This is another curious story book about Apollo 11. It would appear to be intended for very young children; the illustrations are stylized, and the text consists of very sparse couplets. Few pages have more than ten words. But read the text and you'll realize you're not reading baby singsong verse; this is poetry. "Edwin Aldrin hops around. / Boot prints left on ashen ground. / Desolation. Silent. Dark. / Tranquil sea. Barren. Stark." Eight Days Gone is a pleasure to read aloud to young children. They may not understand all the words, but the words are mellifluous ones. After all, the story -- a trip to the Moon and back -- is straightforward to understand from the illustrations, while the lovely words provide a sense of the strange and new. ( )

I thoroughly enjoyed reading "Eight Days Gone." This book chronicled the lunar landing of 1969. Each page is a rhyme and includes 4 lines. I liked seeing how the author was able to detail the launch, landing, and return home all while incorporating the story into a rhyme scheme. It begins by talking about the day of the launch and how all of America was watching on that hot July day. It mentions the rockets, launchers, and then how the Earth looked like it was shrinking as they got further into space. It also had practical information mentioning their helmets, gloves, backpacks, air tanks, and space suits. This book briefly mentions Michael Collins, Neil Armstrong, and Edwin Aldrin and their jobs while on the moon. The words were so descriptive and evoked emotion when talking about the desolation, silence, and tranquility of being on the moon, all while using so few words. When the men returned home, the illustrations showed crowds of people welcoming them and in the author's notes she goes in to more detail about the mission and their return. ( )

This is a very beautiful, very simple book about the first moon landing. The story is told in prose with short, simple sentences, or even sometimes just single words. I would tie it into a lesson on space, science, the moon, etc. Possibly ELA units on prose and poetry as well. ( )

Personally, I really enjoyed this book. As one interested in the vast unknown, I found this book delightful. The pictures that accompany are very well done, making the reader feel like a part of the action. This book would be a great introduction to any space lesson in a young classroom setting. I especially loved the way the book was written. The use of rhyming words as well as short stand alone word-sentences make the book exciting. Though the words are descriptive, because the phrases are short, they leave much to the imagination. I would recommend this book. ( )

Great introduction to the Apollo 11 mission for younger readers ( )