Friday, April 10, 2026

True Comics, December 1948. (“Rocket Trip to the Moon” )

 


Something old about a trip to the Moon. Celebrating trying another trip to the Moon here is a non-fiction story from 1948. Stuck in an obscure comic book it tells the story of spaceflight to come.

True Comics. No. 80, December 1948. (“Rocket Trip to the Moon” p. 10-15.) Chicago: Parent’s Magazine Press. 28 p. 1948. 































"So that one day, soon, air-line announcers will call out flights going East, West, North, South and Up."

Friday, March 27, 2026

Science Fiction and Readers Guide (The Children's Hour, vol 16) 1954

 




As I work through odds and ends to scan I have an anthology of children's science fiction. It is actually the 141 page section of Volume 16 of the 16 volume anthology called The Children's Hour. It is rare to see anthology like this. I chose to select some illustration to share. I will tell you the title of the story and the artist (if available).


Science Fiction & Readers Guide. (Volume 16, The Children's Hour) Edited by Marjorie Barrows. Chicago: The Spencer Press, Inc. (376 p. ) 1954.


What Time Is It? By Richard Elam. Illustrated by Hardie Gramatky

Mars and Miss Pickerell. By Ellen MacGregor. Illustrated by Paul Galdone

Lancelot Biggs On The Saturn. By Nelson Bond. Illustrated by John McKee

The Black Pits of Luna. By Robert A. Heinlein. Illustrated by Brinton Turkle.

An interesting Glossary of Science Fiction words found in the stories.


Friday, March 20, 2026

My Weekly Reader 1963 January 14

 

I like the title "The Moon is in Our Space Plans". This issue had more information for 2nd graders about America's plans to go to the Moon.








We will go "Before 1970."

Friday, March 13, 2026

My Weekly Reader 1962 Nov 5 and Dec 3

 

I continue with my history of the space race week by week through the eyes of My Weekly Reader. Both of these are from the 2nd grader edition.


Even without anything new to say My Weekly Reader kept feeding the 2nd graders space race content. I actually had not heard of the Anna satellite before I read this.  

From Wikipedia: ANNA 1B (acronym for "Army, Navy, NASA, Air Force") was a United States satellite launched on October 31, 1962, from Cape Canaveral, on a Thor-Ablestar rocket. The mission profile involved ANNA serving as a reference for making precise geodetic surveys, allowing measurement of the force and direction of the gravity field of Earth, locating the middle of land masses and establishing surface positions.