One Small Step...

Today at Family Storytime we celebrated the 1969 Moon landing that took place 46 years ago on July-16-24. The United States' Apollo 11 was the first manned mission to land on the Moon, on July, 20 1969.

Books about astronauts, the moon, rockets, space, planets and aliens are always a favorite read aloud for kids! How could you go wrong?

My new favorite book, Zar and the Broken Spaceship, actually started out as a song by one of my favorite guys, Dino O’Dell, who visited the ICPL just last week. If you missed his concert you can check out the video of the book here.

Zar is all about three friends who hear a strange and otherworldly sound as they walk through a park. The otherworldly sound is a spaceship that has crashed and the friends meet a green, three-eyed alien named Zar. As they fix Zar’s broken ship, they pickup a bit of the space-alien language, learn a lot about teamwork, and make a new and unusual friend.

Here are some other great space books to help you celebrate!

Eight Days Gone by Linda McReynolds 

Snappy verse and retro art recount Apollo 11's historic, eight-day mission to the moon in 1969. Young readers learn the basics about the gear, equipment, and spaceship used by the astronauts, as well as the history of NASA's moon mission.

The magic school bus lost in the solar system by Joanna Cole.

The fieldtrip to the planetarium is foiled when the museum turns out to be closed, but Ms. Frizzle saves the day. The Magic School Bus turns into a spaceship and takes the class on a trip zooming through the atmosphere, to the Moon, and beyond!

Roaring Rockets by Tony Mitton

Rockets have power. They rise and roar. This rocket's waiting, ready to soar. Rockets carry astronauts with cool, white suits oxygen helmets and gravity boots. Blast off with more out-of-this-world couplets! This time it is machines that fly. In bright and bold illustrations that are as witty as the text, the animal crew roars and whizzes into outer space.

I Want t o Be an Astronaut by Byron Barton

From picture-book master Byron Barton, this is the perfect story for young readers who love outer space and want to know more about how NASA astronauts do their job. Up into the sky goes the space shuttle! Once in orbit, the astronauts get a taste of ready-to-eat food, experience zero gravity, go for space walks, and even fix a satellite. It's fun to fly aboard the shuttle...and then come back to earth.

Zoom, Rocket, Zoom! By Margaret Mayo

Ride a rocket to the stars as astronauts go zooming, booming, flying, and guiding their way through the solar system. Watch as they make moon landings, explore a new terrain, repair a satellite, and more in this exciting early introduction to all things outer space! A rhythmic, rollicking text pairs with bold, bright illustrations to capture the imaginations of young space explorers everywher

Goldilocks and the three Martians by Stu Smith

Goldilocks is fed up with chores and homework. Why can't a girl ha ve any fun? So she builds a spaceship and blasts off for the adventure of her life. After touring all the planets (and finding something wrong with each of them), she finally lands on Mars and is soon ringing the doorbell of a Martian house. You guessed it no one's home, but some tasty alien stew is cooling on the table. After a little nap and a narrow escape from the returned occupants, Goldilocks heads for Earth, which suddenly feels . . . just right after all. With a terrific rhyming text that's great fun for out-loud reading, this bright picture book offers a wacky twist on an old favorite.