Aldrin, B. (2005). Buzz Aldrin: reaching for the moon. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishing.
Summary:
This is a picture autobiography of Buzz Aldrin. The story describes where he got his nickname and the multiple coincidences that happened early in his life. After high school, Buzz attended West Point and became a fighter pilot. After deciding that he wanted to become an astronaut he went back to a university and studied aeronautics and astronautics. The first time that he applied to the astronaut program he was not accepted, so he tried again and was accepted. He made one flight before being assigned to the Apollo flight that took him and two other astronauts into space allowing him and Neil Armstrong to be the first people ever to walk on the moon.
Ages:
Kindergarten through 5th grade
Credibility of Author:
The author, Buzz Aldrin, is very credible since he is the one who actually went to the moon! Also NASA and the Johnson Space center provided references to help create this book.
National Standards that this book relates to:
The social studies standards that are met are time, continuity, and change
And the science standards met are earth and space science.
Access Features:
Author’s note and illustrator’s note and a timeline
Description of the Illustrations:
The illustrations were created by Wendell Minor. This quote was taken from the illustrator’s website about illustrations: “Artist Wendell Minor has said, ‘A picture invites the viewer into it and offers a sense of mystery. It lets the viewer become part of the process. A good picture, like a good story, is timeless.’ (www.minorart.com)
Awards:
Outstanding Science Trade book K-12
Related Texts:
If You Decide to go to the Moon by Faith Mcnulty
Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon by Catherine Thimmish
My response to the book:
I love this book! The illustrations in it are great. They create such brightness and pull the reader in and make it feel like you were there! My students will love this book when I use it.
How I would use this book in my class:
This would be a great book to use when we study the solar system. It will truly interest the kids to see a book written about a person who has actually been to the moon.
This book has 37 pages.
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2 comments:
I read and annotated Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Appollo 11 on the Moon and I loved the book. I feel like the kids really could see and understand that the space missions were not just about the astronauts. I feel like this would diffently be a good book to use with Buzz Aldrin: Reaching for the Moon. I like for the students to recognize everyone involved.
I think that when we study space in science, the emphasis is usually on the "stuff" in space. Since some of those concepts are not as tangible and easily understood, I think that studying the astronauts in conjunction with what they studied in space will give it a more human and understandable edge.
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