Darkest Dark - Hardcover

Chris Hadfield

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1509824081 ISBN 13: 9781509824083

Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books, 2016

Synopsis

Darkest Dark

About this title

About the Author:

Chris Hadfield is one of the world's most seasoned and accomplished astronauts, and is the author of the number one international bestseller, An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth, and You Are Here: Around the World in 92 Minutes. The Darkest Dark is Chris's first picture book. The top graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School in 1988 and U.S. Navy test pilot of the year in 1991, Hadfield was selected by the Canadian Space Agency to be an astronaut in 1992. He was CAPCOM for twenty-five Shuttle launches and served as Director of NASA Operations in Star City, Russia, Chief of Robotics for the NASA Astronaut Office in Houston, and Chief of International Space Station Operations. Hadfield served as Commander of the International Space Station where, while conducting a record-breaking number of scientific experiments and overseeing an emergency spacewalk, he gained worldwide acclaim for his breathtaking photographs and educational videos about life in space. His music video, a zero-gravity version of David Bowie's Space Oddity, has received more than 30 million views online. His TED talk, delivered in March 2014, has been viewed almost four million times and he judged the TV series Astronauts: Do You Have What It Takes? Terry Fan received his formal art training at Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto. His work is a blend of traditional and contemporary techniques, using ink or graphite mixed with digital. He spends his days (and nights) creating magical paintings, portraits and prints. Together with his brother Eric, he wrote and illustrated the critically-acclaimed picture book, The Night Gardener. Eric Fan is an artist and writer who lives in Toronto, Canada. He attended the Ontario College of Art and Design where he studied illustration, sculpture and film. He has a passion for vintage bikes, clockwork contraptions and impossible dreams. His widely-praised debut picture book, The Night Gardener, was a collaboration with his brother Terry.

From School Library Journal:

PreS-Gr 2—Canadian astronaut Hadfield presents an uplifting tale about a boy whose deep-rooted fears are eclipsed by the potency and possibility of his dreams for the future. It's July 1969, and Chris spends his days piloting his cardboard-box rocket, battling extraterrestrials, and voyaging to distant planets. But at night, fear of the dark has him seeing terrifying shadow aliens everywhere and seeking safety in his parents' bed. Everything changes when he watches the Apollo 11 moon landing on television and catches an awestruck glimpse of outer space, "the darkest dark ever." Later, unsettling shadows still occupy his unlit room, but Chris is different: with eyes newly opened to "the power and mystery and velvety black beauty of the dark," he can't wait to explore the night sky—a dream that will always keep him company (and ultimately come true). Rendered in graphite and digitally colored in dusky hues, the luminous illustrations provide realistic portrayals of the action along with emotionally evocative depictions of the fantastical elements, from the just-menacing-enough coal black silhouettes of nighttime creatures to a wonder-filled dreamscape showing the pajama-clad space-helmeted boy (and his loyal pug companion) floating above his bed surrounded by stars and planets, rocket ships, and animals. Back matter includes a biography, a reassuring message from the author, and photos. VERDICT A splendid story for soothing night fears, fostering future explorers, and teaching children that not even the sky's the limit when it comes to dreaming big.—Joy Fleishhacker, School Library Journal

About this edition

• Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1509824081
• ISBN 13: 9781509824083
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 48