The Extraordinary Life of Neil Armstrong

by Martin Howard

One little boy who loved the idea of flying became the first person to set foot on the moon.

On 20 July 1969 Neil Armstrong made history, his 'giant leap for mankind'. From his childhood playing with model planes to becoming one of the most famous astronauts of all time, discover the incredible story of Neil Armstrong's life in this beautifully illustrated book, complete with narrative biography, facts and timelines.

Genres: Nonfiction

128 pages, Paperback

Published June 6, 2019

Reviews

[Rebecca]

Titled correctly, Neil Armstrong did indeed lead an extraordinary life, making many significant contributions to our country's ongoing space exploration.

[Bayley Davis]

Very informative, gives a great summary of his life with little facts and diagrams along the way. Also as a summary a cute timeline. I would recommend this for kids wanting to learn more about different people who have impacted the world. Also for any adult , it’s a good refresher and you may learn things you never knew before.

[Siddhant Ghosh]

I really loved how this book told about the life of Neil Armstrong. I also liked that it had “did you know” sections as they were very interesting. I leant about different space shuttles and how Apollo 11 landed on the moon.

[Windy2go]

Should I give this book more stars? It is what it is meant to be, a non-fiction exploration of a famous person aimed at young readers. In that genre, it is great. Light on words. Graphic pages. Easy reading. Successfully conveying the life story of Neil Armstrong. Should I give it more stars? I read it with my 8-year-old. It took us six months, so it wasn't at the burning top of his nightly interests, but every now and then he asked for it and wanted more, which is not a bad recommendation.

[Trent Escue]

The Extraordinary Life of Neil Armstrong tells the story of Neil Armstrong’s life, from his childhood love of flying to becoming the first person to walk on the moon. The book uses kid-friendly text and illustrations that show important moments in his life, like him flying planes, becoming an astronaut, and stepping onto the moon. The pictures help young readers visualize space travel and understand how hard Neil worked to reach his goals. I chose this book because it teaches students about perseverance, courage, and the history of space exploration in a way that is easy for children to understand.

A great activity for this book would be a “Build Your Own Timeline” project for 3rd–5th grade students. After reading the book, students would create a simple timeline of Neil Armstrong’s life using four or five major events: his childhood interest in airplanes, becoming a pilot, training as an astronaut, and landing on the moon. Students could draw small pictures for each event or use printed images. This activity helps students better understand sequencing, historical events, and biography structure. It also connects to social studies and science by showing how one person’s actions can impact history.

[Ms. Anderson]

When Neil Armstrong was a kid, he wanted to be a pilot. He wanted to know how planes worked and got his pilot's license when he was 16. Little did he realize that those loves would converge to help him to become one of the first astronauts and the first man to walk on the Moon. This book tells the story of how his dreams came true and took him further than almost anyone else has ever been, before or since.

Perfect for anyone with lofty goals, who likes historical figures, or who loves reading about space.

[Kristi]

I read this book out loud to my boys who are 7 & 9. We were so enthralled by the man who is Neil Armstrong. From learning about him when he was young to his final days. Our appreciation for the risk that it was to go to the moon was realized even more by reading this. It’s an easy read and highly entertaining and informative. I recommend it to any space lover.

[Lindsay Jacobs]

This colorful little book brought Neil Armstrong and the amazing feat of landing on the moon to life in our homeschool! Simple to read yet not childish. I highly recommend it for an introduction to space study or to encourage excitement about the world beyond!

[Annie Flanders]

The Extraordinary Lives Series

This book is about Neil Armstrong . The wonderful illustrations are by Freda Chiu.


I really liked the format of this book. What I really liked was the simplicity of reading a biography of Neil Armstrong. His life was so fascinating.

[Katy Lovejoy]

I say again, Michael Collins is my favorite astronaut

[Lore]

A really great book for kids - the information is pretty accessible to them. Plus it has lots of fun facts (some of which were new to me too).

[Ashley Dumont]

Published in 2019
An informational novel that summarises the life of Neil Armstrong. Captured in-depth facts and historic events that were easy to comprehend- especially for young readers. Introduce book while teaching about American history, use the book as a literature circle option (opportunity to group based off students' interests) to discuss the impacts that Neil Armstrong had on the world.

[Sarah's Reading Nook]

This was the first in the series we read and my kids have begged me to read more!

[Danielle]

Read with my 5th grader for a book report. Had a good overview of his accomplishments. We read things we already knew but learned new things about his life as well.