Mission to the Moon: (Book and DVD)

by Alan Dyer

Overview

Produced in cooperation with NASA, this breathtaking book is packed with everything you need to know about the first moon landing. From the earliest legends about the moon to the space race and the successful lunar landing, plus subsequent missions, the oversize book is chock-full of stunning photos and fun factoids about Earth’s nearest celestial body. The DVD included with the book gives you a front-row seat for Apollo 11’s blastoff and the iconic moonwalk, along with never-before-seen footage culled from the NASA archives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781416979357
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Publication date:	05/05/2009
Edition description:	Book, DVD and Poster
Pages:	80
Product dimensions:	10.20(w) x 11.90(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Alan Dyer, one of Canada's foremost experts on astronomy, is the resident astronomer at the TELUS World of Science in Calgary, Alberta. He is also the author of INSIDERS: SPACE, published in 2007. Asteroid #78434 is named after him.

Editorial Reviews

Mission to the Moon is serious fun
—The New York Times

Jack Shafer

Sporting a highly visual encyclopedic format, this informative book features 200 photographs documenting early research into mankind's history with the moon, early space exploration and the space race, and the Apollo missions. Detailed cross-sections of modules, space suits and other equipment offer a sound technological overview, while information on the phases, structure and surface of the moon provides added insight ("The Moon's strong gravity stabilizes our planet's spinning axis. Without the Moon, Earth would wobble wildly over millions of years"). A DVD and poster are included. Ages 8-12. (May)

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Publishers Weekly

Gr 5-7

An outstanding array of archival photos and art, along with flashy packaging, will propel this celebration of the first Moon landing's 40th anniversary into the hands of readers, and viewers too, as a DVD containing about an hour of video clips is tucked into the front cover. The single-topic spreads open with looks at the Moon in myth and prehistory, then go on to trace the development of the space race, the selection and training of astronauts, the Apollo missions from 11 on, and, best of all, recent signs (finally!) of renewed interest in revisiting our nearest neighbor in space. Each spread is bright with pictures, from depictions of cave paintings and early rockets to large cutaways of a Saturn V rocket, an Apollo Command and Service Module, and an "extravehicular mobility unit" (aka a space suit). The visuals are interspersed with informative leadoff introductions, captions, and floating blocks of text. The writing isn't as animated as in Catherine Thimmesh's Team Moon (Houghton, 2006), but the dramatic pictures more than compensate, and eight closing pages of basic Moon facts and figures tack on additional value.-John Peters, New York Public Library

School Library Journal

Attractively packaged by the same publisher of the INsiders series, this oversized volume is one of the many moon books coming out in anticipation of the Apollo 11 anniversary. But while it may lack originality of subject, its visual appeal and vast scope are hard to beat. Covering a wide range-from the beginning of the space race to subsequent lunar landings and facts about the moon in general-Dyer looks at the topic from a variety of perspectives. Some 200 photos from the NASA archives, along with large, detailed illustrations of rockets, space suits and other equipment, add to the presentation. Interesting facts are highlighted on torn pieces of paper, scattered scrapbook-style throughout, with corners taped down. A lunar module poster and bonus DVD containing footage from the first moon landing are included. For children growing up in a world where many rockets quietly launch to little fanfare or acclaim, this work recaptures the magic and determination of early space exploration. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews