Lift Off!: An Astronaut's Dream

The author, a retired NASA astronaut, describes what it is like to fly on the space shuttle, explains how he got involved in the space program, and describes what may lie ahead for future astronauts

Grade 5-7?Mullane describes his early career and experiences aboard the space shuttle Atlantis during a 1988 mission with unbridled, shake-you-by-the-shoulders enthusiasm: "I cheered! I screamed my head off! I skipped around the room!...It was wonderful! Incredible! I WAS GOING TO BE AN ASTRONAUT!" The author has a clear message to deliver. Though a "space geek" in his youth, he was no super student?but he did have a dream, and he stuck to it even after poor eyesight scrubbed his chance of military-pilot training. Though overfond of exclamation points, he has a way with similies and really captures the range of sensations and emotions that space travel entails. He closes with advice for would-be astronauts and others, reckoning that the crew of the first mission to Mars is about 10-15 years old right now. Except for the black-and-white illustrations, which are sparse and seem to be drawings imitating photographs, this makes a lively, inspirational companion to books like Sally Ride and Susan Okie's To Space and Back (Lothrop, 1989).?John Peters, New York Public Library
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.