A beautiful story of a young girl's thoughts about the miracle of space travel and the navigation of the spaceship The Eagle.
It was July 20, 1969 and Mae is very much inspired by Neil Armstrong and his first step on the moon. She and neighborhood children pulled together odds and ends and built a make-believe space ship.

This book brought back memories watching this occurrence at the local drug store. The moment was somber. It was quiet as we were fixed to the tv and the miracle of space travel.

President John F. Kennedy vowed to make America the first in making space travel possible. Sadly, he was not alive to see Neil Armstrong place his foot on the surface of the moon. Neither was he alive to hear the voice of Walter Cronkite emotionally stating

"Neil Armstrong, thirty-eight year old American, standing on the surface of the moon, on this July twentieth, nineteen hundred and sixty-nine."

And then, 600 million people were transfixed to the tv, hearing the voice of Neil Armstrong saying:

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

There would be other journeys into space, one with tragic consequences during the launch, another when men died inside the spaceship during routine testing. The others though, were miraculously launched successfully and American citizens were glued to their TV to watch additional flights of success.

But, none could take the place of Neil Armstrong's voice as his boot made contact with the surface of the moon. ( )

This is a very good book about the moon landing. Told lyrically, it illuminates the experience of watching the moon landing in 1969. It captures not only the excitement, but also the division that existed over the value of the moon landing. The grandfather in the story offers a alternate perspective on the issue. It's well done. ( )

This book was a winner in terms of hopes and dreams. It is about a little black girl who grows up in a town named Star. Her family and her witness the first walk on the moon by the United States. She has a close relationship with her "Gramps", who let's her know that basically whatever she does, do not let anything or anyone kill your dreams. ( )

When I read this book, I liked the writing and characters that appeared to be essential contents of the story. First, the writing were short passages that were organized in patterns in each page. In several passages, the writing was indented into one word. Throughout the story, the author provided some descriptive settings to reflect on what exactly happens. For instance, the writing displayed some environmental noises, like the sounds of the crickets at night. I think the short passages are quite simple enough for the readers to engage in the story. My second interest of the book was the character. I liked the main character named Mae, who is very knowledgeable. For example, Mae understood the approximate distance between the Earth and the moon. I find that Dianna Hutts Aston's story was an inspiration of reflecting to the historical event when the first human beings walked on the moon. As the central idea of the story, I learned that people can take a large step to many opportunities that mankind has in store for them. ( )

During the backdrop in 1969 of the Apollo 11 landing and our first steps on the moon comes a very heartfelt tale told from an african american young girl's eyes in our american pastoral family tradition. Filled with beautiful heartfelt reflections of family farm life and the wonders and hopes of mankind's future in space, one can relate to the ambitious fortitude of young african americans everywhere and how hopes and dreams of space exploration and what it means to be part of mankind carries universal themes. So many young readers in our culture of New Orleans would be inspired by this hope and dreams abound as you reflect on what unifies our dreams of family. ( )

"The Moon Over Star" was awarded a Coretta Scott King illustrator honor in 2009. The story follows a young girl named Mae watching the 1969 moon landing with her family in a small town named Star. Seeing men walk on the moon inspires Mae, and she decides that when she grows up, she'll become an astronaut. The character Mae is based off of the first black women to ever travel to space, Mae Jemison. The book's illustrations appear to be graphite and watercolor, giving every page a soft, relaxed vibe. The characters' expressions are detailed, which clearly shows the awe and excitement they feel while seeing people land on the moon for the first time. The images of space in the book are beautiful as well, giving the reader a sense of the vastness of space. One page that really stood out to me was the initial take off of the Eagle space shuttle; the previous page was of Mae and her cousins pretending to take off in a scrap rocket, and when you turn the page you're met with an explosion of colors that spans over two pages. Rough graphite lines and free strokes of watercolor show how monumental a real shuttle take off is, and I think that the illustrator did a wonderful job. I think that this book is a great read, especially for people my age who don't truly understand how amazing the first moon landing was. ( )

I enjoyed reading this book because of the point of view and illustrations. The point of view of the young girl was interesting to see how she viewed the first man on the Moon. The book talked about real events, like John F. Kennedy sending a man to the moon and being in heaven, and Armstrong being the man on the moon. Hearing a child's perspective of historic events gives a playful view of how they see it (like making their own rocketship. The illustrations were different; they looked like they were painted with water color, but they expressed the emotions of the characters. Each picture took up the whole page which helped me visualize the story. The big idea of the book is to teach children history by making into a story that relates to them. ( )

This is an excellent book. It is a good one to use in a classroom to teach about science and history. The story line is easy for the children to understand and follow. The painting will help hold the children's interest.

