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Summary
Summary
The stars are the limit for a little girl who acts out her wish to be an astronaut -- inspired by a very special person.
Astrid has loved the stars and space for as long as she can remember. "I want to be an astronaut!" she says to everyone who will listen. While her mama is away, Astrid and her papa have fun acting out the challenges an astronaut faces on a space mission -- like being in zero gravity ("I can do that all day long!" she says), eating food from a kind of tube, and doing science experiments with the help of cookie sheets. When at last it's time to meet Mama at the air base, Astrid wears her favorite space T-shirt to greet her. But where exactly has Mama been? Channeling a sense of childlike delight, Ken Wilson-Max brings space travel up close for young readers and offers an inspiring ending.
Author Notes
Ken Wilson-Max was born and raised in Zimbabwe and studied design in the U.K. He is the author-illustrator of many children's books. He says that he has always believed that people are more similar than different, and that that is worth celebrating. Ken Wilson-Max lives in London.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-K--Young Astrid is adamant about her ambitions to become an astronaut. During their day together, Dad reminds her of the challenges: "You'll have to go round and round the Earth in your spaceship" as he spins her around the room. "'You'll also have to get used to zero gravity.' Papa threw her up in the air. "I can do that all day long!' Astrid laughed." They practice doing science experiments together by baking cookies. Astrid seems somewhat sure she'll be able to sleep on her own among the stars. The girl's inspiration comes to light when it's time to pick up Mama from work…at the space center where's she's just returned from a mission. Large acrylic paintings in rich jewel tones bring Astrid's world to life. From her telescope and rocket T-shirt, to her Space Hoops cereal, this preschooler is on her way to achieving her dreams. VERDICT This author/illustrator of the "Max" series continues his perfect connection to young listeners and concludes with 10 fast facts on astronaut history.--Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA
Horn Book Review
As young Astrid gazes out her bedroom window at the stars, using a hand-held telescope, we see visual evidence of her astronomy obsession all around: a helmet, model rocket ship, etc. The straightforward text begins: "Astrid had loved the stars and space ever since she could remember." Most of the book follows Astrid and her Papa at home spending time together and playfully discussing (and acting out) the girl's ambition. When Papa tells Astrid that in space she will have to eat meals in small packages, she shows how she is already preparing by snacking on a cereal bar; Papa says she'll have to get used to zero gravity, while tossing her into the air. At the end of the day they drive to pick up Astrid's mother from work-at the space center, where Mama and two other astronauts are just exiting a space shuttle. Wilson-Max uses bold colors and thick black lines in his painterly illustrations, which convey the warmth and joy of a family of color consisting of an impressively accomplished working mother, a loving father as primary caregiver, and a young girl who dreams of reaching for the stars. Informative back matter highlights five female astronauts (with an error regarding the date of Shannon Lucid's mission) and a handful of space-flight facts. Michelle H. Martin November/December 2019 p.80(c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
This simple story embraces a little girl's determination to become an astronaut.Astrid wants to be an astronaut. Readers meet the young preschooler as she uses her telescope to look at the stars out her bedroom window. On the next page, she shares her dreams of space with her best friend while they lie in the grass, looking up. Some cool facts emerge in Astrid's conversation with her father, like how astronauts "[eat] food out of a tube or a package every day." That doesn't faze Astrid. Papa then prepares his "Astro Girl" for zero g by tossing her up in the air before they make rocket-shaped cookies together and then turn in. "At last it was time to go get Mama." Papa and Astrid arrive at the space center, where readers see three silhouettes in the doorway. One of them is Astrid's momshe's an astronaut. Wilson-Max hits the trifecta with a nurturing primary-caregiver father and a successful STEM-career mother heading this loving family of color. The simple, present-tense text questions none of these things, normalizing them for a preschool audience. His characteristic black-lined, painterly acrylics place this family in a cozy home complete with dog. Backmatter offers some further information, most notably a timeline of women, including women of color, in space.A girl-power book that any child will enjoy. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Astrid, a young child who loves outer space, aspires to become an astronaut. Swinging her around and around, Papa says that she'll have to circle Earth in her spaceship. I can do that, she giggles. Tossing her up and catching her, he wonders, can she get used to zero gravity? Yes! Science experiments? No problem. Their conversation continues as Papa drives his daughter to the space center, where they welcome Mama back from her flight. Astrid tells her, I want to be an astronaut, just like you. Wilson-Max, who grew up in Zimbabwe and studied design in London, offers a playful, conversational text and bold, vibrant acrylic paintings, which depict Astrid and her parents with brown skin and black hair. The illustrated back matter introduces five notable women astronauts from India, Russia, the U.K., and the U.S. (including Shannon Lucid and Mae Jemison), along with a few facts related to space travel. First published in England, this picture book offers an inclusive, worldwide vision of astronauts for all little children who dream of space travel.--Carolyn Phelan Copyright 2010 Booklist