If You Decide to Go to the Moon

Hornbook 9/05 Faith McNulty If You Decide to Go to the Moon; illus. by Steven Kellogg 48 pp. Scholastic 10/05 ISBN 0-590-48359-5 $16.99 g (Primary) "If you decide to go to the moon..." instructs the opening lines, "read this book before you start." While this may not yet be part of official NASA training, the second-person address takes readers from blastoff to touchdown and back again. McNulty's text is a lovely union of science and lyricism, evoking both the emotions and experiences of the solitary reader-astronaut and the hard facts of space: "When you are thirsty, don't try to pour orange juice into a glass. With no gravity, it would fly into a million drops and become orange juice fog." Kellogg's illustrations feature a cheery blond boy whose sturdy frame bobs optimistically through the journey. Where they shine brightest, however, is with the space- and moonscapes, the watercolors making the most of the stark grays and whites of space, a tiny rocket or the grand curve of the moon emphasizing the vastness and lifelessness of the universe beyond our atmosphere. Despite a sudden left-turn from science to a finger-wagging lesson at the end, as the text exhorts the returning reader-astronaut always to protect life on earth (this accompanied by a two-page gatefold celebrating the variety and richness of that life), this stands as an appropriately thrilling introduction to space travel for young readers. V. Kirkus 9/1/05 *STARRED* Many dream of exploring outer space, but this wonderfully engaging guide to space travel walks young readers through the adventure, starting with what to pack on the rocket ship: "Peanut butter, apples, and cake will taste good in space." Gentle warnings issued about meteors ("a collision is unlikely"); the loneliness of space ("Don't look back at the earth"); not pouring juice ("it would fly into a million drops"); and the difficulty of the first step on the Moon ("You will rise in the air and leap forward lik