Skylab: The First American Space Station

Children's Literature

Though it contains a great deal of information about the first U.S. space station, this book is not particularly engaging. The first two sentences set the tone for the book: "Skylab was the first American space station. A space station is a large structure in space that orbits the earth." Since the book is written for primary-grade children, something like, "Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in space?" would be much more effective in capturing reader attention. Instead, the reader is simply left to slog through an unbroken string of short, declarative sentences, made all the more wearisome by the author's overuse of the passive voice. The photographs do little to elucidate the text. In fact, cross-section drawings would have been much more successful at depicting life inside Skylab. On the positive side, a good glossary follows the text, clearly and simply defining the scientific and technical terms that are highlighted in the text. This book is part of the "Space Firsts" series. 2003, PowerKids Press/The Rosen Publishing Group,
— Barbara Carroll Roberts

School Library Journal

Gr 2-3-These quirky, but above-average accounts of groundbreaking (so to speak) episodes in the international history of space exploration match very simply written narratives to eye-catching, if often overdesigned, photomontages. Feldman writes soberly but with occasional wry overtones. She presents Tito as a private individual who made his eight-day sojourn to the International Space Station both in fulfillment of a dream and to prove that anyone-anyone willing to fork over $20 million and spend 900 hours in training-could travel into space. In Skylab, the author notes that among the supplies loaded aboard were 1200 aspirins. Though her implication that the crews adapted to long periods of weightlessness with ease is simplistic, she makes a clear case for the project's significance in our space program. This title merits consideration as a replacement for Dennis Fradin's Skylab (Children's, 1984; o.p.) and other out of print resources. Tito's tale is more of a curiosity-but his enthusiasm for what he's dubbed "the ultimate human adventure" may kindle young readers' dreams that, a few years down the road, stand a good chance of becoming (affordable) realities.-John Peters, New York Public Library Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.