Man on the Moon: a day in the life of Bob

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Creative writing- there are so many opportunities for creative writing tasks as a direct result of looking at this book. For example, writing postcards as if they were visiting the moon, writing tourist leaflets all about the moon (perhaps in collaboration with science lessons), writing Bob’s job description and then applying for that job etc. The crew of Apollo 15,was involved in a "stamps" scandal,as they tried to make money from their voyage.John Young,commanded Apollo 16,and along with Jim Lovell,was the most travelled of all the astronauts. A superb account . . . Apollo may be the only achievement by which our age is remembered a thousand years from now' Arthur C. Clarke

There was a fierce rivalry to be the first man on the moon but Deke Slayton,their boss,chose Neil Armstrong.It is another matter that Armstrong was never comfortable in the publicity spotlight and became something of a recluse in later life. I think the most likable thing, for me, about this book is definitely the illustrations, they are bright and exciting to look at; especially the aliens as there appear to be lots of different kinds that are different colours, shapes and sizes. The fact that Bob does not believe in aliens, but they are ever present in the illustrations really creates an exciting opportunity for the reader to spot all the aliens that Bob seems to be oblivious to. Especially in scenes such as the rush hour, where aliens can be seen walking through the streets, on public transport and in local homes. This could be an interesting talking point with students, why do we think Bob does not think aliens are real? Why do we think he does not notice the aliens? This is the big puzzle of the book. Creating a timeline of Bob’s day looking at sequencers, first, then, next... Children then create their own timelines of their ideal day on the moon. This Guardians of Childhood series is so fantastic. I read the Sandman first and now this is the Man in the moon. William is creating new modern myths with some of the most beautiful artwork. His work brings magic to life. Children can feel this awesome light beneath the surface as they read his book. I want to own this series as they are so fantastic and I can only ask why hasn't William Joyce won some Caldecott's. Why wasn't this on the list. This is one of the best things I have read and several of Williams books are worthy of being recognized. from 1961 to 1972, the objective was as clear and inspiring as any you could ask for. You had only to go outside at night and look at it.When astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took their 'giant leap for mankind' across a ghostly lunar landscape, they were watched by some 600 million people on Earth 240,000 miles away.

Chaikin is a commentator for National Public Radio's Morning Edition, and has appeared on Good Morning America, Nightline, and the NPR programs Fresh Air and Talk of the Nation. He has been an advisor to NASA on space policy and public communications. It never ceases to amaze me that true life figures are so impressive when their stories are told -- whether they are really impressive or not. Is this all just spin? Is it the grandeur of their accomplishments? Whatever. I love hearing tales of Crazy Horse and Custer, of Henry V or Julius Caesar or Cleopatra. But right now I most love to hear the stories of the Astronauts and Cosmonauts.

Open Library

Drawing on hundreds of hours of in-depth interviews with the astronauts and mission personnel, this is the story of the twentieth century's greatest human achievement, minute-by-minute, through the eyes of those who were there. Andrew Chaikin does an exceptional job of recounting the Apollo missions, ensuring that it is not all about Neil, Buzz and "What's-his-name?" (Michael Collins, for anyone who's interested). This is a fun and engaging picture book that I believe would be attractive to students in KS1, and even early years, due to the appealing art style and the subject matter of space and aliens! I think this would work well as a real aloud to the whole class to inspire their imaginations, and also inspire work throughout the curriculum- which I have detailed below. I am alone now, truely alone and absolutely isolated from any known life. I am it. If a count were taken the score would be three billion plus two over on the other side of the moon, and one plus God knows what on this side. I feel this powerfully-not as fear or loneliness-but as awareness, anticipation, satisfaction, confidence, almost exultation" Chaikins 'A man on the Moon' is a comprehensive and chronological story about the people, the engineering and the politics allied to the completion of John F Kennedy's mission to reach the moon. In terms of the Apollo missions this book is the authoritative masterpiece.

I really loved that Chaikin covered the entire Apollo age with an eye towards balance: the details and eccentricities of each particular mission are always held up to the overarching narrative of the Apollo program as a whole, which is super important because each flight builds on the ones that came before it. So, at the end, I feel like I've got a much better understanding of spaceflight history. The chapters on missions like 8, 11, and 13 are obviously longer and more in depth, but I was especially surprised how fascinating the more science focused later missions were! Man on the moon (a day in the life of Bob) follows the life of Bob for the day as he goes about his day as an astronaut. It is set between earth and space and shows Bob’s transition between the two and has elements of real life in the sense of his morning and evening routine and some elements of fantasy such as tourist tours to the moon. Bob is known as the Man on the Moon and is the main character in this story, insight is given into the tasks he does on a daily basis such as “changing into his special man on the moon suit” and entertaining tourist spaceships. The book also briefly introduces two characters who are Bob’s friends; Billy the man on Mars and Sam the man on Saturn. The Man in the Moon is the first book in The Guardians of Childhood series and tells a beautiful story that is sad at times and incredibly beautiful in its entirety. I always find Joyce's books to have the most stunning imagery and I love the out of this world tone of the illustrations in this one. This is the tale of how a little boy, a child aboard the ship the Moon Clipper surrounded by family and friends, became the Man in the Moon (MiM) and gathered up all the Guardians of Childhood. Children love clueless Bob and the aliens who ‘aren’t really there’. Bob is as silly as he looks and it is fun to play with the idea of a grown up with such an important job (keeping the moon clean and tidy and performing for space tourists) can be so oblivious to what we can see (as the adult, it’s fun to pretend you can’t see them too). This worked really well as a class text with year 1 children, lots of opportunities to explore inference and dramatic irony and both the story and the beautiful oil painting illustrations capture their imagination enough to provide a term’s worth of activities alongside topic exploration:Non-fiction links- could be good for talking about the difference between fiction and non-fiction- although this is about space, how do we know it is not based on facts? It is clearly meant to be a patriotic book meant to convey that the US won the space race.But it conveniently forgets to mention that the Soviets won a number of earlier space battles.That prompted President Kennedy to launch the outrageously expensive Apollo programme.It was a battle of the Cold War. This book is about the scientific discovery that changed the USA's production in the scientific and technological communities. Indeed, the most appealing aspect of A Man on the Moon is how Chaikin puts a face on the missions and men that are far from famous, from the other astronauts to the mission controllers and even those people involved in the design and manufacture of the space crafts.

Chaikin collaborated with moonwalker-turned-artist Alan Bean to write Apollo: An Eyewitness Account, published in 1998 by the Greenwich Workshop Press. He also co-edited The New Solar System, a compendium of writings by planetary scientists, now in its fourth edition. His essays include the chapter on human spaceflight in The National Geographic Encyclopedia of Space, published in 2004, and Live from the Moon: The Societal Impact of Apollo for NASA’s 2007 book The Societal Impact of Spaceflight.

To edit the climax of a narrative

What a personally powerful book. A Man on the Moon is such a wonderful reminder of what we are capable of as a species and what wonderful things we can accomplish when we work together. I hope to see a man on the moon in my lifetime, although I doubt it will happen, which is a shame.