Picture Book: The Moon Over Star
Author: Dianna
Hutts Aston
Illustrator:
Jerry Pinkney
Summary:
The Apollo 11 mission is viewed through the eyes of Mae and experienced in her
family in various ways in their little town of Star. Mae is inspired and hopes
to go to space one day. In contrast, her Gramps thinks the space program is a
waste of money, but he still prays for the astronauts. Along with her siblings
and cousins, Mae helps build a wooden rocket for a reenactment of the launch
which they saw on TV. Later the entire family watches as the announcer
declares, “The Eagle has landed,” and Neil Armstrong walks on the moon. Mae
begins to realize that her grandfather’s dreams have been stifled. Perhaps that
is why he is lacking enthusiasm. The whole family gathers for a nighttime
picnic to look at the moon. Gramps ends the evening admitting the significance
of the events and encouraging Mae to keep on dreaming.
Hanna’s Comments: This is such a beautiful and intertwining story of history
and family! As usual, Jerry Pinkney’s artistry is amazing. This time he
alternates between depictions of the family and the space mission. I especially
loved the way young Mae is so in tune with her grandfather and his lack of enthusiasm
while also being very invested in the historic nature of the events happening
so far away. This is a book about loving engagement with family and the world.
There is also a church scene in which the congregants pray for the astronauts.
Because there is no doctrine in this scene, I consider it still a secular book,
but the intercessory prayers are a nice aspect of the plot. This is not about a
real girl, and yet I categorize it here as Nonfiction because if offers insight
into actual events and allows for lots of supplemental material when planning its
use in your community of faith.
Publisher & Date of Publication: Dial Books, 2008
Age & Grade Appropriateness: 6 and up, 1st and up
# of Pages:
32
Available in Spanish? Not at present
Formats other than Book: Audio download, There is a video of the Apollo 11
lift off on Youtube.com
PBT Category:
Non-fiction, Post 2K
PBT Topics this Book Connects with: America, ancestors/patriarchs &
matriarchs, aspirations/dreams, attentiveness/observation/seeing, awe,
Earth/world, exploration, family, grandparents, heaven/sky, humanity,
journeys/migrations/pilgrimages/quests, milestones, moon/space/stars/sun,
prayer, presence, reverence
Scripture Connections: God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis
1:1); when I look at your heavens (Psalm 8:3)
Idea(s) for Application: Use this book when teaching children about the
importance of praying about important issues and for those involved in current
events.
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