Demonstrating the necessity of team work, Catherine Thimmesh explains the work that went into the Apollo 11 moon landing. The background of each page is black, evoking outer space. Team Moon is illustrated with great photographs, both of the people involved and views from space. However, the way these photographs are positioned on the page can distract from the narrative. The captions are not positioned under the pictures but in a box at the bottom of the page. This layout could confuse young readers.
Telling the story of 400,000 people is a daunting task, and there are times that the narrative gets away from Thimmesh. The story is not told sequentially and the jumps forward and backward through time may also confuse the young reader. Team Moon does give insight to lesser-known elements of the space project that may be taken for granted. For example, the care and detail gone into making the spacesuits and the nervousness felt because the astronauts were jumping (35). Another issue that may not be thought of was the fear of “moon bugs” and the steps taken to decontaminate both the astronauts and film. Team Moon also makes clear the risks involved and the fact that no one knew if the astronauts would make it safely home until they did. Each step was stepping into the unknown, and the people involved were not sure that everything would work the way they thought it would.
The importance of teamwork and the magnitude of the Apollo project are clearly felt throughout Team Moon. The layout may make this book more appropriate as a reference source that a book to be read straight through. Team Moon is well-documented including many interviews with members of the 400,000 people team. I would recommend this book for readers aged 10 and up.
Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon won many awards. Among these are the 2007 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal and the AAAS/Subaru SB& F Prize for Excellence in Science for 2007.
Thimmesh, Catherine. Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon. New York: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2006. Print.
