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When NASA sent the crew of Apollo 12 to the moon, they may not have realized that they were giving an artist the vision that would carry him through a lifetime of painting. The artist, of course, was astronaut Alan Bean, whose trip to the moon with pals Pete Conrad and Dick Gordon sunk so deeply into his brain that he's been trying to get it down on canvas ever since. He even mixes moon dust and bits of charred Apollo 12 heat shield into his paints to capture a bit of the Ocean of Storms in each image. The astronauts Bean paints are brave, exuberant, and all-American, right down to the reflections of Old Glory in their mirrored visors. His moon is surprisingly colorful and dreamlike, a magical place for jumping higher than you ever did before, racing around in the lunar rover, and swatting golf balls into orbit. Apollo: An Eyewitness Account, coauthored with space expert Andrew Chaikin, is filled with Bean's riveting stories and paintings, recording a long, successful career as an explorer-artist. He recreates the drama and brash enthusiasm of the Apollo program in bold strokes. --Therese Littleton

Rated PG
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NASA's worst nightmare turned into one of the space agency's most heroic moments in 1970, when the Apollo 13 crew was forced to hobble home in a disabled capsule after an explosion seriously damaged the moon-bound spacecraft. Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, and Bill Paxton play (respectively) astronauts Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise in director Ron Howard's intense, painstakingly authentic docudrama. The Apollo 13 crew and Houston-based mission controllers race against time and heavy odds to return the damaged spacecraft safely to Earth from a distance of 205,500 miles. Using state-of-the-art special effects and ingenious filmmaking techniques, Howard and his stellar cast and crew build nail-biting tension while maintaining close fidelity to the facts. The result is a fitting tribute to the Apollo 13 mission and one of the biggest box-office hits of 1995. --Jeff Shannon

Through enjoyable, age-appropriate, indoor and outdoor activities for grades K-8, kids will witness the birth and death of a star...play "Astro Match" and "Solar Scramble"...learn to recognize the constellations...study great moments in space history...make a sundial watch...examine the discoveries and problems of the space program...draw a time line through space...and even join scientists in the search for extraterrestrials! On this fantastic voyage, youngsters will deepen their relationship with space, gain valuable scientific inquiry skills, and be inspired to reach for the stars. A volume in the newly revised NatureScope¨ education series of creative, activities-centered resource books, dedicated to inspiring in children an understanding and appreciation of the natural world, while developing the skills they will need to make responsible decisions about the environment.

A beautiful retelling of the classic African-American folk tales about Brer Rabbit and his adventures, this book is a favorite of parents and children alike.

Editorial Review
This is a 50-millimeter starter telescope with a finder scope and a tripod. Because of its low power, this scope is best for either terrestrial observation or for looking at the moon. The price and the specs may appear to put this firmly in the "toy" category, but no telescope is a toy--attempting to view the sun through a telescope can cause blindness. The included CD is a misleading enticement. It requires a Web browser to run and is little more than a very basic set-up manual. --Richard Farr

Safety Information Caution: Do not look at the sun without a sun-filter, as it may cause serious injury to your eyes. (Sun filter is not included with this telescope set.)

Youngsters learn fascinating facts about the solar system as they color 44 dramatic Space Age illustrations, including images of an asteroid on a collision course with Earth, a spacecraft observing the landscape of Mars, representations of all the planets, and much more. Descriptive captions accompany illustrations.

Twenty-four astronauts have crossed the vast ocean of space that separates Earth and Moon. Twelve have left footprints. With clearly written, comprehensive text, this book chronicles the history of Moon exploration and looks ahead to what the future might hold. Stunning photographs (many from NASA) bring to life all the drama, excitement, and adventure of our quest to know our bright neighbor in the sky.

A time line of Moon history, recommended books and web sites, and reproductions of the Apollo 11-17 mission patches are some of this book's special features.

Written almost a century before the daring flights of the astronauts, Jules Verne's prophetic novel of man's race to the stars is a classic adventure tale enlivened by broad satire and scientific acumen.

When the members of the elite Baltimore Gun Club find themselves lacking any urgent assignments at the close of the Civil War, their president, Impey Barbicane, proposes that they build a gun big enough to launch a rocket to the moon. But when Barbicane's adversary places a huge wager that the project will fail and a daring volunteer elevates the mission to a "manned" flight, one man's dream turns into an international space race.