The medium used for the illustrations is watercolors. The paintings are detailed and use a variety of bright colors on every page. The emotions of the characters are expressed very well in the paintings. For example, in one of the illustrations the girl's grandpa is reflecting on the excitement of the children about the astronauts landing on the moon and his youth. The expression on his face shows that he is reflecting. ( )

"The Moon Over Star" is set in 1969 on the day that America puts a man on the moon. On July 20, 1969, Mae and her family attend church and pray for the astronauts and their families. After church and chores, the children pass time by building a spaceship and pretending to be astronauts. After awhile Gran calls them in to see the landing. Everyone runs in except Gramps who feels the money for the landing could have been better spent by helping the people on Earth. The family ends the day by sitting outside on blankets looking at the stars and the moon.

The book only gives a few facts about the event such as the death of John F. Kennedy, the distance of the moon from Earth, the names of the astronauts and the spaceship's name. These facts along with the date of the landing are repeated a number of times in the book. I assume the repetition of the facts is done so that they sink into the readers head.

The illustrations supplement the text very well. I love the illustrations of the children gathering supplies for their spaceship and the next illustration of all the children pretending they are in a real spaceship. These illustrations are followed by an illustration that shows a real spaceship launching. This seems to be what the children see in their mind as they pretend to be astronauts. I also love the illustration of the family gathered around the television watching the landing. Every family member looks as if they are truly holding their breath. I feel it really captures the feeling of the people on that day.

The ending of the book uses the famous quote " That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." The author expands on this quote by saying "All of us- from New York to Tokyo to Paris to Cairo... To Star-." The author wants to make it clear that we are all the same. On the next page following this quote Mae ask her grandfather "What's mankind?" he replies that mankind is all of us. The book not only introduces children to the event of a man landing on the moon for the first time, but also gives the lesson that we are all mankind. ( )

Some children on a farm watch the moon landing unfold. One of the girls wonders about her grandpa's dreams and whether he is tired from working on the farm all his life. That night, her grandpa reminds her to keep on dreaming. ( )

In this heartwarming book, we are shown the childhood of Mae Jemison and how she accumulated her love of space. The book discusses the first man on the moon, and how this event in history lit a fire in Mae of wanting to become an astronaut. Her whole family is excited about this major event happening, except her grandfather. He was not very impressed, and Mae just couldn't understand why. Though this book gives us a wonderful look into Mae's childhood, it also gives young readers many life lessons to think about. As we reach the end of the book, we get a look into why Mae's grandfather is unimpressed by the landing on the moon, and why this taught Mae to live in the present.

This book is inspirational for children and adults. Each page was illustrated beautifully, and the book flowed really well. Young readers can learn many lessons within this book, and they can all relate to Mae in one way or another. The illustrstions on each page really captured the mood of the book and what we were reading on each page. I thought the illustrator did a great job at capturing the characters emotions on their faces, and it really added to the story. I enjoyed this book far more than the other Mae Jamison book I read, which means this gets five stars! ( )

Mae is a young girl excited and inspired by the moonwalk on July 20, 1969. But her Gramps believes they should be spending money on people in need, rather than putting men on the moon. A beautiful depiction of following childhood dreams no matter your age. ( )

I absolutely loved everything about this book. I chose this book because the title was different because I couldn't really form any hypothesis of what it would be about. I also liked the cover picture of the book because it had a lot of meaning to it. The cover of the book is dark blue at the top and green at the bottom. It has a huge moon at the top of book, the title under it, then a young black girl looking up. She looks as if she's inspired or day dreaming about something. Then end pages of the book were beautiful. It was as if someone standing on the moon was taking a picture of Earth. The second end page had a picture of 1/4 of earth with lines around in leading to the moon ,which also had lines around it and a n end of a red rocket ship in the moon.These pages made me infer that this book has something to do with the moon and a rocket ship. One thing i noticed that the illustrator did that was truly magnificent was his focus on the characters' faces.He also colored people's faces different colors. For instance , on the first page the illustrator put me in a church with whites and blacks in one church, praying. This picture went perfectly with the words because the author was saying that everyone was praying for the three astronauts. I also noticed that on the page, the illustrator chose to use very subtle and calm colors. I believe he did this to set the tone of the setting. For instance, the colors on the page with rocket taking off had very vibrant colors. I also think the illustrator did an amazing job with the characters facial expressions. You can tell every emotion one character is feeling through the facial expressions of the characters in this book. ( )

