Rocket to the Moon!

Big Ideas That Changed the World #1

by Don Brown

On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong took “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” when the Apollo 11 landed on the moon. But it wasn’t just one man who got us to the moon. The Moon Landing explores the people and technology that made the moon landing possible. Instead of examining one person’s life, it focuses on the moon landing itself, showing the events leading up to it and how it changed the world. The book takes readers through the history of rocket building: from ancient Chinese rockets, to “bombs bursting in air” during the War of 1812, to Russia’s Sputnik program, to the moon landing.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Nonfiction, History, Middle Grade, Science, Space, Childrens

136 pages, Hardcover

First published March 5, 2019

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Don Brown is the award-winning author and illustrator of many picture book biographies. He has been widely praised for his resonant storytelling and his delicate watercolor paintings that evoke the excitement, humor, pain, and joy of lives lived with passion. School Library Journal has called him "a current pacesetter who has put the finishing touches on the standards for storyographies." He lives in New York with his family.

Reviews

[Deacon Tom (Feeling Better) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Fun Book

In spite of it being a graphic novel, the book exceeded my expectations especially in showing a short history of rocketry. It also talks about the JFK-USSR space race

The main character is funny and light to make the reading experience easy

The book is spot on with the Apollo story to the history while adding a comic narrator.

Highly recommend for all ages, especially pre-teens and up.

[Lana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first Brown Book, but it will not be my last! Rocket to the moon! takes us back in time to when we, of course, landed on the moon, but in such a fresh and fun way! I was literally sharing interest facts with my husband as I read through this comic-like children’s book! Such as the shuttle held 950,000 gallons of fuel and used up 500,000 gallons of it within the first two and a half minutes! Wow! That is awesome!.
The illustrations were wonderful and I loved everything about the book! I am impressed!
Thank you so much ABRAMS Kids and NetGalley for this advanced copy. My opinions are my own.
This will definitely be featured on my blog! Expect to see it Monday December 3, 2018.
www.colecampfireblog.com
LanaLCole@yahoo.com

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice straightforward history for children of that giant leap for mankind. A touch of humor keeps the science bits from getting too heavy.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this graphic novel solely because it is on the 2020-2021 Bluebonnet list. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed reading this book and how much I learned about the Space Race and the Apollo lunar missions. I was also impressed by how extensively researched this book was, as well as by the plethora of back matter. The back matter included a select timeline of rocket and space flight; a brief biography on the book's narrator, daredevil Rodman Law; a notes section compromised quote attributions; an extensive bibliography, including a variety of books, articles, and websites; an author's note; and an index.

The illustration style was not my favorite. The historical figures looked cartoonish (to the point I did not even recognize former president John F. Kennedy), which contrasted the detail on the rockets. Rocket explosions were plentiful and depicted using large and colorful scenes, which contrasted the drab colors used in the rest of the book. I know I am not the book's target audience, but I thought there was too much bathroom humor. Overall, I am giving this book 3 stars.

[Joseph R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

After an extremely brief history of rocketry (starting with the discovery of gunpowder in China and getting to twentieth century in four pages), the book takes a quick look at the Cold War space race that inspired John F. Kennedy's interest in getting a man on the moon. Kennedy, at the beginning of the 1960s, challenged NASA and the country to get a man safely to the moon and back by the end of the decade. The book explains the various Apollo missions before Apollo XI, which landed Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the surface of the moon.

The book is faithful to the history while adding a comic narrator who has little to do with the story other than providing occasional jokes. The format is a pale imitation of the Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales books--the humor is weak and he doesn't provide any interesting insights into the situation. The book describes the other missions. I was amazed at how much of the moon got explored. The book does have a bibliography for further reading.

Slightly recommended.

