Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Team Moon by Catherine Thimmes


















1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Thimmes, Catherine. 2006. TEAM MOON: HOW 400,000 PEOPLE LANDED APOLLO 11 ON THE MOON. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0618507574.


2. PLOT SUMMARY
One small step (or one giant leap) at a time, Thimmesh recounts the first moon landing. Here, the general public is given a behind-the-scenes look at the enormous team effort that went into making this a safe and successful event. Illustrations and photographs put the reader in the year 1969, giving a never-before-seen glimpse.

3. IMPRESSIONS
I am a space junkie. I watch every launch and I TiVo the NASA channel. I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when Challenger went down and I watched as Columbia never made it back home. I have watched Apollo 13 so many times I had to switch from a VCR tape to a DVD. I also thought I knew the story of Apollo 11 fairly well. After reading this book, I now know how wrong I was.

I learned so much reading this book. I really liked the way Thimmesh broke the book up into pieces so it is easier to digest. The photographs are stunning and enhance the story. The author takes us on a journey along with those who were a part of this adventure, walking us through the various challenges that both the crew and control had to navigate through.

I also appreciated the conversation snippets between control and the astronauts. We've heard some of these from news footage, but it takes on a whole new meaning as Thimmesh places them with photographs. For example, as the crew drifts down and finally lands on the moon, the conversation falls similarly down the page. That was cool.

Lots of pictures will definitely catch a young adult's eye. There is a great deal of information included here, but is presented in such a way that it does not overwhelm the reader. Also, just about 10 pages are included in the back that are incredibly useful for a voracious space nut: author's notes, sources, chapter notes lots of resources for further exploration.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS from http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0618507574/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books

* Starred review in HORN BOOK: "Thimmesh gives names and voices to the army that got Neil Armstrong and company to the moon and back. The result is a spectacular and highly original addition to the literature of space exploration."

* Starred review in PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: "This behind-the-scenes look at the first Apollo moon landing has the feel of a public television documentary in its breadth and detail."
Amazon.com (2008). http://www.amazon.com/

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