Marty's Mission: An Apollo 11 Story

by Judy Young, David Miles (Illustrator)

Overview

2019 Kansas State Reading Circle Selection for the Catalog in the Intermediate School Division

It's 1969 and Marty's family lives on the U.S. island of Guam, where his father manages the NASA tracking station. It's important work and never more so than during the Apollo 11 space mission, where the tracking station relays signals back and forth between the astronauts and Mission Control in Houston, Texas. Along with the rest of the world, Marty listens to every mission update, including the historic landing on the moon and astronaut Neil Armstrong's first steps.

But during Apollo 11's return to Earth, something goes wrong. There is a problem with the tracking station's antenna during the final hours of the mission. The problem must be resolved—the antenna is the only way Mission Control can communicate with the astronauts before Apollo 11 splashes down. Marty finds himself playing a key role in helping bring the craft safely back to Earth.

Based on actual events, young readers get a front-row seat to this historic event in this new entry in the Tales of Young Americans series.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781534110144
Publisher:	Sleeping Bear Press
Publication date:	04/15/2019
Series:	Tales of Young Americans Series
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	620,584
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	790L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Judy Young remembers writing a poem for her grandmother when she was about ten. Her grandmother encouraged her to keep writing, and Judy did! Judy is the author of over two dozen children’s picture books and novels, including, Promise, The Wild World of Buck Bray series and the Digger and Daisy series. Judy’s books are used extensively in the public schools and have received numerous awards and honors. One of her most cherished is hearing LeVar Burton read A Pet for Miss Wright for Reading Rainbow Storytime Video to celebrate National Reading Month. Another, was watching as R is for Rhyme, A Poetry Alphabet was performed by the University of Utah’s Creative Dance Program. Judy received her MA in Speech and Language Pathology from the University of Tulsa and formerly worked in the public schools for 20 years. Now, a frequent speaker at schools, children’s lit fests and professional educational conferences nationwide, Judy’s firsthand experience in the schools makes her programs not only entertaining, but directly related to school curriculum. Judy resides in the mountains near Mink Creek, Idaho, with her husband, Ross, a professional artist, who illustrated two of Judy’s books. In her spare time, Judy enjoys hiking, fishing, snowshoeing, and gallivanting around the country in “Arlo,” the Young’s traveling studio. Read more about Judy, her books and author visits to schools at www.judyyoungpoetry.com.

David Miles has been blessed to illustrate for many amazing publishers. He has worked on numerous children’s books, book covers, magazine articles, puzzles, games, and more Bible stories than he can easily count. David is currently working full-time as an illustrator and is probably drawing right now! You can see more of his work at www.davidmiles.us.

Table of Contents

Beginning of Text Author's Note

Editorial Reviews

05/13/2019

In this addition to the Tales of Young Americans series of informational picture books, Young tells the story of the Apollo 11 mission from the perspective of 10-year-old Marty, whose father works at the NASA tracking station in Guam, relaying signals to Houston. Marty eagerly follows the mission’s progress with a friend, until Marty’s father urgently requests his help. An antenna at the tracking station has gotten stuck, and the adults need smaller arms than their own to perform emergency surgery: “Do you think you can do it?” Young’s storytelling captures the breathless excitement that surrounded the Apollo 11 voyage, which Miles conveys through cheerful artwork. Readers will wonder how much of the events depicted are true: while the author’s note explains that the story is based on a real boy who greased a malfunctioning bearing, further background material is lacking. Ages 7–8. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

04/01/2019

Gr 1–3—Marty's Mission is about the Apollo 11 mission in 1969 told through the eyes of Marty, the son of a man managing the NASA Tracking Station in Guam. The time difference does not affect Marty as he stays up to hear about the launch and watch the landing the next day, all while eagerly awaiting to see Apollo 11 return to Earth. After the Tracking Station's bearings become stuck, it's up to Marty to grease them up enough to ensure adequate communication and a safe landing for the astronauts on board. Thankfully, a crisis is averted thanks to Marty. Told with vivid detail and accompanying illustrations, this entertaining story about a young boy's role in space history also gives a good overview of the Apollo 11 moon mission. There are plenty of stories about the men who landed on the moon, but not a lot is written for children about what the time was like back on Earth or even what complications arose during the mission. The artwork portrays the cool evenings, detailed space transmission parts, and stressful mission that Marty has to undertake in order to save the day. VERDICT An excellent purchase for elementary school collections.—Molly Dettmann, Norman North High School, OK

School Library Journal