This is another picture book on the Apollo 11 Moon Landing. This one ranks as one of my favorites, for it is written from a 7 year old boy's perspective. His imagination is ignited by the space program. To read the historical event through his eyes is quite moving. And it helped ignite my son's imagination for all things space and rocketships.

Mark Haddon's autobiographical picture book tells a story I suspect played across thousands of living rooms in America in 1969 as Armstrong and company landed on the moon. A young boy watches and is enchanted. And while Haddon may not have ended up with space as a career, his love of it comes through loud and clear.

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!

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

"Footprints on the moon" is a very fun and engaging story about a boy's recollection of the first moon landing. It describes how passionate the boy was about wanting someone to land on the moon and then shows how it was when they actually did land. It's illustrations are extremely engaging and allow the reader to emerge themselves in the fantasy.
Age Level:3-6
Reading Level: Beginning Reader

Outstanding! A story about a boy who loved to see and think about the moon. I appreciate that there are some page spreads without words, just with images. Space is so cool! It is indeed cool to think about.

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

Loved Hadden's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, although that book isn't for everyone. This story won't engage most young readers, but if they like astronauts and such, they might try The Darkest Dark and I'm sure there are others too if you ask any librarian.

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.

Cute.

A sweet story about dreams of walking on the moon. This would probably be a great read aloud for ages 4 through 7 or so. It left me admiring the wonderful illustrations and longing for the time when Americans (at least those that I knew) were excited about space exploration. A very attractive book with a nice story, fabulous illustrations and no snarky humor. Perhaps a nod to simpler childhood times.

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.