Children's Book Review: Moonshot

Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 by Brian Floca (Jackson/Atheneum, $17.99, 9781416950462/141695046X, 48 pp., ages 4-7, April 2009)

Floca (Lightship) masterfully balances poetry and science in this picture-book homage to the voyage of Apollo 11. "High above/ there is the Moon,/ cold and quiet,/ no air, no life,/ but glowing in the sky," the narrative begins. Next Floca introduces the three astronauts--the "click" of hands locking into heavy gloves, the "click" of heads locking into large, round helmets, and the "click" of straps fastening and the hatch being sealed. He lets the facts speak for themselves while also acknowledging the mindboggling preparations that went into this historic journey: the two small spaceships, Columbia and Eagle, "sit atop the rocket/ that will raise them into space,/ a monster of a machine:/ It stands thirty stories,/ it weighs six million pounds,/ a tower full of fuel and fire/ and valves and pipes and engines,/ too big to believe, but built to fly--/ the mighty, massive Saturn V." A spread divided into six horizontal panels chronicles the countdown. A crowded campsite across the water from the launchpad serves as backdrop to "10 . . . 9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . "; next, "Ignition sequence started" for 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . zeroes in on the flames from the rocket's exhaust. The artwork then pulls back to show the "mighty arms [that] hold [the rocket] steady," the waiting crowd, the final count, and a close-up of astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin at "zero." Then a full-bleed spread of "Liftoff!" as the powerful engines push that "monster of a machine" skyward.
 
Floca explains the unique roles of Columbia and Eagle, which disengage from the Saturn V Launch Vehicle and then lock together, "rushing into darkness," toward the "Moon, far away,/ cold and quiet,/ no air, no life,/ but glowing in the sky." This refrain accompanies stunning views of the moon, growing ever larger. Upon the Eagle's landing, the recurring phrase takes on even greater significance as Armstrong and Aldrin (Collins remains inside Columbia) gaze up at "the good and lonely Earth,/ glowing in the sky." As with any great work of poetry, the visual imagery and the pacing of the text hold the key to Floca's success. He leavens the astronauts' seriousness of purpose with details about the perils of eating and eliminating in weightless space, and characterizes Armstrong and Aldrin's stroll on the Moon with a childlike glee: "They step, they hop./ As light as boys,/ they lope, they leap!" Throughout the narrative, Floca connects this monumental experience to the impact felt at home: "Armstrong is calm--but on Earth they cheer!" reads the text picturing a family in front of the TV set, the father dabbing at his eyes. Endpapers feature cutaway views of the rocket and all its stages, and offer a timeline of events; meticulous source notes make this a fine reference for youngest researchers, scientists and space fans. In these 48 pages, Floca makes an indelible impression of how those brief eight days in July, 40 years ago, changed history.--Jennifer M. Brown