We're Flying to The Moon ! (1971)

 

A wonderful children's book I just discovered about a trip to the Moon. Enjoy the illustrations. I need to do some more research to give more information about the book.

We're flying to the moon! 1971 Ukrainian. 

Space Twins on the Moon (1971)

Space Twins on the Moon is another Christian book I have found about a fictional trip to the Moon.

 James C. Hefley. Illustrated by  Robert F. Smith. Space Twins on the Moon. Cincinnati, Ohio : Standard Pub. Co.,  (96 p.) 18 cm. 1971.

 A family is invites to live on the Moon for a Month.

Note that they were invited because the Glenns and Bormans were also Christian so they are "perfect examples for all Americans to consider." They would be helping helping to explore what an extended stay on the Moon would be like for the families of the scientists.

 "...the [Russians] would probably have said that they had come to the Moon and couldn't find God."

 Basically they come to the Moon, have a few adventures and because one of them is injured they just head right back to earth.

More of an oddity than an important children's book but it shows how the "race for the moon" got into all sorts of stories for children.

il presidente sulla luna (1971)

So this being the month the THE moon landing I am having moon stories all month.  Not only was there great non-fiction for children about traveling to the moon there were also a number of very beautiful fiction books which most people are not familiar with. In many cases don't worry about the story, just enjoy the pictures of dreaming of a voyage to the moon.


Antoine. Illustrated by Philippe Lorin.   il Presidente sulla luna (The president on the moon). Milano : A. Mondadori. (28 p.) 33 cm. 1971.

Space Puzzles: Curious Questions and Answers About the Solar System (1971)

A rather different space book today,  It is mostly text outlining (and teaching about) spaceflight and the solar system. Martin Gardner was famous for his puzzle column in Scientific American but I was unaware of his children's books.

Space Puzzles: Curious Questions and Answers About the Solar System, Martin Gardner. Illustrated by Ted Schroeder. New York : Simon and Schuster. (95 pp.) 1971 24 cm. 

So I will share a few of the 41 questions posed in the book.

 For this last question I will share the answer but I am also astonished by the violent illustration in a children's book. How many possible space careers did it end?

The First Three or 2001 (1971)

This is a pleasant Russian fictional story about some of the first children to become astronauts.  Given that I can't read the text I am reduced to sharing some interesting stylized illustrations.

The First Three or 2001. Mikhalkov. Moscow. 23 cm. 64 p. 1971.

As I said this book seems to be about 3 children (brothers and sister?) who are invited to go to Mars. They will be the first children who will go there. Titov German Stepanovich is chief of the General Agency Interplanetary Links (he is on picture with children).

 Introducing the characters

 The complexity of the rockets suggests that maybe these are longer distance vehicles (outer solar system or interstellar?)

 How many of you seeing the side view of the ship behind the professor think Star Trek?

 There is an implied stereotype in that the female is serving the males food. 
One of my readers corrected me: "the girl Natasha is showing to the boys tomatoes from greenhouse of cosmoplane."

 I do love seeing the computers and their paper tape. Who wants jet packs, I miss computers that spurt streamers.

A final painting of our frontier waiting to be explored.

Men Travel in Space (1971)

A small but interesting British children's book.  I like the 4 (3 plates plus cover) color paintings in this book.  It feels more 1960s but I like how the artist brings impressionism to their space art. This illustration below must have had a different "resonance" for British children of the time.

Humphrys, Leslie George.  Illustrated by J.V. Clibbon.. Men travel in space. Oxford: Blackwell. 61 p. 21 cm. Blackwell's learning library ;; no. 56 1971

This charming illustration of launching a rocket brings back my own memories of the power and joy of getting to light a rocket and watch it take off. It was always too short a flight but that just meant I got to do it again.

These illustrations seem dated but they convey the need for testing and teaching humans to go into space.

Re-entry is a favorite scene that artists attempt. The temperatures and speed involved mean the artist can emphasize how it is just a single (or a few) man against forces that seem impossible to endure.

The technology of space flight also inspires even this children's artist to depict some very strange looking scenes.

And finally, the most surreal scene of the 20th century, mem walking on the Moon. I appreciate Alan Bean for being courageous enough to try and paint what it felt like to be there. This scene will inspire artists for centuries to come. (But hopefully even better ones will come along).