[Nonfiction Monday] Eight Days Gone

Eight Days Gone, by Linda McReynolds (Charlesbridge, 2012), is a wonderful nonfiction rhyming picture book. It tells the story of the first landing on the moon, in 1969.Since my dad was a career engineer for NASA, space topics hold extra interest for me. Even if that weren’t the case, though, I would find this book gripping. How’s this for drama?

Armstrong makes his
one small step.
Giant leap from
years of prep.

Edwin Aldrin
hops around.
Boot prints left on
ashen ground.

Desolation.
Silent. Dark.
Tranquil sea.
Barren. Stark.

Wow. What a fantastic book to introduce kids to the beauty and drama of space exploration.The author’s note gives a prose summary of the expedition with added detail and explains things alluded to in the rhyming text, like the quarantine the returning astronauts were put under. When we can tell the true stories of history and science, that’s when we can make even more kids care about these things. This is a picture book I wish I had written! Eight Days Gone is ideal for storytimes (very graphic, uncluttered art by Ryan O’Rourke) and primary classrooms!

(Book source: Review copy I requested from Charlesbridge)

Check out Wendie Old’s Nonfiction Monday roundup and learn about some great books!