Countdown 2979 Days to the Moon by Susanne Slade - ESSENTIAL

Countdown 2979 Days to the Moon by Susanne Slade, illustrated by Thomas Gonzales. 144 pages. NON-FICTION Peachtree Publishers, 2018. $23.

Content: G. 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL,  MS - ESSENTIAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH 

On May 25, 1961 President John F. Kennedy wanted to put a man on the moon before the decade was out. Because another country was trying too, this became known as the Space Race. Nearly half a million people worked together over the next 2979 days to make this dream come true. Each Apollo mission is covered including the astronauts on board and the lessons learned from each mission. 

 Suzanne Slade's poetry tells the story in a beautiful way - a quick read full of emotion. Each mission is followed by photographs of the astronauts, their stats and other pictures of the mission. The poems are brilliantly illustrated by Thomas Gonzales. Includes more information about the contractors and teams involved on the designing and construction of the rockets and spacecraft; an "afterward" (about the return and retrieval of the astronauts); author's and illustrator's notes; sources and a bibliography. A memorable read, appropriate for elementary and middle school. 

Lisa Librarian