Armstrong. The Adventurous Journey of a Mouse to the Moon

by Torben Kuhlmann

age range: 7 to 10 years old

NorthSouth Books

Armstrong is a little mouse who wanted to show the rest of the mice that the moon wasn't a ball of cheese. He works untiringly to understand the concepts involved in space travel, and after that in creating a safe rocket ship. Despite the obstacles Armstrong never gives up, until his dream comes true. 

This is a picture book for older kids who are independent readers. It can also work for reading aloud to some younger kids interested in the topic since the text is not extremely challenging, but in this case I see its length as an issue. In any case the quality of the book is worth a try. The illustrations are incredibly beautiful. The story is full of them, detailed and expressive. I also includes many rocket sketches that I really loved. I read Moletown by Kuhlmann some time ago, and I am still impressed by his talent as an illustrator. At the end of the book "A Short History of Space Travel" is included. A book to own. 5 stars.

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The night the stars went out

text and illustrations by Suz Hughes

age range: 2 to 6 years old

Capstone Young Readers

Alien has the very important job of keeping the stars shiny. It's a full time job. He doesn't even have time to make friends or have fun. Despite all his efforts, one day the stars just went out. That was catastrophic! All he tried to fix it failed, so the Star HelpLine suggested to get some magic varnish at planet Earth. His arrival was a little troubled, since aliens float on Earth, but luckily he met a boy named George who happily helped him to make his way to the hard store and buy all the magic varnish they could carry. George also invited Alien to play with him, and they had a great time together. Alien couldn't believe how much fun was to have a friend! He felt so happy! And then he saw the night full of bright stars. He realized friendship was all the varnish he needed. It was time to came back to his planet, but George and Alien promised to be friends for ever, to grant a shiny, glowing, sparkling sky in the night.

Beautiful story about the importance of friendship to keep us healthy and bright. The text is simple enough to be read to toddlers too. I also loved the illustrations, colorful, smart, and sometimes crayon-like. As far as I know this is Hughes first book as author besides illustrator, and it's wonderful.

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.