Rocco, John. How We Got to the Moon: The People, Technology, and Daring Feats of Science Behind Humanity’s Greatest Adventure. John Rocco, Illus. Non-fiction. Crown, 10/2020. 256pp. $29.99, 978-0-525-64741-6, PLB $32.99, 978-0-525-64742-3. OUTSTANDING. GRADES 4-10.
Caldecott Honor illustrator Rocco has written and created detailed artwork for this history of how the United States successfully landed astronauts on the moon. He describes how NASA was founded and how they developed the space program, involving immigrants and people of color as part of the team, although they dealt with racism at work, and the initial group of astronauts was all white. The book has sidebars, charts, diagrams, and portraits, and the full-color art was accomplished using pencil and watercolors. While similar in content to Catherine Thimmesh’s Team Moon (Houghton, 2006), which won the Sibert Medal, the major difference is Rocco’s illustrations, which make this appealing to a wide age range despite its length. Because the history is included, this is great for those who may not know much about the space program already.
Penny Peck, San Jose State University, iSchool