CM Magazine: First on the Moon: What It Was Like When Man Landed on the Moon. (I Was There).

________________ CM . . . . Volume VI Number 14 . . . . March 17, 2000

First on the Moon: What It Was Like When Man Landed on the Moon. (I Was There).

Barbara Hehner. Illustrated by Greg Ruhl.
Markham, ON: A Scholastic/Madison Press Book, 1999.
48 pp., cloth, $22.99.
ISBN 0-590-51462-8.

Subject Headings:
Project Apollo (U.S.)-Juvenile literature.
Apollo 11 (Spacecraft)-Juvenile literature.
Space flight to the moon-Juvenile literature.
Aldrin family-Juvenile literature.

Grades 3-7 / Ages 8-12.
Review by Gail Hamilton.

**** /4

excerpt:

Jan's favourite part of the space suit had been the "Snoopy cap," named after the flying helmet worn by the Peanuts comic-strip character. This was the close-fitting headgear that contained the astronauts' earphones and microphones. Over the Snoopy cap they each wore a clear bubble helmet that snapped into a metal neck ring on their suits. Buzz had explained to his children how the space suits would be filled with oxygen before the Apollo astronauts set out for the launch pad. They would not breathe Earth's atmosphere again for eight days.

From liftoff to splashdown, First on the Moon, part of the award-winning "I Was There" series, brings to life the events surrounding man's first steps on the moon. Besides providing some of the technical information regarding the space mission and the preparation involved to launch the command module, Hehner lends human interest and a bit of humour to the narrative by telling the story from the perspectives of the astronauts and Jan Aldrin. Jan was eleven when her father, Buzz Aldrin, together with Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins, made history aboard Apollo 11. According to the epilogue, to this day, Jan remembers vividly the summer of 1969 - the anticipation, the excitement and the subsequent celebratory parades following the mission's tremendous success.

The book is divided into four main sections (plus an epilogue). The text is written in simple language, and even the very technical aspects of space travel are explained clearly and thoroughly. Sidebars with additional information are included as well as abundant colour photographs, maps, diagrams and paintings. (Some of the most breathtaking photos were taken by Buzz Aldrin, himself, as he walked around on the lunar surface.) A glossary, a timeline of milestones in space exploration and a brief list of recommended reading are also provided. A captivating and fascinating read!

Highly Recommended.

Gail Hamilton is a teacher-librarian at Bird's Hill School in East St. Paul, MB.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364

TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE - March 17, 2000.