Fact Friday: How We Got to the Moon by John Rocco

Image: Penguin Random House

How We Got to the Moon: the people, technology, and daring feats of science behind humanity's greatest adventure written and illustrated by John Rocco. 264 p. Crown Books for Young Readers, October, 2020. 9780525647416. (Review of finished copy borrowed from public library.)

Happy Friday! Fact Friday features How We Got to the Moon: the people, technology, and daring feats of science behind humanity's greatest adventure written and illustrated by John Rocco. Now, if you are a Percy Jackson fan, you know Mr. Rocco's work, as he has illustrated all the covers for that series and its spin-offs.

This hefty, oversized, gorgeous volume begins in October of 1957, when people all over the world learned that Russia had launched a satellite called Sputnik. Panic ensued. Were we being spied upon? Could a satellite drop an atomic bomb? The U.S. scrambled to catch up. 

The subtitle really says it all. That's how wide-ranging the text is. Each spread brims with text that explains the history, science, engineering and gives biographical background on some of the many thousands of individuals who worked tirelessly to put a man on the moon. Illustrations vie with the text on each page and just beg to be pored over. There are technical drawings, cutaways, and portraits. This is a book that ought to be read more than once. There's just too much to take in. The back matter is superb. It gives the reader a glimpse into all the research Mr. Rocco did for both the writing and the art, source notes, sources, and suggestions for further reading.

Fact hounds and space geeks will adore this book, but so will the average curious reader. How We Got to the Moon was long-listed for the National Book Award and is a finalist for the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction. Who knows what other awards it might garner next Monday? A Sibert? A Newbery? This book needs to be in every library's collection.

Arc Review: Stanislaw Lem's The Seventh Voyage illustrated by Jon J. Muth

Image: Scholastic

Stanislaw Lem's The Seventh Voyage illustrated by Jon J. Muth. Translated by Michael Kandel. unpd. Graphix/ Scholastic Inc., October 1, 2019. 9780545004626. (Review of arc courtesy of publisher at ALAAC19.)

Astronaut Ijon Tichy's (Ee-yon TEE-khee) solo space voyage goes horribly wrong when a teeny tiny asteroid pokes a hole in his space ship causing him to lose all maneuverability. He knows how to fix the problem, but the fix requires two people and, he is alone. 

Alone until he enters a vortex in which, it seems, the space-time continuum is altered. It seems he is trapped in a time loop. He is awakened by himself. Or, a version of his future self. He can't quite believe it and goes back to sleep. But his past and future selves keep replicating, arguing with him, assaulting him and eating his carefully planned rations. He cannot take advantage of these extra selves to fix his rudder because there is only one space suit. And so. And so, pandemonium and hilarity ensues until the space-time continuum spits out two of his younger selves. 

While I enjoy science fiction, I am, by no means, an expert. My English major husband recognized Stanislaw Lem's name when he spied my arc. An introduction and adaptor's note otherwise clues in the uninformed. 

The art in this graphic novel adaptation is absolutely sublime. Watery panels perfectly capture the contemplative, rather lonely mission Ijon is on. Careful reading is required here as the action is a bit mind-bending. But so much fun! I cannot wait for the finished product! I also cannot wait to share the title with my group of graphic novel loving rising sixth graders! 

The Seventh Voyage will be a hit with all your graphic novel fans, your sci-fi fans, as well as any thoughtful reader.