One Giant Leap: The Story of Neil Armstrong

From Publishers Weekly
Fans of Alice Ramsey's Grand Adventure may wish that Brown had likewise dedicated this picture book to the singular ride that made history for his subject. Instead, the author's informal chronicle of astronaut Armstrong's life focuses primarily on his childhood, then skips ahead to his milestone flight in the final spreads. The book opens in 1932, when two-year-old Neil, perched on his father's shoulders, watches airplanes race. Readers next see him four years later, riding in a plane for the first time, an experience that inspires a "magical dream" in which he "held his breath and hovered above the ground." Young Neil makes model airplanes, reads Air Travel magazine, peers at the moon through a neighbor's telescope and eventually begins flying lessons. But Armstrong's training to become an astronaut and his career leading up to the 1969 flight to the moon get less emphasis. And the conclusion is a bit ethereal (after he stepped onto the moon, he "became a hero to millions of people. But inside him was the memory of an ordinary boy.... A boy who loved books and music....A boy who dreamed of hanging in the air suspended only by a trapped breath." Similarly sketchy, Brown's airy, pen-and-ink and watercolor art does little to get this spotty biography off the ground. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3-In this picture-book portrait, Brown reveals that Armstrong loved flying airplanes long before he ever considered going into space. At the age of six, he rode with his father in a passenger plane that had 12 wicker seats and a loud sputtering engine. This first ride hooked him on aeronautics and from that time on he collected airplane magazines, made airplane models, and at age 16 got his pilot's license. While other titles focus on the events leading up to Armstrong's historic lunar landing, this book lovingly depicts an industrious small-town boy who mowed lawns and swept floors in order to finance his flying lessons. Armstrong's moments in space are all the more incredible when juxtaposed against the excitement airplanes still aroused during his 1930's childhood. This book gives the essence of his accomplishments rather than the details. One page that summarizes Armstrong's career advances from student pilot to fighter pilot to test pilot to astronaut shows just how much the world can change in one person's lifetime. Brown's watercolor illustrations are as appealing as the boyish grin the astronaut displays in almost every picture. A lyrical introduction to an American hero.Jackie Hechtkopf, Talent House School, Fairfax, VACopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Parents' Choice®
This engaging biography of Neil Armstrong relates the story of the first moon landing as a child's dream come true. As a boy, the future astronaut is fascinated by flying; as a grown-up, he keeps his child's sense of play. Winsome watercolors provide the right mix of whimsy and awe. A 1999 Parents' Choice® Gold Award Winner. (Ann DeForest, Parents' Choice®).

From Booklist
Ages 4^-7. This picture-book biography begins with two-year-old Neil Armstrong watching an airplane race. In fact, more than half the book shows Armstrong as a boy: riding in a passenger plane, dreaming of flight, making paper airplanes, working to earn money, playing in the school band, and observing the stars with his neighbor's homemade telescope. The second part of the book focuses on Armstrong's flight to the moon. Using ink and watercolor, Brown paints a beguiling picture of Armstrong, particularly in his youth. The book underscores that the man who was the first to walk on the moon was once a little boy who worked and played and dreamed. Even in a picture book, it would be good to know whether everything it tells about the young Armstrong is true, but no sources are cited. Still, a visually appealing book about a modern hero. Carolyn Phelan

Review
"From Brown, a pithy look at one of the national heroes of the space age. Recurring vivid dreams of floating high above his neighborhood sparked Neil Armstrong's fascination with flight and led ultimately to a life spent among the clouds and stars. The first half of this brief biography showcases Armstrong's childhood, his hobbies, part-time jobs, and determination to earn a pilot's license. The second part highlights his historic flight to the moon and the thrill of being the first human to set foot on its surface. Brown's text is simple enough for very young children to enjoy, while the accompanying illustrations skillfully use perspective to capture the world through a child's eyes. The story has been told many times, but perhaps never with so much heart and spirit."

Book Description
As a young boy, Neil Armstrong had a recurring dream in which he held his breath and floated high in the sky. He spent his free time reading stacks of flying magazines, building model airplanes, and staring through a homemade telescope. As a teenager, Neil worked odd jobs to pay for flying lessons at a nearby airport. He earned his student pilot"s license on his sixteenth birthday. But who was to know that this shy boy, who also loved books and music, would become the first person to set foot on the moon, on July 20, 1969.

Card catalog description
Discusses the life and accomplishments of astronaut Neil Armstrong, from his childhood in Ohio to his famous moon landing.

About the Author
Don Brown is a professional illustrator. His first children's book, RUTH LAW THRILLS A NATION, was a Reading Rainbow feature selection and an NCSS-CBC Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies. His second book, ALICE RAMSEY'S GRAND ADVENTURE, received starred reviews in THE BULLETIN, KIRKUS REVIEWS, and SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL. School Library Journal has called him "a current pacesetter who has put the finishing touches on the standards for storyographies." His most recent book, RARE TREASURE, was selected as a NCSS-CBC Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies.


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