Eight Days Gone Ryan O'Rourke Linda McReynolds Paperback Book

Eight Days GoneAuthor: Ryan O'Rourke Linda McReynolds
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Category: Poetry Books for Kids, Children's Fiction, History Books for Kids, Sciences, Technology
Age Group: 12-17
Book Format: Paperback

The momentous Apollo 11 mission unfolds in pictures and rhyming verse. Eighteen two-page spreads illustrate the story, and McReynolds tells it in tight four-line verses using identical rhyme schemes, beginning with Hundreds gather. / Hot July. / Spaceship ready / set to fly. The rocket blasts into space, begins its orbit, and, after a uniform cheque, the lunar module disconnects and lands safely on the moon. The control room watches intently. Michael Collins stays with Columbia, Waits, observing, / tracking trip. Neil Armstrong is the first to walk on the moon (Armstrong makes his / one small step. / Giant leap from / years of prep), and Buzz Aldrin. Well ... Edwin Aldrin / hops around. / Boot prints left on / ashen ground. O'Rourke's richly detailed illustrations are done in oils, with black, white and many shades of grey predominating. They often resemble photographs, with the exception of the people, who look jarringly like Playskool figures. The story has often been written for children before, but never as comprehensively yet concisely for the very young. The rhyme scheme and flat perspectives, if not palette, recall Dan Yaccarino's splendid Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! An author's note and bibliography extend the experience, though the books listed notably omit the many fine titles published recently on the subject. Still, nifty. (Informational picture book. 3-6) --Kirkus Reviews

About Linda McReynoldsSamantha R. Vamos is the author of Alphabet Boats, Alphabet Trains, Alphabet Trucks (illustrated by Ryan O'Rourke), The Cazuela That the Farm Maiden Stirred (illustrated by Rafael López) - 2012 Pura Belpré Illustration Honor - its companion book, The Piñata That The Farm Maiden Hung (illustrated by Sebastià Serra), and Before You Were Here, Mi Amor (2009, illustrated by Santiago Cohen). Samantha previously worked as an attorney, practicing in Washington, D.C. and Chicago, IL. Samantha was born in the Midwest, grew up on the east coast, and lived in the Pacific Northwest before moving to the Bay Area with her husband, son, and their rescue puppy, Bowie. Visit Samantha online at samanthavamos.
For many years Ryan O'Rourke's illustrations have appeared in galleries, newspapers, and magazines, including a weekly illustration for the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine. One Big Rain marks Ryan's foray into children's picture books. He makes his home in Connecticut.