Rocco, J. How We Got to the Moon, (2020), New York, NY: Crown Books for Young Readers.
This was a complete joy to read. The author/illustrator, John Rocco, spent much of his career as a Disney Imagineer and it shows. The illustrations are detailed and engaging. They have a feeling of movement to them that is ingenious. The text does its job exactly as intended and gives plenty of detail without being overwhelming.
The book could easily be an entire course. As a matter of fact, as I read it, I started writing curriculum in my head. (What is wrong with me??)
Rocco format changes up throughout the book in a way that will appeal to all kinds of readers. He features problem/solution scenarios, history, schematics, timelines, and he features individuals who were involved in the process out of the usual narrative sightline. He highlights people from groups that are not generally represented in the Apollo story.
My husband is a giant NASA nerd and as a result, I know a lot more about the space program than I care about, but I kept coming across interesting details that were new to me. There is a strict “no reading out loud no matter how good it is” policy in my house, but my enjoyment of the book was so visible, that my spouse asked to look it over, which is nearly unheard of.
My only complaint about the book is the $30 price tag. Don’t get me wrong - it is worth every penny! But a class set would be completely unaffordable for any public school. But every school library K-12 would be well served to have a copy of this on their shelves.
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