Rocket to the Moon! (Big Ideas that Changed the World #1)

Launching the Big Ideas that Changed the World series, Brown’s historical graphic novel is narrated by Rodman Law, a daredevil in 1913 New Jersey, who frames the story after describing his own feats of parachuting and attempts to fly a rocket. Law provides a history of the discoveries that would enable space travel, the space race, and the (sometimes tragic) experimental missions that paved the way for Apollo 11. In pen-and-ink panels, Brown depicts such moments as Apollo 8 circling the moon, Apollo 11’s liftoff, and somewhat less heroic occurrences (“Get me a napkin quick. There’s a turd floating in the air,” says one Apollo 10 astronaut to another). Successive panels and spreads depict the Eagle’s landing and Armstrong and Aldrin’s first steps on the moon. Brown’s visual storytelling offers humor, vibrancy, and a wealth of historical insight. Ages 8–12. [em](Mar.) [/em]