Are you old enough to remember where you were on July 16, 1969, when the Appollo 11 mission to the moon began? Do you remember where you were on July 20th when Neil Armstrong set his foot on the moon? Or do you remember watching a video of this remarkable moment in school?
Years back when my daughter was five, bedtime had come, and I had just turned off the lights in the living room to take her upstairs to her room. Instead of following me, she remained behind. The moon shone in the window, and my little girl couldn’t take her eyes off the big, glowing ball.
“Do you think someone will ever walk up there?” she asked.
“Someone already has,” I told her.
Instead of tucking my daughter in bed, I turned on my laptop and showed her the famous news broadcast with Walter Cronkite.
“Do you think I’ll ever get to walk up there?” she asked.
“Maybe if you think about it hard enough,” I said, “tonight you can dream you are an astronaut, leaving your footprints on the moon beside Neil Armstrong’s.”
Title – Eight Days Gone
Written by – Linda McReynolds
Illustrated by – Ryan O’Rourke
Published by – Charlesbridge – 2012
Topics – Space, astronauts, lunar landing
Opening –
Hundreds gather.
Hot July.
Spaceship ready–
set to fly.
Amazon’s Review – View it HERE. Snappy verse and retro art recount Apollo 11’s historic, eight-day mission to the moon in 1969. Young readers learn the basics about the gear, equipment, and spaceship used by the astronauts, as well as the history of NASA’s moon mission.
Why do I like this book? Knowing the phenomenal amount of research needed to write a nonfiction picture book, I was amazed at Linda McReynolds’s skill in taking on such a huge project as the famous lunar landing. In the simplest and sparest text, Ms. McReynolds not only informs children of one of the greatest historical moments but also captivates and entertains them with her brilliant verse!
Three quotes by Neil Armstrong
Where were you when the lunar landing was broadcast? Did you watch it on television? Did you see it years later in school? I’d love to hear your recollection.
Leslie Leibhardt Goodman 
Such an important book for kids to dream about and know that some day they can be part of something so grand. I remember it well, as I had just graduated from high school and started college. Look how fare we’ve come — and where we are headed.
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I was thrilled to come across this book. I’m still in awe that the author was able to tell the story of this historical event with a combination of sparse/verse text.
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Can’t wait to see this one! Thanks for sharing!
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Hi, Beth, I hope when you read this book, you enjoy the beauty and efficiency of the sparse text. This is quite an amazing book.
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WOW. And she did it in verse. I can’t wait to take a peek at this one. What a great mentor text for topics that have tons of information. Looking forward to her back matter & resources listing as well. Thanks for featuring this one.
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I, too, was amazed at an author taking on such a tremendous moment in history and telling it in terms a child can easily understand. Telling it in verse makes the information fun and accessible.
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This sounds like a great book, Leslie, for all the reasons you cite. Makes me want to keep slogging away at the poetry efforts. By writing the book in verse, the author has probably drawn in more younger children who might not take interest in the critical event until they were older.
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So true, Sheila, about the topic in verse being more interesting to younger children. Sparse text and one amazing book. If you have the chance, see if your library has a copy.
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I remember exactly where I was…on our first cross country trip! We’d driven from NYC to British Columbia and down the west coast…ending up in Bakersfield, CA on that day. And so we were able to watch the news on TV that night in the motel. What a thrill! Great review, Leslie!
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It’s amazing how we can almost move back in time at the mention of a famous moment in history. I was pretty darned young, but I still remember pulling my rocking chair in front of the television to watch. My father, being an astrophysicist, had a powerful interest in that historical event. We talked about the moon walk quite often back then.
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Sounds great! I wrote two poems about the moon landing.
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How wonderful! If you have a moment, see if your library has a copy of this book. Since you wrote those two poems, I think you’ll enjoy the book.
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I remember that landing – it was so exciting! What a great book – can’t believe I haven’t read it yet.
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I was so thrilled to come across the book at my library. I was browsing along the rows of NF picture books when the title caught my attention. What a great find!
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Gosh, I can’t remember where I was when I watched the landing. Must be getting old. 🙂
I’m going to look for this book – can’t wait to read it! Thanks for sharing!
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The book is well written in sparse text and rhyme, completely capturing this tremendous moment in history. I think you’re going to love it. I found it inspiring.
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