[Genevieve Trono · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our 8 year old loves graphic novels and he loves non-fiction books and this was a great mix of both. The comic strip style narration kept his attention while also giving him lots of awesome and informative facts about the moon landing. The history of rocket building was especially interesting to him and he loved referring to the timeline at the end of the book. Not only was this fun to read but he learned a lot! Thank you to NetGalley and ABRAMS Kids for gifting us a copy of this book. All opinions are our own.

[Brenda Kahn]

Brown borrows from Nathan Hale by having an early but unknown to me, aviation daredevil narrate. Rodman Law briefly covers the history of rocketry from ancient China through the Apollo missions. Impeccably sourced, as usual. Timelines, notes and many suggestions for further learning make this a terrific resource for students.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and sweet, but with really great descriptions AND important poop facts about space, which are always a delight to find.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine book telling a story of the first manned trip to the moon. This is not the 3rd book I've read on the subject. The art is a little messy. But the story keeps moving. And it tells enough to get a flavor without getting bogged down. There are a lot of bits that are told in other books. This one is not fancy, but quite readable.

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not into space nonfiction, no matter the format.

2020 Tx Bluebonnet

[Hana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I REALLY love 💗 the quote:”That’s one small step for man. One giant leap for mankind.” That Neil Armstrong said,it reminds me of all the space(or universe)things I’ve said,heard and done. I’m always sucked into space things(especially space books cause I LOVE 💕 reading). I just am always thinking 💭 about the universe and I just can’t get away from it :-)!!! THE WHOLE THING!!!!!

[Shelly Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars for the illustrations!

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

With the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, there have been a ton of books about the moon, space astronauts, to infinity and beyond.

So, I thought reading this book would be 'just another' space book.
But, I loved it. It is from a totally different perspective. It is told from the perspective of Rodman Law, and early tinkerer of rockets in the early 1900s.

I learned some new things that I didn't already know for all the other books and documentaries about the subject. AND as it is done in cartoon graphic novel style, it might peak the interest of a reluctant reader!

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

A graphic novel history of rocket development and space flight, with detailed accounts of the first lunar landing and brief accounts of all the USA missions that led up to it and all the lunar missions following it.

I've read some other graphic novels that cover the history of space flight, but this is the only one I've read that focuses on lunar landings of the USA AND the only one that covers the missions that followed that first mission. Brown does a good job of making this history interesting and memorable. If kids think nonfiction is boring, hand this to them. A good read for the lunar landing anniversary, and great resource to science/US history classes. And of course, those kids who love nonfiction, love rocket science, and love graphic novels will also enjoy this.

Notes on content: No language issues or sexual content. Rocket explosions that resulted in loss of life are mentioned, but no graphic or gross portrayals in the pictures.

[Jeannie Standal · Rating 4 out of 5]

In honor of the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, this graphic novel has a fresh approach that is a pleasure to read. Instead of focusing just on the Apollo 11, the Apollo program, or even the Space Race, this one follows the development of the rocket. From the development of gun powder in China clear through the completion of the Apollo program. It is narrated by Rodman Law, dare devil and stuntman, who attempted to fly by rocket from Jersey City to Elizabeth, NJ in 1913.

This could have easily gotten bogged down in details, but Brown is able to put in just the right amount of detail, with just the right amount of text, for a winning result.

A great choice for upper elementary and middle school.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm excited for whatever this series will entail especially if Don Brown is a part of the creative process.

This focused graphic novel is about space travel and the regular and scientific people who worked sometimes independently and sometimes together to figure out how to propel rockets, how to use jet fuel, how to put humans up in space, how to survive coming back down, how to walk on the moon.

It was perfectly suitable to the audience with enough math, science, jargon, and real-speak to learn something and appreciate the work that goes into equaling the Russians in launching man into space (and the costs associated with it). Compact and informative and a great addition to graphic nonfiction.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite Don Brown yet. Rocket to the moon borrows Nathan Hale’s excellent framing device: giving us a wry and knowledgeable narrator who clues us in to events while making pointed commentary. I found the accounts of the development of the moon missions entirely fascinating. Lots of solid facts for those animated by the science and plenty of inside moments (floating poo anyone) for those who just want a great story.
Big ideas changed the world, but the genius is in the details. In this start of a nonfiction, graphic-novel series, the first attempt of a man to fly in a rocket ends with a bang. How we got from there to the moon landing is told in entertaining, fact-packed panels, full of memorable anecdotes, lots of history and witty asides.

