Published by Crown Books for Young Readers

Summary:  While Neil Armstrong was dreaming of flight from his boyhood home in Ohio, a rock was hanging out on the moon, where it had lived for the last four billion years.  Young Neil learned how the moon had been formed when a small planet crashed into Earth, and how rocks were created at the end of the turbulent early time of the moon’s history.  As the years went by, different creatures came and went from the Earth, and eventually humans appeared.  The ancient rock slept through most of human history, but when Neil Armstrong finally traveled to the moon, he picked up the rock and brought it back to Earth.  Neil named the rock Bok, and it now rests in the Cincinnati Museum Center.  Includes additional information about the moon, the Earth, and Neil Armstrong’s journey to the moon.  48 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  Kids interested in space exploration, geology, and/or paleontology will get a taste of all of these in this whirlwind tour of the moon and Earth.  Armstrong’s personal connection with the moon and Bok makes the scientific facts even more interesting.

Cons:  Covering five billion years in a picture book means a pretty sketchy history and there are no resources given for additional research.

February 25, 2022 at 07:31PM Janet Dawson