Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon by Catherine ThimmeshBook 96 of 100 for the 100+ Reading Challenge
Book 27 of 50 for the New Author Challenge
Awards: Golden Kite Award/Honor Book; NCTE Orbis Pictus Award/Honor Book; ALA Best Book for Young Adults; Robert F. Sibert Nonfiction Award/Honor Book; ALA Notable/Best Books; Kirkus Editors Choice; AAAS/Subaru Prize
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
As soon as I heard about this book, I knew I wanted to read it. Our family has had passes to Kennedy Space Center this year, and we have a love for all things space-related. This informative and fascinating book did not disappoint.
The author uses a pictorial approach to document the various stages of the Apollo 11 mission, starting with the preparation. We learn that alarms that went off right before the LM landed on the moon, they nearly ran out of fuel, and there was a frozen slug of fuel in the fuel line that could have caused an explosion. We learn how the space suits were made, how the images were transmitted from the moon to the television (despite a massive windstorm in Australia), and how the astronauts had to learn to take great pictures.
I found the team effort documented in this book to be inspiring and even emotional at times. I never really gave much thought to the unselfish attitude of Michael Collins, the astronaut who stayed on board the spacecraft while Armstrong and Aldrin played on the moon. I never really noticed that Apollo 11 is the only mission where the patch does not display the names of the astronauts--a conscience decision in deference to the 400,000 people it took to put man on the moon.
This book is written on a 7th grade level, so it is pretty serious and in depth. Younger readers will be drawn to the book, but will probably need guidance and help from an adult to fully understand everything. I enjoyed this immensely and learned a lot. This is a must read for space enthusiasts.
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Source: Library
2 comments:
Sounds GREAT! this is one book i really need to get!
It's so easy to focus on the few who are in the limelight. It's refreshing to see a book dedicated to the effort of the many.
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