Apollo 13: Space Emergency

Children's Literature - Uma Krishnaswami

In a sturdy library edition, Enslow's "Countdown to Space" series brings your space buff the story of the mission that was to be so routine that the media paid it little attention. It turned out instead to be a near-tragedy that riveted the nation and passed into the annals of space history. Cole describes the flight of Apollo 13 in five succinct chapters with notes on sources, a glossary, and suggested further readings. An index is a useful addition. Dramatic photographs and diagrams illustrate Cole's chronological account of the launch, the crew's responses to their close brush with disaster, and the tremendous teamwork that brought the astronauts home.

School Library Journal

Gr 4-6Clearly and succinctly, Cole recounts some of the highlights of America's manned space-flight program. All the books are well written (with footnotes) and illustrated with photographs (most in color). Apollo 11 is comparable to R. Conrad Stein's Apollo 11 (Childrens, 1992), without all the exclamation points. Apollo 13 is superior to David Baker's Danger on Apollo 13 (Rourke, 1988) and Gail Herman's Apollo 13 (Putnam, 1995). The flights of both Apollo 11 and 13 are covered in titles chronicling the entire Apollo program, such as Gregory Kennedy's Apollo to the Moon (Chelsea, 1992) and Gregory Vogt's Apollo and the Moon Landing (Millbrook, 1991), but these books are for a slightly older audience. The shuttle program is covered by George Fichter in The Space Shuttle (Watts, 1981; o.p.), which includes the first flight of Columbia, but in less detail than Cole provides. Gregory Vogt also covers the entire shuttle program in The Space Shuttle (Millbrook, 1991), but for a slightly older audience. Cole's books will be useful for report writers as well as appealing to browsers. Good choices for anyone looking for fresh material on space flights.Elaine Fort Weischedel, Turner Free Library, Randolph, MA