollo One, and then Seven through Fourteen), Chaikin details the work, the amazement, the passion that the astronauts had for exploring the moon. It’s not a book that’s done in great detail — it is for younger kids after all — but there are some interesting facts in it. Instead of delving into the details of the missions, Chaikin chose to highlight the enthusiasm for space and the moon, the drive to get men there, and the dangerous job they had to do. There were also pages throughout about the practical side of space travel — from going to the bathroom to adjusting to zero G, to the explanation of why astronauts were held in quarantine — fascinating tidbits that made this surreal experience (especially for those of us who weren’t alive when this was happening) more real.

It’s a fabulous book, one that hopefully will inspire people to study space, to want to return to the moon. Or, at the very least, you’ll react like me, and want to watch movies and drag the family to NASA in Houston, just to get another glimpse at this remarkable time in history.