Astrotwins – Project Blastoff 

This has been an exciting summer celebrating the Apollo 11 Moon Landing and I am really enjoying reading and reviewing books related to space. Here’s the latest. Enjoy!

“Former astronaut Kelly takes a cool biographical fact—he and his identical twin brother, Scott, are the only siblings ever to fly in space—and spins it into an absorbing adventure.” Kirkus Reviews

 A summer visit with Grandpa starts the journey to space for eleven-year-old twins Mark and Scott Kelly. To keep the mischievous boys occupied, Grandpa suggests they build a spaceship and the idea sticks. The boys recruit some pals along the way and the story of an epic summer quest unfolds.

 What I love about this story? Definitely the science that the reader learns alongside the characters is an interesting, contextual way to slip in some knowledge building. The teamwork of the characters is a favorite piece for me, as each contributes and is valued according to his/her strengths – a theme that also runs through astronaut-author Kelly’s Moustronaut picture book series.

 Lastly, the book takes us back to 1975 before “google it” was the standard way to begin a search for information, when calls outside a local area had a surcharge and calculators were expensive tools, not a free phone app.

 A solid summer read and possibly, the inspiration for the next generation of space explorers.