A child's dreams of walking on the moon like Aldrin and Armstrong come to nothing, probably because the child is British and also because NASA doesn't do that sort of thing any more (if it ever did, of course). He could approach that Beagle bloke with the sideburns from the Open University I suppose, but realistically he's better off just staring out of his window lamenting.

This inspirational story should be a reminder to all children that if you are interested in something, embrace it. Although this little boy never actually went to the moon, he knows more about it than most, and always has a place in his heart for it. Follow your interests, should be the message taken from this story. Would recommend for bedtime, or for 1-3 graders who love to read.

Fifty years ago today . . .

Midnight had come and gone,
but the boy was wide awake
and standing at the window
in his dressing gown,
because two astronauts
were walking on the surface of the moon,
two hundred thousand miles
above his bedroom.

A lovely look back at a special event that still gives me chills.

Encouraging.

Weird, ethereal and eerie little short story that is quite good. Would liked it to have been longer but good nevertheless.

A fictionalisation of the author's childhood dream to walk on the moon.

NASA's Constellation program may be planning to return people to the moon for the first time since 1972 - but somehow I doubt that in 40 years time someone will write a picture book about how it deeply affected their lives...

Oh - and I like the new cover much more than the original - I suspect its going to be a long, long, long time before children have the opportunity to walk on the moon!

Footprints on the Moon is a historical fiction picture book. This book is about a boy who dreams of one day being an astronaut and walking on the moon. When Apollo 11 does land on the moon he is able to watch it on TV, later that night he dreams that he is walking on the moon with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. I think that this book would work very well to introduce a creative writing piece during the Earth and Space thematic unit. I would read this book and have students pay particular attention to the section where the boy is dreaming. I would instruct the students to write their own story about landing on the moon or another planet.

Years ago, a little boy gazed at the moon, dizzy with the thought that he was looking at a world 200,000 miles away. As he read atlases and library books and kept clippings on astronauts orbiting the moon, he hoped and hoped that they would find a way to land there. And one extraordinary day they did, captured on his flickery TV, like giants bouncing in slow motion. When the boy fell asleep, he dreamed that he walked with them too. In this lyrical, transporting tale, Mark Haddon, the boy in the story, conveys the thrill of one moment in history through a child's eyes, aided by Christian Birmingham's evocative illustrations. www.hcpl.net

Haddon, Mark Footprints on the Moon pgs. 32 Candlewick Language~G, Sexual Content~G; Violence~G

“Years ago, a little boy gazed at the moon, dizzy with the thought that he was looking at a world 200,000 miles away.”—excerpt from front flap hardcover edition

In his eloquent prose, Mark Haddon (Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) recalls how as a young boy he longingly gazed at the moon and dreamed of one day becoming an astronaut. Then on July 20,1969 man took a monumental step into history. The beautiful illustrations by Christian Birmingham make the picture book memoir’s ambiance complete.

ELM–ESSENTIALtt Allison Madsen~Teen Librarian-SJO Public Library

This book made me think about what it would be like going on the moon and I know it would make students start imagining if they went to the moon as well. Let students imagine, but also use this as a teaching tool about the Apollo 11 moon landing. Though the book itself never states the exact same of the landing, it would be fun for students to investigate on their own about the landing. As the young boy in the book went downstairs three a.m. to watch this wonderful event in history, allow the students to experience the same involvement. Find a video clip of the men walking on the moon to help connect the reality of the story to the students.

Christian Birmingham's illustrations wonderfully capture the wonder of the 1969 Apollo 11 Moon landing.

A man remembers his boyhood fascination with the moon and the night mankind first bounced through the dust in the Sea of Tranquillity.