Buzz Aldrin tells the story of his life, describing his childhood, time in the military, and career as a pilot. Ends with his experience of being one of the first men on the moon.

Biographical picture book of Buzz Aldrin, chronicling his career from West Point to the moon. Nicely illustrated with full color paintings. Back matter includes a timeline of flight and spaceflight. ( )

Best Book award 2006

Ideal book for my 6 year old grandson who is obsessed with the moon landing and a huge fan of the crew of Apollo 11. There's quite a lot of text for a picture book, but he's used to lengthy read-alouds, his father has trained him well. ( )

Who would have thought that Buzz Aldrin could write so well? The entire story was superbly done, not the boring tome that so many famous individuals choose to write about their lives. I was thoroughly impressed with the entire tale. It was a great read, well written and illustrated. Of course, anytime you get a Wendall Minor book, you know you're getting top-of-the-line illustrations. ( )

Reaching For The Moon by Buzz Aldrin

Buzz Aldrin's story told in his own words starts with him as a child and the stories of childhood that made him want to be an astronaut. Also stories of his career.

Personal Reaction:
Astronauts and Space travel has always been fascinating

Classroom Extension Ideas

1) Have students decorate a moon suit
2) have students tell class what they would take with them to the moon if they had a chance to go. ( )

Simple autobiography for children. Paintings of the moon landing are detailed and interesting. The message is simple; aspire to something and work at it. This didn't really work for me, unfortunately. ( )

I really likes this autobiography about Buzz Aldrin because it shows motivation, ambition and dreams. It teaches a really good lesson of to have dreams and to never let them go. Buzz Aldrin was one of the first astronauts to go to the moon. He talks about how he always wanted to be a pilot. He has to work to reach that dream. The next step he took was wanting to be an astronaut. When he first applied, he got denied. However, he did not give upon his dream. He eventually went into space on the Apollo 11 and was one of three men to be the first to walk on the moon. Children can find Buzz Aldrin's story to be very inspirational as I did. It teaches children to set goals and have dreams for them self. The pictures are handsomely done in this book. They are very realistic and look as if they were photographs.

Picture book of the autobiography of Buzz Aldrin. Good overview of his childhood and background before joining NASA. Text does a nice job of providing context for space exploration and some of the skills and characteristics that made Buss a good astronaut. This book gives readers a fuller picture of the life of a man, not just one event. There are many options for further exploration - such as Korean war, fighter planes, West Point, recent space exploration, Space Race, etc. - to link to historical events in context. the text is readable and I think it would be enjoyable for all children as an introductory text to space exploration and NASA. ( )

This book talks about the second man's experience of walking on the moon. This book is great for students to read about our history. This book is for grades 3 and up.

This book's illustrations help depict the life of Buzz Aldrin and his experience of landing on the moon. I enjoyed reading about Buzz and how no matter what goal you have, it's nice to have one to achieve some day. Never give up. Great biography book. ( )

This is autobiography of Buzz Aldren. He starts out from his childhood and he got the nickname Buzz. He goes on to tell several stories from his adolescence that contributed to the man he became (including idolizing his hero, The Lone Ranger). He tells the story of the journey that brought him to the moon and what that day was like when he stepped on the moon.

This book was really interesting for me and I thought I already knew a lot of the story. I think students would love reading this book about following your dreams and reaching for the stars. It is a great example for a biography as well as a tale of perseverance and dreaming big.

This is an excellent example of autobiography. Buzz Aldrin tells his own personal story of his life from when he was born, up until the point he walked on the moon. All of the facts in this book are true, as they have been written by himself. The only downfall of this book is that it focuses on just the part of his life in which he is trying to be an astronaut, it does not include all parts of his life.

There is no particular style, point of view, character, setting, or plot. I mean the character is Buzz, the point of view is from Buzz, and the plot is his life. These are all pretty obvious with the book being an autobiography.

Media: Acrylic

The front flap summary written by Buzz Aldrin helps you to anticipate the rest of it. Notice dedication page! The book tells about Buzz's life from childhood on including how he got the name "Buzz", Real Name: Edwin Eugene. Buxx came from brother (buzzer). See back letter from the author and the history of flight timeline with illustrations!! Excellent. I would use this book to teach writing an auto., space travel, hard work, determination, military training, teamwork, letter writing, etc..... Grades 1-8 ( )

Genre: Autobiography
This is a good example of an autobiography because it is written by Buzz Aldrin about his personal experiences of space exploration and walking on the moon. He tells us his personal thoughts, feelings, and dreams, as well as his life growing up. He lived the experience he is writing about and has made it into a memoir in this book.
Character Review: This book has a good example of a flat, supporting character. Ed White, a friend of Buzz's, applied for the space program. This decision was a catalyst for Buzz to apply. Without Ed, the story could not have moved forward; however, as an audience, we learn nothing of Ed beyond that. He was only there to support Buzz's story; therefore, he is a flat, supportive character.
Media: Acrylics and watercolors

This book is great for kids. It teaches many things. It tells about a great historical moment and some of the people involved in it and is a good example of an auto biography. This book also teaches to reach for the stars (literally) and not to give up until you have achieved your goals. ( )

This book is a great way to integrate science vocabulary and historical background, also illustrates a first-person. The illustrations are great. ( )

3) No Awards

4) Grades 3-5

5) Reaching for the Moon is about Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, The book covers Buzz's early life and what inspired him to become an astronaut; it also talks about Buzz's space travel experiences. This is a great story for younger children because it teaches them to pursue their dreams.

6) An activity that students can do in a classroom is to write a letter to Buzz Aldrin. The students can ask him any questions they want and they can tell him what their dreams are.