[Elaine Fultz, Teacher Librarian, MLS · Rating 4 out of 5]

I fell in love with Don Brown's picture book bios years ago with his illuminations of Mary Anning and others, so when Drowned City (Katrina) and Great American Dust Bowl FINALLY received overdue praise for GN nonfiction, I wondered what took so long for his brilliant artistic approach to information to be noticed. Here Brown details the development of the 1969 moon landing. While numerous books were published to mark the anniversary of this historic event, this one is likely to ride both the waves of GN popularity and the 50th anniversary NASA's greatest achievement (apologies for the use of a sad FOUR word acronym in a review which celebrates both TLAs and TNTs). Every children's/ELEM and teen/MS/HS library needs a complete Don Brown GN biography and nonfiction collection.

[Meag McHugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 136 pages, the author somehow manages to pack the history of rockets/space travel from the 1860s to today, and I must say he did a pretty good job of it! With such a small amount of pages to chronicle such a complicated, fascinating history, Brown managed to hit on a lot of the big moments and sprinkle in some lesser-known yet equally interesting tidbits as well. There are tons of resources in the back matter for readers looking for more detailed information, but as an introduction to the space race, this one works. I imagine the graphic format will be appealing to kids.

[Bkrieth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining narrator with great voice, extensive history of the race to the moon compacted into understandable, sequenced text, and a drawing out of the Apollo 11 expedition make this an appealing and informative read. The colors and framing style feel more sophisticated and less cartoon-like, while the details will delight those space and non-fiction afficionados in your classroom (yes, bathroom considerations are included.) The back matter is also excellent! I am looking forward to seeing more in this series to add to the NF graphic novels in my classroom collection.

[Great Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the moon landing with this entertaining and educational graphic novel. The history of the perilous journey to the moon is presented with much admiration, and just the right amount of humor, for our space pioneers who daringly risked their lives for our national goal to be first on the moon. Reviewer 18

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing "wrong" with the info in this graphic nonfiction narrative, but honestly it was pretty boring. Lots of narrative text panels but hardly any dialogue. Felt like too much information to try to cover in this format. Would've preferred a focus on the Apollo moon landing rather than try to cover the whole history.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

With accessible factual--and often humorous--text, and graphic novel illustrations, Don Brown relates the history of man's quest to rocket into space and onto the moon. Written in honor of the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing, this book will be enjoyed by middle grade through middle school readers. Tie-in with units about the solar system.

[Patti Sabik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional information on the space race and rocket science history in general. Can’t wait to see more titles in this Big Ideas series since it seems everything Don Brown produces is amazingly great quality work.
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley.

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excited for this new graphic novel series, tracking all the big ideas leading up to a major event - in this case space flight to the moon. And we now have a new acronym in our household - TNT (aka "tricky number two").

[Ms.Gaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brown does an excellent job of condensing a lot of information into basic aspects and presenting it in a colorful, animated graphic format that is easily understood. Includes timeline, notes, bibliography. Ages 8-12

[Bridget Neace · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe I'm just in a mood. And clearly I'm in the minority with my opinion. But I couldn't even appreciate the fact that I was learning new information from this graphic novel. No. Just a big wad of...no. Ugh.

[Hoover Public Library Kids and Teens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Launching the Big Ideas that Changed the World series, Brown’s graphic novel provides a history of the discoveries that would enable space travel, the space race, and the (sometimes tragic) experimental missions that paved the way for Apollo 11.

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish the entire series were already available.

[Lesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I'm not all that into spacey stuff Done Brown makes every subject he's written on educational and meaningful.