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Originally broadcast in April and May of 1998, the epic miniseries From the Earth to the Moon was HBO's most expensive production to date, with a budget of $68 million. Hosted by executive producer Tom Hanks, the miniseries tackles the daunting challenge of chronicling the entire history of NASA's Apollo space program from 1961 to 1972. For the most part, it's a rousing success. Some passages are flatly chronological, awkwardly wedging an abundance of factual detail into a routine dramatic structure. But each episode is devoted to a crucial aspect of the Apollo program. The cumulative effect is a deep and thorough appreciation of NASA's monumental achievement. With the help of a superlative cast, consistent writing, and a stable of talented directors, Hanks has shared his infectious enthusiasm for space exploration and the inspiring power of conquering the final frontier.

NASA's complete participation in the production lends to its total authenticity, right down to the use of NASA equipment, launch locations, and even spacecraft. The re-creation of the lunar landscape is almost as impressive as the real thing and is further enhanced by the use of helium balloons to lighten the actors playing moon-walking astronauts. (These and other backstage details are revealed in the "making of" featurette, along with a wealth of supplemental materials, on a bonus disc in the miniseries' DVD package.) With a fictional, Walter Cronkite-like TV reporter (Lane Smith) serving as the dramatic link for all 12 episodes, this ambitious production may not be a great work of art. But as a generous and definitive example of nonfiction drama, it's full of the same kind of awe, inspiration, and humanity that led to "one giant leap" in the all-too-short history of 20th-century space exploration. --Jeff Shannon

Imagine living on the moon. What would you eat? Where and how would you make your home? Written by a former NASA mission controller with firsthand knowledge of the space program, this intriguing book combines a vivid description of humankind’s race to the moon with a detailed vision of the moon as our next frontier. Dyson packs lots of moon science into this futuristic vision, presenting kids with key facts in many fields—from geology to engineering to astronautics. Actual images of the moon from NASA’s extensive files are paired throughout with imaginative yet accurate artistic renditions of how a moon colony might look. And four fun, hands-on activities make even the most difficult concepts easy for kids to grasp.

"If you decide to go to the moon," writes Faith McNulty, "read this book first. It will tellyou how to get there and what to do after youland. The most important part tells you how to get home. Written in the second person, the text allows the reader to participate in every aspect of the journey, from packing ("don't forget your diary and plenty of food") to liftoff (at first you'll feel heavy; don't worry") to traveling thorugh space (where "the moon glows like a pearl in the black, black sky"). The reader lands at the Sea of Tranquility, the site of the first lunar landing.

Updated with recent photographs, a new edition of the classic study of the solar system provides a guided tour of each of the nine planets and their moons, examining their composition, history and characteristics and comparing them to one another.

Have you ever stopped to consider what might be revealed in one spot over one year by twelve unique and exquisite full moons?

Shot into space and long since forgotten, six monkey tribes fiercely compete to advance their civilizations. Well, "Civilizations" might be too strong a word for it most of the tribes are still struggling with basic grooming. But they fiercely compete nonetheless. Fortunately you, the players, have better uses for your time. Leaving aside your squabbling tribemates, you've learned how to repair the ships that stranded everyone on the moon in the first place.

Identifies the moon as our only natural satellite, describes its movement and phases, and discusses how we have observed and explored it over the years.

Finely detailed, ready-to-color illustrations, showing both the real and the fanciful sides of lunar lore, depict a map of the moon; American Apollo astronauts exploring the moon; the heroes of H. G. Wells’s "First Men in the Moon" accosted by cave-dwelling lunar inhabitants; Galileo and his drawings of the moon; imaginative ideas of moon travel from as early as 300 bc; the moon’s role in solar and lunar eclipses; Hollywood’s 1950 version of a moon rocket, space suit, and terrain; much more. 44 black-and-white illustrations.

Apply full-color stickers of astronauts, space vehicles, scientific equipment, and more to laminated backdrop accurately depicting lunar landscape.

Because the moon revolves around Earth, it seems to grow and shrink. Children can read about the phenomena of the moon’s phases and with an experiment using an orange, a pencil, and a flashlight, they can see why the moon looks different at different times of the month.

Each night the moon shines above us casting down its silver light, and everywhere the moon is seen, people have created stories to elucidate its beauty and mystery. In this spellbinding collection of stories from countries around the world, the moon is a man, a woman, a princess, a sister to the sun, even a mischief-maker. These tales of wonder are sacred: they are the attempts of the world's people to understand the moon-its mysterious existence and amazing beauty. Enhanced with the gorgeous illustrations of Debbie Lush, these stories will lift you to a realm where the mysteries are still alive and the magic of the moon is yours to discover.

Narrates the preparations and activities which culminated in man's first landing on the moon in July 1969.

