My immediate reaction when I read through this book was that it must have been the inspiration for the more recent, and now probably more popular, [b:Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11|5408376|Moonshot The Flight of Apollo 11|Brian Floca|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1273844738s/5408376.jpg|5475916] by [a:Brian Floca|584482|Brian Floca|https://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-d9f6a4a5badfda0f69e70cc94d962125.png]. I'm not saying that because one copies the other and by the way they are very different books, but there are some striking similarities. For one, I wouldn't necessarily have thought that watercolor was the best medium to convey the starkness and intensity of space and when I first read Moonshot I was actually a bit surprised by this choice in a first time. It works great however. The style of the illustrations in Moonshot is a bit more modern and provides more technical details than the pictures of [b:One Giant Leap|693398|One Giant Leap The Story of Neil Armstrong|Don Brown|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1347721605s/693398.jpg|679723]. Many of the pictures in Giant Leap also carry this blue hue throughout the book, which gives the book a certain coherence and dreamy quality. But, back to the similarities: It's a bit curious that [a:Floca|584482|Brian Floca|https://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-d9f6a4a5badfda0f69e70cc94d962125.png] doesn't credit [a:Don Brown|6815166|Don Brown|https://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-d9f6a4a5badfda0f69e70cc94d962125.png] at all (or any other children's book on the subject, for that matter) although in his preface he references a multitude of books and films he used in his research. This said, it's quite possible of course that he took no influence from it. And the books are quite different: Moonshot focuses on the flight of Appolo 11 from start to finish, whereas One Giant Leap is about the boy Neil who dreams of flying and one day ends up going out in space. However, both books are tied together with an opening image of a father and child looking up into the sky and a closing image of a boy running around playing with an aircraft, the moon in the background. Coincidence? Either way, both books are great. Moonshot is full of fascinating detail and imagery, but this book is an inspirational story of the little boy who followed his dream to become an astronaut. I could tell that my five year old was making mental notes of some of the steps on the way. For instance he asked to go back to the page that shows Neil in different guises through his training, iterating: Student pilot, Navy pilot, test pilot, astronaut. Very inspiring indeed! ( )

Biography
Summary of book

This book is about the Neil Armstrong. As a boy he was intrigued with flying. He started to work at a young age and save enough money to pay for flying lesson. He had many jobs such as a test pilot and a military pilot. Through hard work Neil Armstrong achieved his livelong goal of becoming an astronaut.

Personal reaction
This reminded of the true American spirit. Hard work and determination anyone can achieve their goal. This belief is what makes America so special.

Extension Idea
Review Neil Armstrong hard work that lead him to his becoming and astronaut. Ask students to write their short and long term goals. Followed by the steps they would follow to achieve their goals. Have student present their work to the class.

Summary-

This is a biography about Neil Armstrong's life. It starts with him as a little boy who loves planes and dreams of becoming a pilot and eventually an astronaut.

Personal Reaction-

I always wonder what it would be like to witness great moments in history. I think it would have been so neat to have been sitting in my living room watvhing Armstrong walk on the moon.

Extensions-

1)Write a brodcast as if they were the one walking on the moon.

2) Build rocket ships.

Summary: One Giant Leap is the biography of Neil Armstrong. It tells of how he always dreamed of flying planes, and being in the sky. How he worked hard to get the opportunities he had. Determination, and motivation are how he eventually landed on the moon.

Personal Reaction: I found this story very motivating, never give up on your dreams. This story can be a very good one to have in the classrooms to show that no dream is impossible and that with hard work anything can be done. I found it very interesting to learn that he had always wanted to be in space and flying. How he earned his pilots license before he could even drive a vehicle.

Classroom Extensions:
1. Read this book and have students create a picture to illustrate what dreams they have for the future.
2. After reading this book you could start a lesson about the planets, have them create a model of the solar system. ( )

This is a great picture book biography of Neil Armstrong. It's really well done. Very approachable and easy to understand. It makes Neil Armstrong into a very easily identifiable character with a spirit for adventure that children will like. Don Brown is top of the line in the children's biography market. ( )