Horn Book
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

In 1969, a young boy (who we later learn is the author) excitedly recounts each thrilling moment of the Apollo 11 mission. The main illustrations feature detailed schematics of the mission spacecraft, its astronauts, and their moon walk, while smaller insets show us the boy as he sends off his model rocket, plays in his capsule-themed tent, and watches the mission on television. Websites. Bib., ind. (c) Copyright 2021. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

The Apollo 11 mission ignites a young boy's lifelong passion for rockets and astronomy.A stately Saturn V rocket stands ready, illuminated by beams of light against a night sky. Turn the page, and a stunning white moon with a hazy halo shares that night sky, the words "The moon is out tonight" superimposed invitingly on its surface. Next, a young white boy (assumed to be a young version of the author) stares at the moon through his open bedroom window, thinking, "I'm so excited that I can't sleep!" Effectively set up by these first images, the narrative proceeds to weave the three threadsthe rocket, the moon, and the boyinto a volume that celebrates the 50th anniversary of the first manned moon landing. The boy's first-person narrative and supporting illustrations are set within the larger moon-mission illustrations like family photographs. The science behind the Saturn V rocket is related simply, large-format illustrations emphasizing the grandeur of the Apollo endeavor. The moon itself, ever present and awaiting, gets short shrift once the astronauts set foot on the surface; they spend two and a half hours and off they go, blasting off and heading home. The final double-page spread is a stunning, vertiginous view of the boy's next generation of homemade rockets lifting off.A solid addition to the growing collection of fine volumes about Apollo 11. (author's note, fun facts, glossary, sources, places to visit) (Informational picture book. 6-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.