Overview
The words are instantly recognizable: 'That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.' Spoken by Neil Armstrong moments after he became the fi rst human being to set foot on the moon, they have come to represent all that is possible when man's determination to achieve the seemingly impossible results in success.
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of this extraordinary moment in human history, Robert Burleigh and Mike Wimmer have created a breathtakingly beautiful tribute that transports readers to the stars, where they will experience the moon landing just as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin did.
Synopsis
The words are instantly recognizable: “That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.” Spoken by Neil Armstrong moments after he became the fi rst human being to set foot on the moon, they have come to represent all that is possible when man's determination to achieve the seemingly impossible results in success.
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of this extraordinary moment in human history, Robert Burleigh and Mike Wimmer have created a breathtakingly beautiful tribute that transports readers to the stars, where they will experience the moon landing just as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin did.
Children's Literature
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the American landing on the moon, Burleigh vividly recreates the exciting story of the astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin as they ride the Eagle landing craft down to the moon. As Collins orbits in the Columbia above, they don their spacesuits and go out onto the moon's surface. They use their two hours to explore, collect rocks, and plant an American flag. Their awe is evident. They then must launch the Eagle for a successful return to dock with the Columbia. Anxiety gives way to relief as they are then on their way back to their "fragile, beautiful home," Earth. From the image of the pockmarked lunar surface on the end pages contrasting with the space-suited astronauts on the jacket we are led to anticipate high adventure. Wimmer uses oil paints to portray detailed interior and exterior naturalistic views. We see Armstrong watching the many dials on the controls. The Eagle sits in a vast, empty landscape with the Earth a distant sphere. The striped parachutes carry the space capsule to a safe landing in the ocean, bringing the thrilling ride to an end. Burleigh adds a note on the space program and its possible future. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz
Editorials
Children's Literature -
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the American landing on the moon, Burleigh vividly recreates the exciting story of the astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin as they ride the Eagle landing craft down to the moon. As Collins orbits in the Columbia above, they don their spacesuits and go out onto the moon's surface. They use their two hours to explore, collect rocks, and plant an American flag. Their awe is evident. They then must launch the Eagle for a successful return to dock with the Columbia. Anxiety gives way to relief as they are then on their way back to their "fragile, beautiful home," Earth. From the image of the pockmarked lunar surface on the end pages contrasting with the space-suited astronauts on the jacket we are led to anticipate high adventure. Wimmer uses oil paints to portray detailed interior and exterior naturalistic views. We see Armstrong watching the many dials on the controls. The Eagle sits in a vast, empty landscape with the Earth a distant sphere. The striped parachutes carry the space capsule to a safe landing in the ocean, bringing the thrilling ride to an end. Burleigh adds a note on the space program and its possible future. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia MarantzSchool Library Journal
Gr 1-3
Distinguished language and compelling imagery make this commemoration of the first Moon landing's 40th anniversary particularly intense. In characteristically dramatic free verse, Burleigh begins with the descent of the Eagle and the tense search for a safe spot to land. He describes the two astronauts' first impressions of the "endless, mysterious wasteland" all around, follows Armstrong and Aldrin down the ladder as they take those historic first steps and then, all too soon, come back aboard for an uncomfortable night, a suspenseful takeoff ("No backing up. No doing it again. No second try./They know one thing only: failure means death"), the rendezvous with Michael Collins and the Columbia , and the triumphant return to "Earth: fragile, beautiful, home." Greenish light lends an eldritch glow to Wimmer's full-page, sometimes full-spread close-up views of the lunar landscape, the three absorbed astronauts, and their accurately rendered gear and spacecraft. The sense of immediacy is irresistible and will cause children who consider the event just ancient history to feel as if they too had left footprints on that distant, dusty surface.-John Peters, New York Public Library