The Moon

by Seymour Simon

Why is there no weather on the moon? Is there sound on the moon? Is it ever day on the moon? Why do astronauts bounce around on the moon? How old is the moon?
From Apollo 11's first landing to the mystery of moonquakes and the genesis of craters, this stunning introduction to our nearest neighbor in space describes the moon and its all-important relationship to Earth. Mesmerizing full-color photography and an informative text perfect this exciting and educational journey in space.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Picture Books, Childrens, Space, Astronomy

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Seymour Simon, whom the NY Times called "the dean of [children's science:] writers," is the author of more than 250 highly acclaimed science books (many of which have been named Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children by the National Science Teachers Association).

Seymour Simon uses his website, SeymourSimon.com, to provide free downloads of a wealth of materials for educators, homeschoolers and parents to use with his books, including 4-page Teacher Guides for all 26 of his Collins/Smithsonian photo essay books. The site provides multiple resources for kids writing book reports or wanting to explore the online Science Dictionary, and also features the Seymour Science blog highlighting current science news. Educators and families are encouraged to sign up to receive the monthly newsletter from SeymourSimon.com to stay abreast of the latest materials that Seymour Simon is introducing to enrich the reading experience.

He taught science and creative writing in elementary and secondary schools and was chair of the science department at a junior high school in the New York City public school system before leaving to become a full-time writer. "I haven't really given up teaching," he says, "and I suppose I never will, not as long as I keep writing and talking to kids around the country and the world."

Seymour Simon is also a creator and the author of a series of 3D books and a series of Glow-in-the-Dark Books for Scholastic Book Clubs, a series of leveled SEEMORE READERS for Chronicle Books, and the EINSTEIN ANDERSON, SCIENCE DETECTIVE series of fiction books. His books encourage children to enjoy the world around them through learning and discovery, and by making science fun. He has introduced tens of millions of children to a staggering array of subjects; one prominent science education specialist described Simon's books as "extraordinary examples of expository prose."

Seymour Simon has been honored with many awards for his work, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science/Subaru Lifetime Achievement Award for his lasting contribution to children's science literature; the New York State Knickerbocker Award for Juvenile Literature; the Hope S. Dean Memorial Award from the Boston Public Library for his contribution to children's science literature; The Washington Post/Children's Book Guild Award for Non-fiction; the Jeremiah Ludington Award for his outstanding contribution to children's nonfiction; the Empire State Award for excellence in literature for young people; and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Forum on Children's Science Books.

In a recent interview Simon was asked if he ever thinks of retiring. "I seem to be working faster and harder than ever. I absolutely don't feel any urge to sit back and look at what I've done. The only things that I'm thinking about are things I'd like to do in the future. I'm planning and doing and continuing to write. It's what I love to do. I remember a story about an anthropologist going to talk to a tribe and he asked them what was their word for "work." Their response was they have no word for work. Everybody does the things that they do in their life. I love that response. I don't differentiate between work and play. Everything I do is something that I enjoy doing - the writing, the research and everything else."

Seymour Simon writes and photographs nature from his hilltop home in Columbia County in upstate New York, where he lives with his wife Liz Nealon.

You can follow Seymour on Facebook and on Twitter, as well as on his website, which offers free, downloadable Teacher Guides to his books for educators, parents and homeschoolers, as well as the popular Seymour Science Daily Blo

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Seymour Simon's The Moon is if I look at the author's presented text with an uncritical eye an adequately enlightening but standard general introduction to the earth's moon, although the book's 2003 publication date (and The Moon was actually and in fact first published even earlier, in 1984) does unfortunately make Simon's categorical claim that there is absolutely NO water present on the moon's surface factually false, seeing that frozen water, that indeed quite large amounts of ice have recently been detected and discovered as existing both on the moon's surface and especially in many lunar caves and caverns. But while The Moon would thus probably work well enough to basically introduce children (older children from about the ages of seven to ten years of age) to our earth's one and only satellite, frankly, I really have not been all that academically and intellectually impressed with and by The Moon, as aside from the now out of date information and details regarding the presence of water on the moon (or rather that the author claims there absolutely is none in any form whatsoever), even more problematic is that Seymour Simon also refrains from explaining and showing how the moon's gravity affects the earth (how for example, the oceans' tides are caused by lunar gravity pulling on the earth), not to mention that while the Appollo Missions to the moon of course were and remain of the utmost importance (and essential), lunar exploration and study did not simply stop in 1972, did not cease with Apollo 17 (and while NASA astronauts might have been the only individuals to have so far set foot on the moon, scientists and space explorers from countries other than the USA have also studied and analysed the moon and just because they did not actually land and set foot on the moon, that does not mean their findings etc. are secondary or to be ignored as seems to have rather been the case here). Therefore, and even though there is defintely much of interest included and presented in The Moon (and with especially the accompanying photographs being aesthetically brilliant and occasionally even spectacularly awesome), textually, thematically and content-wise, I really cannot consider more than a grudging two stars at best (as there are just too many annoying informational gaps and shortcomings, and, yes, that Seymour Simon has also not bothered to include ANY secondary sources, any bibliographical information, period, that is not only massively frustrating, it also seriously limits the teaching, learning and indeed especially the supplemental research potential and value of The Moon).

[Laura L. Van Dam · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be honest, this book is for children but i bought it for myself (i am clearly an adult- ok not so clear sometimes).
The info is very brief and i bought it for the pictures, which are amazing. It was in the sale bin at a local bookstore for $1, and i couldn´t say no!

[Hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

With simple sentence structure and short paragraphs, The Moon is filled with information about the moon's environment. It includes information about Apollo 11, 15, and 17. This book would be appropriate as a read aloud for K-5, but for independent reading, 2-4.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty much perfect for our study of the moon in 3rd grade. Not too dense but filled with most of the concepts I am supposed to teach.

[Hannah]

An informational book about the moon. Facts include the moon is the Earth's only natural satellite. The light places on the moon are mountains and the dark places are flat lands. The moon is made of rock and covered in craters. The same side of the moon always faces Earth. Neil Armstrong was the first person to set foot on the moon. People weigh a lot less on the moon then they do on earth. The moon is silent. The moon does not have weather. This would be a good book to read to middle elementary about the moon. It is very descriptive but does not use words that older kids would not understand. I could use this in a science lesson about the moon and even have the kids calculate their weights on the moon.

[Shauntelle James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scientist first went to the moon in 1971. Our moon is made mostly of rock and differs from earth in that it contains no water. Because of this, the moon has changed quiet little throughout its history. Scientist were able it find that the moon is about the same age as earth. Although scientist have been studying the moon for years, there is still much to know.

[Melissa Namba · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not a bedtime story for the average kid, but maybe for one obsessed with space. I would highly recommend this book for a young kid doing a science report on the moon. It is very dense with beautiful pictures. Pair this with a DK book on the moon or space and your kid is set.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great children’s book on the moon. It contains a lot a great information for kids and teachers!

[Tan · Rating 1 out of 5]

a bad and book money and roblox game yes

[Rey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked this book a bunch. Really general moon info but fun to read with elementary students, which is what I did.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again, this book was mostly a regurgitation of facts onto pages with cool moon images. It did have good information but there was nothing exciting about reading it. I feel like there could be something more exciting and fun to look at that was just as informational!

[Tori Fullmer]

Informational. Seymour Simon artfully teaches children about the history of the moon. The pictures are captivating.

[Relyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our summer school theme is NASA and space this year. So, I am teaching fiction and non-fiction about the moon, stars, and aliens. We have lots and lots of cool plans. For example, we are designing our own life-sized aliens, having spaceship races (decorated Frisbee), writing poems about what the moon is really made of: green cheese, milk, white chocolate, a pearl... Their ideas are vast and fun. As a part of summer school, we are reading tons and tons of moon, star, and alien related books. I'll review some of them here.

I love Seymour Simon. His books are always full of good information. Even though they are usually written at to high a level for second graders, they get a lot out of the pictures and captions.

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gives general information about the Moon.

The book is a good introduction to the Moon. It includes information regarding the moon landings, including the last visit to the Moon and what the astronauts left there. However, it does not mention the U.S. flag that was placed on the Moon. There is information given regarding a theory of how the Moon formed. There are large photographs on each page, but the reader is left wanting to see more images of the Moon’s surface. This could be a good thing because it could promote further Moon research and reading, as long as the reader is not bored by the informational aspect of the book. The writing is fairly dry.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who knew that I would learn so much information about the moon from such a tiny book. This book was chalk full of information and amazing photographs of the moon. I liked this book because it was simple and to the point yet interesting and informative all at the same time. There is only about a paragraph or two on each page and it is simple enough for a medium reader to be able to read and comprehend.

I would use this book during space units. I could also use this book when talking about weather and geography because it compares the weather and geography of the moon with the earth's.

[The Reading Countess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who doesn't like anything by this author? Narrative nonfiction at its finest. I can envision some of my know-it-all science gurus thinking this book won't teach them anything they haven't already memorized by heart. Not so! Simon shares some interesting information about the creation of the moon and some pretty amazing photos to go along with it.

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grade: 2nd-3rd Topic: Solar System, Astronomy, Exploration/Explorers

Part of a unit on the solar system and the elements in it. This book focuses more on space exploration so it gives the students an up-close view of the moon from the astronauts perspective. They could write stories about if they have ever wanted to travel to outerspace. They could write letters to real astronauts.

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

It helped me learn about the moon. It is very adventurous. It's cool how footprints stay on the moon longer than they'll ever stay on Earth.
I liked the pictures. I thought the spaceship was a car at first. I thought the picture of the "moon car" was drums (bang, bang, bang).

[Alexandria K · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about the moon. It is interesting. It has lots of photographs. I learned that the moon was made a long time ago. The first astronaut who stepped on the moon and the apollo mission were interesting to read about.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for children interested in space. Has a great deal of info about Apollo missions to the moon and the environment of the moon. Great to add to your non-fiction collection. Appropriate for grades 2-5.

[Hannah Starnes]

This is another good science book that you can use when talking about space and the solar system. You can use it to talk about the effects it has on the Earth, as well as used to bring up the idea of being an astronaut as a career option.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very simply written story that is meant to inform eaders about the moon and its characteristics. It also talks about the NASA missions that landed on the moon. This would be a good book to use in a read aloud during a science unit about space.

[Julie Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full of facts about the moon in a way that I, a non-science-minded person, could understand. This actually really fascinated me. I'm going to put a copy on my shelves in school.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Moon
Simon, Seymour *
great pictures and good information

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very informative book about the Moon. It includes information from space missions to the moon to the composition of the moon and what it is like there. There are many nice photographs included.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly we looked at the pictures and read selected bits. Interesting for older children. June 19, 2012

[Rani]

A good introduction to Moon, but needs updating.

[Rachel Hancock · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great informational book about the moon. It has actual pictures to show children just what the moon looks like.