McCarthy sort of perfected this technique with her picture book biography of Charles Atlas in Strong Man, where she emphasized the importance of exercise and hard work. It takes a good writer to deliver stereotypically 'boring' information in a manner where kids might actually listen, particularly when that info is true and good. would come off sounding preachy or at least a little didactic. You might think that a book that extols the virtues of hard work, exercise, getting along with other people, etc. Young kids will get a big kick out of this child-based tutorial on what it takes to reach the stars. McCarthy covers everything from the Vomit Comet and food in outer space to astronaut's toilets, the mechanics of a space suit, and liftoff itself in simple words and phrases. Being an astronaut means keeping fit, getting along with others, and then the real work begins. After determining what kind of astronaut it is that you would like to be (would you prefer to fly the shuttle, perform scientific experiments, or do repairs?) it all comes down to studying hard in school and doing well. If ever there was a space-related whistle whetter, this would be it.įact meets the ultimate childhood fantasy as Meghan McCarthy tells you just exactly how to go about becoming an astronaut in this day and age. McCarthy presents the reader with four kids bent on becoming astronauts. A specialist in the realm of the fun informational picture book, Ms. Well, there's probably one or two titles out there already in existence, but I doubt that many of them are as enjoyable and visually arresting as author/illustrator Meghan McCarthy's latest. I'm talking picture book non-fiction titles for five-year-olds that make outer space out to be really cool. But where are the books out there meant to feed their fever? The titles that make traveling in space sound fun and interesting? And not the older stuff for the ten-year-olds either. Do they have the same space fervor of my generation? We're almost prepped to go to Mars, but do they care? Well, probably a lot of them do. Basically, space stuff was in the news and incredibly important. The moon landing was a mere fourteen years before and the Challenger tragedy would happen when I was eight. First American woman in space? How awesome was that? And because I'm talking about the height of Sally Ride fever, we kids spent a lot of time thinking about outer space and what it would be like to travel to the moon. Every child my age knew exactly who Sally Ride was. Why when I was a mere wisp of a girl of four or five do you know whom every girl my age wanted to be? No, not Mary Lou Retton (though that would be a strong guess).

It's the return of Curmudgeonly Old Lady and there's nothing I can do to stop her tirades! Flee for your very life! Back up! Back up swiftly now, because I don't know how much longer I can hold her in.

Astronaut handbook