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The third edition of Nightwatch continues its tradition of being the best handbook for the beginning astronomer. Terence Dickinson covers all the problems beginners face, starting with the fact that the night sky does not look the way a modern city-dweller expects. He discusses light pollution, how to choose binoculars and telescopes, how to pronounce the names of stars and constellations, telescope mounts, averted vision, and why the harvest moon looks especially bright. Most of the lovely photographs in the book were taken by amateurs, which gives the section on astrophotography a particularly inspirational gleam.

Dickinson's star charts are very handy, each covering a reasonable field of view and mapping the most interesting amateur objects. He gives good advice for planet watching, which he notes "is one of the few astronomical activities that can be conducted almost as well from the city as from dark rural locations."

Altogether, the watchword for Nightwatch is indeed "practical"--this is a book to be used, not just read. Spiral-bound to lie flat or to fold back undamaged, it's a field guide that pulls its own weight in the field. Author Timothy Ferris says, "Like a good night sky, Nightwatch is clear and wind-free. Try it and see for yourself." --Mary Ellen Curtin

Amazon.com This engaging two-hour documentary from NOVA detailing America's space program was produced for the 30th anniversary of the first moon shots. While no 120-minute film can tell all the stories of the space program, To the Moon is more comprehensive than other similar videos. The film details the method that Americans used to reach the moon: lunar orbit rendezvous (one ship circles the moon while another lands). This concept wasn't even on the drawing board at NASA, and the video chronicles the struggle of engineers and astronauts to work out a solution. The space footage focuses on Gemini missions that rehearsed rendezvous in space and the most extravagant Apollo missions (numbers 8, 11, 13, 15, and 17). The film reunites several astronauts for fresh perspectives on the importance of the program, including the knowledge gained about the geology of the moon. Generation X actor Liev Schreiber (Scream 2) supplies the narration for this video, which is a great companion to the From the Earth to the Moon miniseries. --Doug Thomas

Monica's father fulfills her request for the moon by taking it down after it is small enough to carry, but it continues to change in size. Some pages fold out to display particularly large pictures.

Describes the events leading up to the Apollo 11 flight that put the first man on the moon and the technological advances that made this and later flights possible

Buzz Aldrin retraces the incredible journey that led him to the Moon!

It didn't begin when I stepped on board Apollo 11 on July 16, 1969. It began the day I was born – Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr., whom everyone called Buzz. Becoming an astronaut took more than education, discipline, and physical strength. It took years of determination and believing that any goal is possible – from riding a bike alone across the George Washington Bridge at age ten to making a footprint on the Moon.

I always knew the Moon was within my reach – and that I was ready to be part of the team that would achieve the first landing. But it was still hard to believe when I took my first step onto the Moon's surface. We all have our own dreams – this is the story of how mine came true. Ages 6+

Throughout history, the Earth's closest celestial neighbor has inspired and intrigued. People around the world have looked up in awe at the Moon and told stories to explain its mysteries. They imagined that the Moon represented people or animals and believed it to be the cause of strange behavior. Dot to Dot in the Sky: Stories of the Moon is a collection of stories from many different cultures about this intriguing orb. Richly illustrated, with fascinating legends from Greece, Korea, England, China, West Africa and Canada, it also includes facts about the moon and astronomy.

Here is a rare perspective on a story we only thought we knew. For Apollo 11, the first moon landing, is a story that belongs to many, not just the few and famous. It belongs to the seamstress who put together twenty-two layers of fabric for each space suit. To the engineers who created a special heat shield to protect the capsule during its fiery reentry. It belongs to the flight directors, camera designers, software experts, suit testers, telescope crew, aerospace technicians, photo developers, engineers, and navigators. Gathering direct quotes from some of these folks who worked behind the scenes, Catherine Thimmesh reveals their very human worries and concerns. Culling NASA transcripts, national archives, and stunning NASA photos from Apollo 11, she captures not only the sheer magnitude of this feat but also the dedication, ingenuity, and perseverance of the greatest team everthe team that worked to first put man on that great gray rock in the sky.

Why is there no weather on the moon? Is there sound on the moon? Is it ever day on the moon? Why do astronauts bounce around on the moon? How old is the moon?

From Apollo 11's first landing to the mystery of moonquakes and the genesis of craters, this stunning introduction to our nearest neighbor in space describes the moon and its all-important relationship to Earth. Mesmerizing full-color photography and an informative text perfect this exciting and educational journey in space.

TOPS Activity Sheets Series
Grades 7-12

Imagines sights and experiences on a moon visit.
Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science, Stage 2