Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz (Children's Literature)
Aston takes us back to the summer of 1969, to share the excitement and wonder of eight-year-old Mae as she reports on the anticipated landing of the astronauts on the moon. Although her grandfather feels it is a waste of money, she and her cousins are hoping for success. They assemble a “spaceship” to imagine the blast-off. Everyone gathers around the TV to hear that, “The Eagle has landed.” Mae asks her grandfather to watch the moon walk with her. As she does, she thinks about the hard farmer’s life he has had, perhaps along with the extra burden of being an African American. Watching the live TV picture from the moon thrills all the family, “And maybe even President Kennedy too…” Later her grandpa encourages Mae to “Keep on dreaming.” On the front of the cover we meet a contemplative Mae under a half-circle moon. On the back, we see more of Pinkney’s deft naturalism in a view of the moon approached by the space ship, displaying his esthetic sensitivity as he designs his scenes to provoke our sense of wonder, along with the emotions involved in the vicarious space adventure. His family portraits tell the tale of the millions who watched the event. Particularly potent is the textless double page watercolor image of the blasting off with the mingling of yellowish cloudy vapors against the deep blue of the distant sea. The human quality of his graphite, ink, and watercolor illustrations is more compelling than any photograph. 2008, Dial Books for Young Readers/Penguin Young Readers Group, $17.99. Ages 6 to 8.

CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices 2009)
In the summer of1969, young Mae feels growing anticipation as the hour for the moon landing draws near. “A spaceship would land on the moon today, / And I dreamed that maybe one day, / I could go to the moon, too.” Mae and her cousins pretend to be the astronauts, and she is full of facts to share—about the moon being 240,000 miles away, and about President Kennedy’s declaration in 1961 that America would land on the moon. As the family gathers around the television to watch Neil Armstrong take the first steps on the moon, even Mae’s grandpa, who thinks money spent on the space program could do so much more good here on earth, seems impressed. “I reckon that’s something to remember,” he says. As for Mae, it’s something to inspire dreams. Dianna Hutts Aston’s poetic narrative is set against Jerry Pinkney’s stirring graphite, ink and watercolor illustrations in which scenes of African American Mae and her family are interspersed with the vision of her imagination and the astronauts’ experiences in space. CCBC Category: Picture Books for School-Age Children. 2008, Dial, 32 pages, $17.99. Ages 7-10.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2008 (Vol. 76, No. 17))
Twenty-three years before Mae Jemison became the first African-American woman to travel into space, a young girl living in the small Southern town of Star anxiously awaits the first step of a man on the moon. In a child's voice but with lovely storytelling cadences, Aston tells the story of the excitement, anticipation and skepticism felt by one family on July 20, 1969. Young Mae and her family go about their normal routines—church, picnicking, play—but take time throughout the day to gather around the television to watch history being made. While Mae is excited, her Gramps, like many Americans, feels the space program is a waste of money but nevertheless encourages her granddaughter to dream. Pinkney's vibrant illustrations exquisitely complement the moving story. The double-page spreads of the the rocket traveling through space from Earth to Moon express the enormity of the moment, and the characters' emotions are palpable. While the family is African-American, there is no explicit connection to the historical Jemison, rendering this tale gorgeously universal. 2008, Dial, 32p, $17.99. Category: Picture book. Ages 6 to 9. © 2008 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Jo Monahan (Library Media Connection, January/February 2009)
This story captures a young African-American girl’s view of the United States space program in the 1960s. The success of the Apollo 11 mission moon landing in 1969 is inspiring for her and her future. The social life and space program images of the time period are depicted through Caldecott Honor winner Pinkney’s typically colorful and realistic illustrations. The text may be challenging for very young readers. Although this is a historical book, commemorating the mission’s 40th anniversary this year, it is an engaging story and would be a good choice for an elementary library collection. It will capture both space travel buffs and readers who enjoy an inspiring story. Recommended. 2008, Dial Books for Young Readers (Penguin Young Readers Group), 32pp., $17.99 hc. Ages 5 to 11.