I liked this book for many reasons including the plot, the illustrations, and the way the book pushes readers. This story is about a young girl named Mae who is awaiting the first man to walk on the moon with her family in 1969 along with 600 millions of people in the world. Mae is fascinated about this historic event while her grandfather believes the money spent for this moon landing could be used on Earth. I enjoyed the plot because it involves historical events and gave insight on the worlds reactions that day. "All of us- from New York to Tokyo to Paris to Cairo... to Star- And maybe even President Kennedy too- All of us watched together,". The illustrations were different from a lot of stories, but they still enhanced the story. The illustrations throughout the story were all watercolors, you could see the actual outlines on the objects which reminded of paintings in an art museum. I liked how the book not only includes real historical events, but it also pushes readers to think about the different perspectives of the people who were witnessing this event. "Why spend all that money to go to the moon when there's so many folks in need right here on Earth?" "Because we can!" I almost shouted, but caught myself." ( )

"The Moon Over Star" is a Coretta Scott King Honor Award picture book. It is set in July of 1969 and is about a young girl named Mae who is fascinated by the world's first moon landing. She prays for the astronauts and their children and even makes her own "spaceship" with her cousins. To her, her whole family seems just as excited as she is for the moon landing, except her grandfather. Her grandfather thinks it is a waste of money because of how many people are in need in the world. While Mae is looking forward to wanting to be an astronaut one day, her grandfather reminds her to have her dreams, but to remember that it is important to live in the present. Overall, this book has an interesting insight into the mind of a young person during a very important event in world history. Children can find similarities between themselves and Mae no matter how long ago this story is set. Mae is a dreamer with a big imagination who is inspired to follow her goals. Many children could see this and relate it to their own hopes and dreams. Along with the storyline, the illustrations are also incredible. On every page, there are many swirls of watercolor that shape the characters and details in a chaotic yet relaxing flow. Jerry Pinkney, the illustrator, captured the moods of the characters and settings beautifully onto the page. The drawings aren't meant to look tight and perfect, but are meant to look free and light, expressing the mood of the main character. Overall, the book's story and illustrations mesh well together and truly help depict the emotions and thoughts of the characters. ( )

The setting of this book starts out in church. The narrator is a little girl named Mae who is very excited for the astronauts and their spaceship to land on the moon. She prays in church and asks God to "please bless the astronauts and their children too." She dreams of one day being able to make it to the moon, however, her grandpa thinks that the space program is a waste of money. As the book goes on, the setting changes to the girls home where she and her everyone in her family, with the exception of Gramps, watched man land on the moon. Mae seems to struggle with trying to figure out why her grandpa is nowhere near as excited as her. I am unsure of if she ever truly gets her answer but she eventually excepts how he feels. Gramps always looked to the moon to figure out when to harvest and plant. Now, Mae looks to the moon and sees all of her dreams coming true. The main setting of this book is in 1969 when man was able to land on the moon. The three astronauts that are mentioned are Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin Jr., and Michael Collins. This setting effected the story and gave it a sense of truth. ( )

During a prominent time in history, The Moon Over Star, depicts a young girl's perception and inspiration in the course of the moon landing in 1969. With her siblings, she was able to imagine and reenact the moon landing as entertainment. The grandfather not as amused with the moon landing, knew the moon differently, as he depended on it throughout his life as a farmer. Now his granddaughter, looking to the same moon, sees a world of opportunity. The illustrations use vibrant color and great form to bring the story to life. As the rest of the family was consumed by this event, the pictures show the grandfather on the outside looking in. Then at the end his love is clear as he holds his granddaughters hand. ( )

In my opinion, this was a beautiful book. What I liked most was the language and the imagery that came with it. In a conversation between a little girl and her grandfather, the author writes, “’Gramps, will you watch it with me tonight…the moon walk?’ ‘I’m mighty worn out today,’ he said, ‘but maybe.’ Suddenly, I could see how tired he was. Lifetime-tired. There were deep lines in his face…” those lines in particular are so well written because not only do they carry emotion, they give the reader a good mental image. In addition, I really like the way the author ended he book. She ended it with a very poetic line, which leaves the reader's mind drifting away. The last page reads, “Gramps had looked to the moon all his life. It told him when to plant and when to harvest. And once upon a summer’s night, it told me to dream.” Those lines really resonated with me. The illustrations were nicely drawn and painted and had great detail. They showed exactly what the text was conveying. The main message of this story is to dream big; even if you’re from a small, farm town, you can still have huge aspirations.

