One Giant Leap: The Story of Neil Armstrong

by Don Brown

Overview

As a young boy, Neil Armstrong had a recurring dream in which he held his breath and floated high in the sky. He spent his free time reading stacks of flying magazines, building model airplanes, and staring through a homemade telescope. As a teenager, Neil worked odd jobs to pay for flying lessons at a nearby airport. He earned his student pilot’s license on his sixteenth birthday. But who was to know that this shy boy, who also loved books and music, would become the first person to set foot on the moon, on July 20, 1969.

Don Brown is the award-winning author and illustrator of many picture book biographies. He has been widely praised for his resonant storytelling and his delicate watercolor paintings that evoke the excitement, humor, pain, and joy of lives lived with passion. School Library Journal has called him "a current pacesetter who has put the finishing touches on the standards for storyographies.” He lives in New York with his family.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780547349794
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	09/24/2001
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
Lexile:	AD670L (what's this?)
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Don Brown is the award-winning author and illustrator of many picture book biographies. He has been widely praised for his resonant storytelling and his delicate watercolor paintings that evoke the excitement, humor, pain, and joy of lives lived with passion. School Library Journal has called him "a current pacesetter who has put the finishing touches on the standards for storyographies." He lives in New York with his family.

Editorial Reviews

K-Gr 3-In this picture-book portrait, Brown reveals that Armstrong loved flying airplanes long before he ever considered going into space. At the age of six, he rode with his father in a passenger plane that had 12 wicker seats and a loud sputtering engine. This first ride hooked him on aeronautics and from that time on he collected airplane magazines, made airplane models, and at age 16 got his pilot's license. While other titles focus on the events leading up to Armstrong's historic lunar landing, this book lovingly depicts an industrious small-town boy who mowed lawns and swept floors in order to finance his flying lessons. Armstrong's moments in space are all the more incredible when juxtaposed against the excitement airplanes still aroused during his 1930's childhood. This book gives the essence of his accomplishments rather than the details. One page that summarizes Armstrong's career advances from student pilot to fighter pilot to test pilot to astronaut shows just how much the world can change in one person's lifetime. Brown's watercolor illustrations are as appealing as the boyish grin the astronaut displays in almost every picture. A lyrical introduction to an American hero.-Jackie Hechtkopf, Talent House School, Fairfax, VA

School Library Journal

From Brown (Alice Ramsay's Grand Adventure, 1997, etc.), a pithy look at one of the national heroes of the space age. Recurring vivid dreams of floating high above his neighborhood sparked Neil Armstrong's fascination with flight and led ultimately to a life spent among the clouds and stars. The first half of this brief biography showcases Armstrong's childhood, his hobbies, part-time jobs, and determination to earn a pilot's license. The second part highlights his historic flight to the moon and the thrill of being the first human being to set foot on its surface. Brown's text is simple enough for very young children to enjoy, while the accompanying illustrations skillfully use perspective to capture the world through a child's eyes. The story has been told many times, but perhaps never with so much heart and spirit. (Picture book/biography. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews

"From Brown, a pithy look at one of the national heroes of the space age. Recurring vivid dreams of floating high above his neighborhood sparked Neil Armstrong's fascination with flight and led ultimately to a life spent among the clouds and stars. The first half of this brief biography showcases Armstrong's childhood, his hobbies, part-time jobs, and determination to earn a pilot's license. The second part highlights his historic flight to the moon and the thrill of being the first human to set foot on its surface. Brown's text is simple enough for very young children to enjoy, while the accompanying illustrations skillfully use perspective to capture the world through a child's eyes. The story has been told many times, but perhaps never with so much heart and spirit." Kirkus Reviews —

From the Publisher