Ages: 4-7 Years Old

Not only does this graphic novel type picture book provide a glimpse of Neil Armstrong's life and the first moon landing, but it offers some important life lessons. Engineering is about finding solutions and often involves testing and failing, and testing and failing. Patience is as important a qualification for astronauts as physical and mental prowess. Space flight is dependent on many, many people, from mathematicians to welders and tailors. Sprinkled with quotes from Armstrong and photos, the layout and graphics are appealing even for younger students who may not get all of the text. The last page includes a list of sources, including Armstong's autobiography, and a reading list for kids. ( )

Reading level: Grades 2-3, Lexile 680L
No awards for this specific book.

Independent Reading Level: 4-7-year-olds, Kindergarten-4th grade
Award/ Honors: #9 in Children's Biography Comics
#18 in Children's Science Biographies (Books)
#38 in Children's Aeronautics & Space Books (Books)

I had mixed feelings about this book, the writing was very engaging but there was a lot more than I thought there'd be. It was also hard to tell how much was factual and how much was made up for the story towards the beginning of the book because as it got more fact-based did it start to lose its pace. The illustrations were what kept it so captivating towards the end. ( )