The genre of this book is historical fiction. Mae, a girl growing up in the 60s is ecstatic to follow the moon landing in space, and pretends to be astronauts with her cousins. Everyone is excited when Neil Armstrong lands on the moon, except her grandfather, who thinks that the money should be used to help people in need instead. When Mae reveals her desire to become an astronaut, her grandfather supports her desires and tells her to keep dreaming. ( )

I loved this book from beginning to end. First, I like how the young girl after watching the 1969 moon landing with her family is inspired to become an astronaut herself. She was eager to learn more and more about this event. She will discuss with his grandfather the possibilities of becoming an astronaut. She was eager to grow up and be part of the NASA. She was the only girl in town that knew the distance from the Earth to the moon. One of her friends asked her, “How do you know that?” She replied, “I read it in the newspaper” This event spark her curiosity. Moon Over Star is emotional, inspirational and hopeful picture book that will inspire reader to pursue their dreams. ( )

Summary:
This books tells the experience of the moon landing from he perspective of a young African American girl. The book tells how she and everyone in her family was very excited , except for Grandpa. The end of he book focuses on the young girl having a sort of insight into her grandfather's life. She suddenly realizes Grandpa might of had dreams that never came true and that life has worn him out. The books ends with a conversation between Mae and er grandfather. She tells him she want's to be an astronaut. He advises her to keep dreaming but always appreciate what you already have.

Review:
I gave this book it's high rating because i think the author does a wonderful job of making the character's absolutely real. The children playing space ship after watching the spaceship launch for example. That is exactly what children would do. Every day activities in the story seamlessly blend in with a once in a lifetime event.
The story really does seem like it could be exactly what happened which i think is a wonderful accomplishment in the genre the author is writing in. Lastly the author does a wonderful job of introducing the theme of unachieved dreams with the Grandfather. It is a very complex theme but in the book it is well integrated.
Over all i think this is a great book. The characters are really consistent and real. The setting is interesting and the story line believable. ( )

3 stars

One summer day, in 1969, a young girl named Mae, together with her extended family, gathered to celebrate a momentous occasion in human history: the landing of three astronauts on the moon. Praying for the safety of those far-off voyagers in church, acting out their adventures with a home-made shuttle of their own, watching Walter Cronkite's broadcast on television, Mae and her family were moved and inspired by the events of this extraordinary day. All of them, (or so it seemed) but Mae's Gramps...

I found myself unexpectedly moved by the conclusion of The Moon Over Star, a fictional examination of the famous lunar landing by Dianna Hutts Aston, whose non-fiction picture-books, like An Egg Is Quiet and A Seed Is Sleepy, have been such hits with me. The pencil, ink and watercolor illustrations by Jerry Pinkney were absolutely gorgeous, of course, but the narrative took a little while to win me over. I just didn't feel that involved in the story, at the beginning. But by the end, I was convinced that Aston had done something pretty remarkable: perfectly capturing the wonder of that day, for young Mae (perhaps named in honor of Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman astronaut?), while also ably depicting the bittersweet nature of such celebratory moments, for those whose dreams may have remained unfulfilled.

I liked the fact that the author didn't feel the need to beat us over the head with anything. Gramps didn't feel as enthusiastic as the rest of the family, and while we can intuit that this was owing to the hardships of his life, and possibly an inability to follow some of his own dreams (the passing reference to the magical experience of seeing airplanes for the first time), in the end, the focus is on the love between grandparent and grandchild, and their mutual acceptance of the other's emotional response to the day. Just a lovely little book, really - and one I might not have picked up, had it not been one of our November selections in The Picture-Book Club to which I belong. ( )

On a warm summer's day in 1969, crickets chirp in the long buffalo grass and it feels like the whole world is bubbling with anticipation. Mae and her family await the first moon landing which brings with it the opportunity for hopes and dreams to be explored and realized. Diane Hutts Aston recounts mans first steps on the moon through the eyes of a young girl. The story is told with heart and feeling. This quiet historical story is coupled with lively and moving, yet tender, illustrations by Jerry Pinkney. ( )

This story is told from the point of view of a young girl who follows the space mission to the moon in 1969. This book not only details that historical moment, but also details a day in the life of a family who watched the moon landing on television and how it inspired them to dream.