Balloon To The Moon by Gill Arbuthnott and Christopher Nielsen
Anyone who is familiar with Big Picture Press books will have some idea of what to expect: a large format, hardback book which couples easy-to-read but insightful information with the very best of illustrations. In this case its the retro-styled images of Christopher Nielsen which evoke an age gone by: the era of the great space race. The vintage drawings might remind an older reader of a time when astronauts were just the fantasy of sci-fi comics - younger readers will simply delight in the colourful depictions of a wealth of scientific and historic facts and stories.
'Balloon To The Moon' also cleverly employs a countdown to the moment when man finally stepped foot on the moon: it begins with chapter 10, running all the way through to chapters 3, 2, 1 and then Lift-Off, Lunar Orbit and Re-Entry. Along the way, Gill Arbuthnott tells the story of everything that had to happen before Neil Armstrong could step out of that lunar landing module and utter his immortal words. Filled with facts and figures, this book provides accessible, bite-size chunks of space travel history - children of all ages will learn something from this stellar publication.
'Where Once We Stood' by Christopher Riley and Martin Impey
New publishing house Harbour Moon Publishing are making a great first step with this visual feast of a book. Illustrator Martin Impey's pencil drawings and watercolour paintings take centre stage in this pleasingly large-scale paperback book. This isn't just a book with one or two pictures in it; every one of its 128 pages features multiple, largely monochrome but highly evocative, images. This book certainly is a visual treat - even if the text were ignored one could spend a great deal of time exploring its pages, wondering at one of the world's greatest dreams come true.
But there is text in this book too, and film producer, director and writer Christopher Riley presents the real-life conversations of the Apollo astronauts alongside urgent, present tense narrative. This combination makes for compelling reading - readers, helped along by the illustrations, will easily imagine that they are there with the astronauts, or in the control room, at least. Featuring the voices of astronauts from all 6 successful Apollo moon landings, this book might take a younger reader a while to make their way through as they savour both the text and the pictures. That's not to say there is too much, rather that this book is something unique, being unlike other non-fiction books, and therefore necessitating a different kind of reading. 'Where Once We Stood' is the kind of book that will be taken off the shelf time and time again and is an absolute must for any space-loving child or classroom where space is being taught about - you won't find anything else like this out there.
The latest in Stripes' Trailblazers series, Alex Woolf's biography of Neil Armstrong, presented in a novel-sized paperback, is the perfect thing for KS2 readers who want to know more about one of the world's most famous men. Stepping right back into his childhood and following Armstrong's life through to his last days, the story of how one man became the astronaut to first step foot on the moon is told compellingly yet simply - I can't imagine a reader wanting to even put this down.
The main story is interspersed with fact files, illustrations and other asides which, far from interrupting the flow of the narrative, add to it and provide a greater level of insight than one might expect from a book like this. Young readers will not only close the book more knowledgeable about one of the greatest feats of mankind, they will also leave feeling inspired by the level of commitment and hard work that Neil Armstrong demonstrated throughout his life - Woolf surreptitiously draws life lessons out of Armstrong's story, giving the book another dimension altogether. The book finishes nicely with a word on the legacy of both Armstrong and the Apollo missions, encouraging readers to look ahead to how 'spaceship earth' might be protected in the future.
That's all for now, but watch this space for more space-themed children's books - I have a whole shelf's-worth that I'd love to share with you! Here's a sneak peek of some of them:
Here are 10 books about space that would make a great addition to the shelves of your classroom, especially if you are learning about space.— That Boy Can Teach 📵 (@thatboycanteach) April 10, 2019
They cover a good range of themes and are varied enough to appeal to different tastes. All are rich in factual information. pic.twitter.com/Ca3wf6gGDN